STAND. COM. REP. NO. 651-24

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2024

RE: H.B. No. 1527

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1527 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VETERINARY MEDICINE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Amend the exemption for the unlicensed practice of veterinary medicine by animal owners and their employees to prohibit any surgical procedure on the owner's animal or animals;

(2) Specify that a violation of the prohibition on unlicensed surgical procedures by animal owners or their employees is a class C felony; and

(3) Clarify that the offense of cruelty to animals in the first degree does not apply to accepted veterinary practices and cropping or docking as customarily practiced when the procedures are performed by a licensed veterinarian.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Animal Welfare Institute; Hawaiian Humane Society; Kauaʻi Humane Society; Animal Rights Hawaiʻi; Animal Interfaith Alliance of Britain; Domestic Violence Hurts Animals and People; and numerous individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Agriculture; Hawaii Cattlemen's Council; Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau; and nine individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Board of Veterinary Medicine and Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association.

Your Committee finds that surgical procedures on pet animals, such as dogs and cats, by untrained persons are cruel and harmful to the animals. Your Committee further finds that surgical procedures should only be performed on pet animals by veterinary medical experts.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Amending the prohibition on unlicensed surgical procedures by animal owners or their employees to only ban persons who are not licensed to practice veterinary medicine from performing any surgical procedure on pet animals, which are defined as dogs, cats, domesticated rabbits, guinea pigs, domesticated pigs, or caged birds (passeriformes, piciformes, and psittaciformes only) so long as not bred for consumption, and does not include livestock animals;

(2) Increasing the penalties for violations of veterinary medicine licensing requirements;

(3) Deleting language that would have specified that a violation of the prohibition on unlicensed surgical procedures by animal owners or their employees is a class C felony;

(4) Deleting language that would have clarified that the offense of cruelty to animals in the first degree does not apply to cropping or docking as customarily practiced when the procedures are performed by a licensed veterinarian;

(5) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(6) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1527, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1527, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair