Subject of Possible Rule Making: Veterinarian and veterinary technician licensure fees. The department of health (department), in consultation with the veterinary board of governors (board), is considering rule amendments to WAC 246-933-990 and 246-935-990. Amendments may include removing the jurisprudence (JP) exam fee for veterinarians and veterinary technicians, adding the Washington physicians health program (WPHP) impaired practitioner surcharge to initial licensure for veterinarians, and updating fees to cover program's operating costs.

Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: JP exam fee: In June 2025, the board adopted amendments to WAC 246-933-250 and 246-935-070 removing the JP exam as a requirement for initial licensure for veterinarians and veterinary technicians. A new section was added to each chapter requiring licensees to successfully complete a board-approved training in the Washington state laws respective to their profession, after initial licensure and prior to their first renewal. Prior to the adoption of the rule amendments, the JP exam rule was administered by mailing a hard copy of the exam to the applicant and having them return it to be graded by the credentialing staff. A fee was assessed to cover the cost of credentialing staff's time spent grading the exam. The exam is now online and automatically graded; therefore, a fee is not needed to cover staff time to grade the exam. To align with the board's recent rule changes, the department is considering the removal of the JP exam fee in WAC 246-933-990 and 246-935-990.

Impaired practitioner surcharge: As required by RCW 18.92.047, the board contracts with WPHP to implement and operate an impaired practitioner program. Contracts with WPHP are financed by a surcharge applied to the veterinarian's license. Currently, WAC 246-933-990 only provides for collection of the WPHP surcharge on license renewal. To adequately fund the board's contract with WPHP, the department is considering adding the surcharge to initial licensure as allowed by RCW 18.92.047.

Licensing fees: RCW 43.70.250 requires that licensing fees cover regulatory program expenses which necessitates the program to be self-funding. An update to licensing fees may be needed to adequately fund the program's operating expenses.

Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Poppy Budrow, P.O. Box 47852, Olympia, WA 98504-7852, phone 564-669-0026, TTY 711, email poppy.budrow@doh.wa.gov or veterinary@doh.wa.gov, website https://doh.wa.gov; or Heather Cantrell, P.O. Box 47850, Olympia, WA 98504-7850, TTY 711, email HSQAfeerules@doh.wa.gov.

Additional comments: Notices will be emailed through the program's GovDelivery interested parties list. Interested parties may participate in the development of draft rules prior to a formal proposal by joining the department's interested parties list (GovDelivery), attending workshops, and providing input on draft and proposed materials. To find out more about our rule making and to be included on the interested parties list, please follow these steps: (1) Go to doh.wa.gov; (2) click on the "Sign up for Updates from DOH" button on the bottom of the page; (3) enter your contact information; (4) click "Submit"; (5) under the subscription preferences, check the box that says "Health Systems Quality Assurance"; (6) check the box that says "Health Professions"; and (7) check the box that says "Veterinary Board of Governors" and then click "Submit."