HB 335: "An Act relating to veterinarians and veterinarian technicians; establishing a pet and service animal disaster emergency plan; relating to the Alaska State Emergency Response Commission; and relating to local emergency planning committees."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 335 01 "An Act relating to veterinarians and veterinarian technicians; establishing a pet and 02 service animal disaster emergency plan; relating to the Alaska State Emergency 03 Response Commission; and relating to local emergency planning committees." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 08.98.125 is amended to read: 06 Sec. 08.98.125. Exemptions. This chapter does not apply to the following: 07 (1) a veterinary medical officer in the military service in the discharge 08 of official duties or as an employee in the federal or state government performing 09 veterinary medical services within the scope of the person's official duties; 10 (2) a veterinarian who is licensed in another state or country, or a 11 person whose expertise a veterinarian licensed in this state believes would benefit an 12 animal, and who provides only consultation to a veterinarian licensed in this state; in 13 this paragraph, "consultation" means advice or assistance provided in person, 14 telephonically, electronically, or by any other method of communication from a
01 veterinarian or other person whose expertise, in the opinion of the veterinarian, would 02 benefit the animal; [AND] 03 (3) a veterinarian licensed and residing in another state who provides 04 assistance, as requested by and under the supervision of a veterinarian licensed in this 05 state, for the purpose of providing skills not otherwise available in this state in 06 conducting research or other practice of veterinary medicine on captive or free-ranging 07 wildlife; however, that assistance is limited to not more than three events in a calendar 08 year for not more than a total of 60 days in the year and may not be on a regular or 09 recurring basis, as defined by the board; and 10 (4) a veterinarian or veterinary technician licensed and residing in 11 another state who provides assistance under the pet and service animal disaster 12 emergency plan established under AS 26.23.040(h). 13 * Sec. 2. AS 26.23.040 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 14 (h) As part of the state emergency plan required under (a) of this section, the 15 Alaska division of homeland security and emergency management shall prepare and 16 maintain a pet and service animal disaster emergency plan. The plan must 17 (1) establish a process for the evacuation, transportation, and 18 temporary sheltering of pets and service animals during a disaster emergency; 19 (2) identify evacuation shelters designed to accept and temporarily 20 house pets and service animals during a disaster emergency; 21 (3) establish an identification system to ensure that an owner of a pet 22 or service animal who is separated from the pet or service animal during an evacuation 23 is provided with all information necessary to locate and reclaim the pet or service 24 animal; 25 (4) implement a public information program that provides owners of 26 pets and service animals with disaster emergency resources relating to pets and service 27 animals; the program must, at a minimum, 28 (A) provide guidance to owners of pets and service animals to 29 help owners create an evacuation plan for the pets and service animals; 30 (B) create an emergency checklist for owners of pets and 31 service animals; and
01 (C) identify local organizations whom the owner of a pet or 02 service animal may contact for further support in a disaster emergency, 03 including for temporary housing and food assistance; 04 (5) allow the transport of pets and service animals on public 05 transportation during a disaster emergency if the pet or service animal is in a cage or 06 carrier that safely and securely confines the pet or service animal; if a pet or service 07 animal is unable to be transported in accordance with this paragraph, the commission 08 may arrange for transportation for the pet or service animal; and 09 (6) establish procedures for a veterinarian or veterinary technician, 10 including a veterinarian or veterinary technician licensed and residing in another state, 11 to provide assistance with pets and service animals during a disaster emergency. 12 * Sec. 3. AS 26.23.071(b) is amended to read: 13 (b) The commission consists of the commissioners of commerce, community, 14 and economic development, environmental conservation, fish and game, health, labor 15 and workforce development, natural resources, public safety, and transportation and 16 public facilities, or the designees of the commissioners, the adjutant general of the 17 Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs or a designee, and eight [SEVEN] 18 members of the public appointed by the governor, two of whom must be members of a 19 local emergency planning committee for an emergency planning district that is 20 predominantly rural in character and two of whom must be members of a local 21 emergency planning committee for an emergency planning district that is 22 predominantly urban in character. Two of the other four [THREE] members of the 23 public who are appointed to the commission must be members of the governing body 24 of, or the mayor of, a political subdivision that has a local emergency planning 25 committee or a person who, in the opinion of the governor, is otherwise appropriate to 26 represent the political subdivision. One of the other two members of the public who 27 are appointed to the commission must be a member of a statewide association of 28 animal control officers, animal shelter staff, and animal welfare professionals 29 that operates in the state. The United States Department of Defense - Alaska 30 Command, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the United States 31 Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States Coast Guard may each
01 appoint a representative to serve on the commission in an ex-officio, nonvoting 02 capacity. To the extent practicable, the commission must include members with 03 expertise in the emergency response field. 04 * Sec. 4. AS 26.23.073(d) is amended to read: 05 (d) The commission shall appoint the members of a local emergency planning 06 committee for each emergency planning district established under (a) and (b) of this 07 section. In making appointments for a district that contains only one political 08 subdivision, the commission shall follow the recommendations of the political 09 subdivision if those recommendations would constitute a committee that meets the 10 requirements of this subsection. In making appointments for a district that contains 11 more than one political subdivision, the commission shall consider the 12 recommendations of each political subdivision and follow the recommendations to the 13 extent that the political subdivisions are in agreement and their recommendations 14 would constitute a committee that meets the requirements of this subsection. To the 15 extent required under regulations that may be adopted by the commission, the political 16 subdivisions in a district that includes more than one political subdivision shall follow 17 a process under which they develop coordinated recommendations to submit to the 18 commission under this subsection. In making appointments for a district that includes 19 some area that is not contained within a political subdivision, the commission shall 20 consider the recommendations of emergency response organizations in the district. In 21 making appointments for the district formed under (b) of this section, the commission 22 shall attempt to achieve equitable geographical representation on the committee. 23 Except as provided in (e) of this section, each committee must include, at a minimum, 24 representatives of each of the following eight [SEVEN] categories: 25 (1) elected local officials; 26 (2) law enforcement, civil defense, fire fighting, first aid, health, local 27 environmental, hospital, and transportation personnel; 28 (3) broadcast or print media; 29 (4) community groups; 30 (5) owners and operators of facilities subject to the requirements of 42 31 U.S.C. 11001 - 11005;
01 (6) representatives of a local or interjurisdictional disaster planning 02 and service area if one has been established that includes part of the district; 03 (7) animal care and control personnel; and 04 (8) [(7)] members of the public that are not described in (1) - (7) [(1) - 05 (6)] of this subsection. 06 * Sec. 5. AS 26.23.073(e) is amended to read: 07 (e) If advertisement and the commission's own initiative do not result in the 08 acceptance of appointment to a committee by at least one person from a category 09 under (d)(1) - (8) [(d)(1) - (7)] of this section, the requirement of (d) of this section 10 that there be representation of that category on that committee is suspended until 11 sufficient willing appointees become available.