Legislature(2025 - 2026)DAVIS 106
02/18/2025 03:15 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB73 | |
| HB70 | |
| HB27 | |
| HB14 | |
| Overview(s): Child Advocacy Centers | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 73 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 70 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 27 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 14 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 70-EMERGENCY MED SVCS; OPERATIONAL CANINES
3:39:14 PM
CHAIR MINA announced the next order of business would be HOUSE
BILL NO. 70, "An Act relating to emergency medical services for
operational canines; relating to the powers, duties, and
liability of emergency medical technicians and mobile intensive
care paramedics; relating to the practice of veterinary
medicine; and providing for an effective date."
3:39:43 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CALVIN SCHRAGE, Alaska State Legislature, as
prime sponsor, gave the sponsor statement [included in the
committee file], which read as follows [original punctuation
provided, with some formatting changes]:
House Bill 70 empowers Emergency Medical Services
(EMS) personnel to deliver on-scene point-of injury
(POI) emergency care and transport for operational
canines (OpK9s).
Operational canines are essential members of law
enforcement, other government operations, and search-
and-rescue teams. These courageous animals amplify the
success of countless military, law enforcement,
search-and-rescue, and humanitarian missions. Their
roles even extend to police or fire chaplaincy during
crises.
This bill is named "Rico's Law" in honor of Alaska
State Trooper K9 Rico, whose end of watch occurred on
March 26, 2017. Rico was fatally shot while heroically
attempting to apprehend a suspect after a lengthy
pursuit on the Parks Highway in Wasilla, Alaska.
K9 Rico, like all operational canines, demonstrated
unwavering dedication, protecting, and defending his
community. These animals are more than just assets or
propertythey are teammates, partners, and family
members who deserve emergency care and transportation
rights. Operational canines, especially those deployed
in tactical or high-threat situations, face
significant risks of injury or preventable death.
Currently, Alaska lacks statutory authority allowing
EMS personnel to apply life-saving care to these
animals. Under current law, providing such care could
be deemed "practicing veterinary medicine without a
license," a violation under AS 08.98.120, carrying
severe penalties. The super-rural nature of Alaska
adds another dimension of acuity for our operational
canines outside of Alaska's major urban
centers.
Alaska's EMS professionals already possess the
equipment, supplies, and medications needed to adapt
existing prehospital standards of care for human
patients to operational canines. Training programs
like the K9 Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (K9 TECC)
course provide additional training for clinicians to
confidently manage operational canine emergencies. The
passage of this bill would eliminate legal barriers,
allowing EMS personnel to administer life-saving care
and transport injured operational canines to emergency
veterinary facilities.
With minimal investment by our participating EMS
services, Alaska EMS can ensure that our operational
canines have a fighting chance at survival when
injured in the line of duty.
3:42:32 PM
JEREMY HOUSTON, Staff, Representative Calvin Schrage, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Schrage, prime
sponsor, gave the sectional analysis for HB 70 [included in the
committee file], which read as follows [original punctuation
provided, with some formatting changes]:
Section 1: Amends AS 08.98.125 exempts emergency
medical technician or mobile intensive care paramedic
from penalty for practicing veterinary medicine
without a license when providing emergency medical
services to an operational canine as provided under AS
18.08.093.
Section 2: Amends AS 18.08.075(a) to authorize
emergency medical technicians and mobile intensive
care paramedic to enter a building or premises where a
report of an injury or illness has taken place or
where there is reasonable cause to believe an
operational canine has been injured or is ill to
render emergency medical care and direct the removal
of a motor vehicle or other thing determined necessary
to prevent further harm to operational canines.
Section 3: Amends AS 18.08.086(a) to provide for civil
liability protection to providers, or a director of a
provider licensed under AS 18.08.082 who administers
emergency medical services to an operational canine
within the scope of the person's certification or
licensure and if the operational canine reasonably
seems to be in immediate danger of serious harm or
death.
Section 4: Amends AS 18.08.087 to remove language
limiting physicians, advanced practice registered
nurses, or physician assistants' permission to
disclose medical information of a patient to emergency
medical technicians and mobile intensive care
paramedics when the information is not for the purpose
of evaluating the performance of an emergency medical
technician, mobile intensive care paramedic or
physician.
Section 5: Adds two new subsections to AS 18.08.087.
The first allows licensed veterinarians to disclose
medical or hospital records of an operational canine
to an emergency medical technician or mobile intensive
care paramedic for the purpose of evaluating the
performance of an emergency medical technician or
mobile intensive care paramedic. The second adds
language restricting physicians, advanced practice
registered nurses, or physician assistants' permission
to disclose medical information of a patient to
emergency medical technicians and mobile intensive
care paramedics when the information is not for the
purpose of evaluating the performance of an emergency
medical technician, mobile intensive care paramedic or
physician.
