03/31/2025 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE

         HB 70-EMERGENCY MED SVCS; OPERATIONAL CANINES                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:20:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR HALL  announced that the  first 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."                                                               
[Before the committee was CSHB 70(HSS).]                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:20:52 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JEREMY  HOUSTON,  Staff,  Representative Calvin  Schrage,  Alaska                                                               
State  Legislature, on  behalf  of  Representative Shrage,  prime                                                               
sponsor, presented  HB 70 via  PowerPoint [hard copy  included in                                                               
the committee file].  He began  on slide 2, which read as follows                                                               
[original punctuation provided]:                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Alaska   currently   lacks  statutory   authority   for                                                                    
     emergency  medical personnel  to  care for  operational                                                                    
     canines.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
     EMS   personnel  already   have  the   medications  and                                                                    
     equipment needed to provide this care.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Operational  canines   have  been  essential   to  many                                                                    
     successful   government    and   search    and   rescue                                                                    
     operations.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Passing this bill would allow  EMS personnel to provide                                                                    
     critical care to their canine colleagues.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR. HOUSTON  gave an overview  of Sections  1 and 2  of CSHB
(HSS),  as  shown  on  slide  3,  which  read  as  follows                                                                    
[original punctuation provided]:                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Section  1 authorizes  EMTs and  paramedics to  provide                                                                    
     medical  care  and  transport  to  operational  canines                                                                    
     without from (sic) risk of prosecution.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     Section 2 permits EMTs and  paramedics to enter private                                                                    
     property when caring for an operational canine.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MR. HOUSTON noted  that Section 1 would  be authorized under                                                                    
Section  7   of  CSHB  70(HSS)   and  Alaska   Statute  (AS)                                                                    
18.08.093.   He  noted that  Section 2  applies only  in the                                                                    
event  of a  serious  illness or  injury  of an  operational                                                                    
canine.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. HOUSTON  gave an  overview of  Section 3  and 4  of CSHB
(HSS), shown on  slide 4, which read  as follows [original                                                                    
punctuation provided]:                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Section  3  directs  the Department  of  Heath  to  set                                                                    
     requirements  prior to  authorizing a  licensed EMT  or                                                                    
     paramedic to  provide emergency medical services  to an                                                                    
     operational canine.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     Section  4   extends  civil  liability   protection  to                                                                    
     providers,  or directors  of  providers,  who care  for                                                                    
     operational canines.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR.  HOUSTON explained  that protocols  would be  written by                                                                    
the  medical  director  [of the  Department  of  Health]  in                                                                    
consultation  with  a  licensed veterinarian.    He  further                                                                    
noted that Section 4 applies  only if the operational canine                                                                    
is  in immediate  danger, seriously  harmed,  or at-risk  of                                                                    
death.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MR. HOUSTON  gave an overview  of Sections  5 and 6  of CSHB
(HSS), shown on  slide 5, which read  as follows [original                                                                    
punctuation provided]:                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Section 5  removes language  preventing the  release of                                                                    
     medical   records  to   EMTs   and  paramedics   unless                                                                    
     necessary for evaluating their performance.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Section  6 reinserts  the removed  language and  adds a                                                                    
     subsection  to  protect  operational  canines'  medical                                                                    
     records.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. HOUSTON  moved to slide 6,  an overview of Section  7 of                                                                    
CSHB 70(HSS),  which read  as follows  [original punctuation                                                                    
provided]:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Subsection    (a)    sets   specific    training    and                                                                    
     authorization requirements  for EMTs and  paramedics to                                                                    
     provide care to an operational canine.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Subsection (b)  sets requirements for  transporting and                                                                    
     administering drugs to operational canines.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MR. HOUSTON moved to slide 7,  an overview of Sections 8, 9,                                                                    
and 10  of the proposed  legislation, which read  as follows                                                                    
[original punctuation provided]:                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Section   [8]   sets    requirements   for   telehealth                                                                    
     encounters with operational canines.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     Section    [9]   defines    operational   canine    and                                                                    
     veterinarian under AS 18.08                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Section  [10]  sets an  effective  date  of January  1,                                                                    
     2026.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR. HOUSTON moved to slide 8, closing remarks, which read                                                                       
as follows [original punctuation provided]:                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
      Currently, emergency medical services personnel are                                                                       
     not allowed to apply life-saving point of injury care                                                                      
     to operational canines.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
         Alaska's EMS professionals already possess the                                                                         
          equipment and medications needed to care for                                                                          
     operational canines.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     The passage of this bill would allow EMS personnel to                                                                      
       provide life-saving care and transport for injured                                                                       
