Brief Description: The Board of Veterinary Examiners proposes to adopt changes to the regulations regarding examinations, temporary permits and licenses, veterinary-client-patient relationships, and definitions.

The Board of Veterinary Examiners (Board) proposes to adopt regulation changes in Title 12, Chapter 68 of the Alaska Administrative Code including the following:

1. 12 AAC 68.015. Examinations, is being proposed to clarify the way the state written examination is
    provided to applicants, and subsequently returned to the board.

2. 12 AAC 68.045. Temporary license, is being proposed to clarify requirements for verification of a
    veterinary degree for obtaining a temporary license.

3. 12 AAC 68.046. Temporary permits, is being proposed to clarify requirements for verification of a
    veterinary degree for obtaining a temporary permit.

4. 12 AAC 68.075. Veterinary-client-patient relationship, is a proposed new section establishing the
    requirements for a veterinary-client-patient relationship.

5. 12 AAC 68.990. Definitions, is being proposed to add a definition for "telemedicine services".

You may comment on the proposed regulation changes, including the potential costs to private persons of complying with the proposed changes, by submitting written comments to Sher Zinn, Regulations Specialist, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, P.O. Box 110806, Juneau, AK  99811-0806. Additionally, the Board will accept comments by facsimile at (907) 465-2974 and by electronic mail at RegulationsAndPublicComment@alaska.gov. Comments may also be submitted through the Alaska Online Public Notice System by accessing this notice on the system at http://notice.alaska.gov/198260, and using the comment link. The comments must be received not later than 4:30 p.m. on June 22, 2020. Comments received after this deadline will not be considered by the Board.

Oral comments relevant to the proposed regulations may also be submitted at an oral hearing to be held June 2, 2020, by video and teleconference. You may register in advance for the video conference at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEvdO2upjwsHNApLlk6AscF-9leHBW-Cger, or by telephone at 800-315-6338 during the hearing. The hearing will be held from 9:15 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and might be extended to accommodate those present before 9:15 a.m. who did not have an opportunity to comment. Callers should be on the line before the hearing begins at 9:15 a.m. if they would like to provide oral testimony.  Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, no in-person testimony or written comments will be taken at the hearing.

You may submit written questions relevant to the proposed action to Sher Zinn, Regulations Specialist, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, P.O. Box 110806, Juneau, AK  99811-0806 or by e-mail at RegulationsAndPublicComment@alaska.gov. The questions must be received at least 10 days before the end of the public comment period. The Board will aggregate its response to substantially similar questions and make the questions and responses available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System and on the Board’s website at https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/cbpl/ProfessionalLicensing/BoardofVeterinaryExaminers.aspx. The Board may, but is not required to, answer written questions received after the 10-day cut-off date and before the end of the comment period.

If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation in order to participate in this process, please contact Sher Zinn at (907) 465-1049 or RegulationsAndPublicComment@alaska.gov, no later than June 15, 2020, to ensure that any necessary accommodation can be provided.

A copy of the proposed regulation changes is available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System and by contacting Sher Zinn at (907) 465-1049 or RegulationsAndPublicComment@alaska.gov, or go to https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/portals/5/pub/VET-0520.pdf.

After the public comment period ends, the Board will either adopt the proposed regulation changes or other provisions dealing with the same subject, without further notice, or decide to take no action. The language of the final regulations may be different from that of the proposed regulations. You should comment during the time allowed if your interests could be affected. Written comments and questions received are public records and are subject to public inspection.

Statutory Authority: AS 08.98.050; AS 08.98.080; AS 08.98.165; AS 08.98.180; AS 08.98.186.

Statutes Being Implemented, Interpreted, or Made Specific: AS 08.98.050; AS 08.98.080; AS 08.98.165; AS 08.98.180; AS 08.98.186.

Fiscal Information:  The proposed regulation changes are not expected to require an increased appropriation.

For each occupation regulated under the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, the Division keeps a list of individuals or organizations who are interested in the regulations of that occupation.  The Division automatically sends a Notice of Proposed Regulations to the parties on the appropriate list each time there is a proposed change in an occupation's regulations in Title 12 of the Alaska Administrative Code.  If you would like your address added to or removed from such a list, send your request to the Division at the address above, giving your name, either your e-mail address or mailing address (as you prefer for receiving notices), and the occupational area in which you are interested.