Section 6: Adds one new section to AS 18.08 with two
subsections. Subsection (a) allows for an emergency
medical technician to provide emergency medical
services to an operational canine if 2 Tuesday,
February 4th, 2025 a veterinarian is unavailable to
provide emergency medical services in a reasonable
amount of time, the emergency medical technician or
mobile intensive care paramedic has received training
on providing emergency medical services to operational
canines, is trained to provide comparable medical
services to humans, is authorized to provide the
comparable medical service to a human under the scope
of their license or certification, and has informed
consent from the owner or someone authorized to make
medical decisions about the operational canine or is
providing medical service in accordance with a written
protocol developed by a veterinarian. Subsection (b)
requires the emergency medical technician or mobile
intensive care paramedic to transfer the operational
canine to a licensed veterinarian at the earliest
practicable opportunity and comply with all laws
governing the administration of drugs or biologics to
a human when administering a drug or biologic to an
operational canine.
Section 7: Amends AS 18.08.100(b) to clarify that if
individuals licensed under this chapter determine,
during a telehealth encounter, that the encounter will
extend past their scope of practice they shall advise
the person who is authorized to make medical decisions
for the operational canine that they are not
authorized to provide the services needed, provide
recommendation for an appropriate provider, and limit
the encounter to the services they are authorized to
provide.
Section 8: Amends AS 18.08.200 to define
"veterinarian" in this chapter the same as it is under
AS 08.98 and "operational canine" as a dog used by law
enforcement or other government operations; or in
search and rescue operations.
Section 9: Sets an effective date of January 1st,
2026.
3:47:41 PM
KERRY KIRKPATRICK, Southeast Alaska Dogs Organized for Ground
Search (SEADOGS), as invited testifier, introduced the committee
to Bizzy, an 11-year-old search dog [seated next to her at the
witness table] certified in multiple disciplines for search,
including avalanche, wilderness, cadaver, and water. She stated
that she has been doing this work for 30 years, often in remote
areas out of reach of communication where there is no access to
veterinarians. Sometimes, when working with Coast Guard or
National Guard, the search team has access to emergency medical
technicians (EMTs) or paramedics. She emphasized the importance
of having people working with the team that have the knowledge
to be able to, at the very least, stabilize an injured search
animal and get them to a veterinarian. She said she thinks that
whether a professional or a volunteer, anyone would do their
utmost to keep a dog alive, and she hopes that anyone who made
that effort would not then be held liable for attempting to
help.
3:50:06 PM
MR. HOUSTON, in response to Representative Gray, explained that
language from Section 4 was moved to Section 5 at the
recommendation of Legislative Legal Services.
3:52:10 PM
SEAN MCPECK, DVM, Tier 1 Veterinary Medical Center, in response
to a question from Representative Gray regarding when Section 7
"would come into play," surmised there could be a scenario in
which a doctor is speaking to someone telephonically and "going
off of the interpretation" of the person who is present [with
the injured animal]. Without diagnostics, x-ray, and hands-on
examination, the doctor on the phone is guessing at the best
course of treatment with limited information.
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY said he interpreted Section 7 as pertaining
to a situation in which a person who is not a veterinarian is
trying to provide medical advice to someone who is rendering
care to a canine. Under this scenario, the person would have to
disclose that they were not a veterinarian.
3:54:45 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SCHRAGE offered to get back to Representative
Gray and the committee with a specific example of when Section 7
would apply. In response to Representative Gray, he said he is
not aware of any case in which care was not rendered "as a
result of this concern." That said, he noted that there is
concern within the medical community about continuing to provide
care moving forward.
3:56:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SCHRAGE, in response to Representative Prax,
talked about the choice to call this "Rico's Law" and recognized
Brian Webb, a former legislative staff and emergency medical
services provider with experience with this issue, who brought
the issue to Representative Schrage.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX expressed concern that the proposed bill
would open up "a can of worms."
REPRESENTATIVE SCHRAGE suggested the flip side is to question
whether not addressing the issue would result in failed care of
a canine in the future. The concern for this issue has already
been expressed, thus the can of worms has already been opened.
In response to whether he would consider expanding liability by
further clarifying the bill, Representative Schrage said he
worries about broadening the scope of the bill beyond "those who
are reasonably assumed to have the necessary medical skills to
provide care to an operation canine." He suggested his is a
policy question for the committee.
4:01:54 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE observed there seems to be a need for
definitions, including: what is a reasonable amount of time;
who trains; and what does that training look like.
REPRESENTATIVE SCHRAGE proposed to hold a dialogue between this
this bill hearing and the next to address those concerns.
4:03:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE noted that she has training in animal
welfare and immobilization training, and she talked about
varying schedules and reporting requirements. She noted her
question mirrored that of Representative Ruffridge and is
related to training.
4:04:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SCHRAGE referred again to Brian Webb as a source
for answering questions.
MR. HOUSTON noted that there is national training course
standard, called Canine TECC.
4:06:03 PM
CHAIR MINA announced that HB 70 was held over.