BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center H.B. 1615
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
The need for quality veterinary services is important to pet owners. Provisions of the Veterinary Licensing Act, regulating the floor plan of a veterinary clinic that leases space from a mercantile establishment, require the clinic to open onto a public street, hall, lobby, corridor, or other public thoroughfare other than the aisle of the mercantile establishment. An exemption to this requirement was passed in 1999 that allowed existing veterinary clinics that were operating before January 1, 1993, to continue doing business in retail establishments.
H.B. 1615 extends that exemption to veterinary clinics that are operating in space that was opened, designed, or engineered as the location for a specific facility before December 31, 2009, to preserve and promote the availability of veterinary clinic services.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 801.356(a), Occupations Code, as follows:
(a) Provides that Section 801.355(c) does not apply to the practice of a veterinarian, or the legal successor of the practice, if the practice is operating in space that was opened, designed, or engineered in accordance with plans for a specific facility submitted to the board before December 31, 2009, rather than open and operating before January 1, 1993.
SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2009.