     operational canines.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:26:23 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
BRIAN WEBB,  representing self,  stated that he  had 46  years of                                                               
experience as a  paramedic.  Additionally, he stated  that he had                                                               
provided  care for  operational canines  during his  long career.                                                               
He  stated   that  operational   canines  face   gunshot  wounds,                                                               
stabbings, and  dangerous environmental conditions.   He referred                                                               
to Rico,  a canine who was  shot in Wasilla, Alaska,  in 2017 and                                                               
consequently  bled  to death.    Mr.  Webb noted  that  emergency                                                               
medical service (EMS)  personnel were available on  the scene but                                                               
were legally barred from providing  medical care.  He stated that                                                               
CSHB 70(HSS) would prevent situations  like Rico's from happening                                                               
again by  allowing EMS to provide  life-saving stabilization care                                                               
to  operational  canines.   He  addressed  the concern  that  the                                                               
proposed  legislation  would  blur   the  line  between  EMS  and                                                               
veterinary medicine,  stating that  CSHB 70(HSS)  strictly limits                                                               
EMS   care  to   pre-hospital   trauma  stabilization,   mandates                                                               
immediate   transport  to   veterinary   facilities  and   direct                                                               
oversight by  EMS medical  directors and  licensed veterinarians.                                                               
He  stressed that  the proposed  legislation  was not  mandatory,                                                               
noting that only  EMS that support law enforcement  or search and                                                               
rescue operations would  opt in.  He asserted  that EMS personnel                                                               
are  already  experienced  with extreme  variation  in  patients,                                                               
noting  that  there are  large  differences  between neonate  and                                                               
geriatric  care.    He  stated that  the  implementation  of  the                                                               
proposed  legislation was  multi-phased.   He stressed  that CSHB
(HSS)  was particularly  important  in Alaska,  given the  long                                                               
transport times in rural areas of  the state.  He noted that CSHB
(HSS) aligned with  successful laws in 13 other  states and had                                                               
support from the National Association  of Veterinary EMS (NAVEMS)                                                               
and  several other  veterinarians statewide  and nationally.   He                                                               
stated that EMS operational canine care was supported by peer-                                                                  
reviewed  veterinary medical  journals.   He further  stated that                                                               
both the  Board of  Veterinary Examiners  and the  [Alaska] State                                                               
Medical Board  were consulted  prior to  the introduction  of the                                                               
bill.   He concluded  by asserting that  CSHB 70(HSS)  would save                                                               
lives with proper oversight, training,  and defined protocols and                                                               
urged the committee to pass the proposed legislation.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:32:07 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JANICE  BAKER,  DVM,  Director &  Lead  Veterinarian,  Veterinary                                                               
Tactical Group, began her invited  testimony by reporting that in                                                               
late 2007,  the United  States (U.S.) lost  five dogs  related to                                                               
combat-related  injuries in  Iraq  and Afghanistan.   She  stated                                                               
that she had 22 years of  experience in the military, noting that                                                               
for approximately  half of that  time, she provided  medical care                                                               
for  canines.    She  provided an  anecdote  about  performing  a                                                               
successful procedure on an operational  canine while in the field                                                               
that saved the  canine's life, which would  have otherwise passed                                                               
on the two-hour  flight to the nearest combat  veterinarian.  She                                                               
identified  five  basic  differences in  anatomy  and  physiology                                                               
between  humans   and  canines  that  medics   needed  to  learn,                                                               
including landmarks  for intravenous  (IV) placement,  and airway                                                               
conditioning  for  advanced  airway  placement.    She  said  the                                                               
"understanding that that point-of-injury treatment, or pre-                                                                     
hospital treatment, is essential to  the dog's survival" is well-                                                               
accepted  by  the   working  dog  community.     She  also  cited                                                               
guidelines  for treatment  of  dogs by  medics  published by  the                                                               
Journal  of  Veterinary  Emergency Critical  Care,  the  Military                                                           
Medicine  Journal,  and  the  Journal  of  Specialized  Emergency                                                           
Medicine which, she argued, demonstrated  their endorsement.  She                                                             
additionally cited a study of  gunshot wounds in military working                                                               
dogs, which showed  that dogs treated by  medics before receiving                                                               
veterinary care  not only ultimately survive  their injuries, but                                                               
in  that particular  study,  100 percent  of  the surviving  dogs                                                               
eventually  returned to  full duty.   She  concluded by  offering                                                               
strong support  for CSHB 70(HSS),  as long  as it was  within the                                                               
scope of care legally provided to humans.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:36:27 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked the reason for not including non-                                                                  
operational  canines,  like  personal   pets  injured  in  a  car                                                               
accident,  for  example.    She   offered  appreciation  for  the                                                               
proposed legislation.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:37:10 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. HOUSTON  responded that he  would get back to  the committee.                                                               
He noted that since CSHB 70(HSS)  had been drafted, it has been a                                                               
conversation.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:37:50 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK  commented that  the lack of  inclusion of                                                               
personal pets seemed like a "huge gap."                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:38:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR HALL announced that CSHB 70(HSS) was held over.