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AB 2012 (Lee) and AB 2133 (Kalra) were both held by the Appropriations Committee, meaning they have reached the end of the road and are dead.
A brief description of each bill:
AB 2012 would have required the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to collect and make public intake and outcome data from all of the state's animal shelters.
AB 2133 would have allowed registered veterinary technicians (RVTs) to perform cat neuters under the direct supervision of a veterinarian.
It is extremely disappointing that these two bills are not moving forward. Both would have greatly contributed to efforts to solve the state's shelter overcrowding crisis. By showing where needs are greatest, AB 2012 would have allowed the state to allocate shelter funds more strategically, saving animal lives and taxpayer dollars. AB 2133 would have expanded capacity for spay and neuter surgeries in the state, helping to address pet overpopulation in a meaningful way.
CDPH put a cost estimate of $250,000 to implement AB 2012. This doomed the bill in a year with a budget deficit. CDPH officials claimed there is no connection between the number of animals entering and exiting shelters and public health. We find its stance short-sighted, and illogical, since it was responsible for gathering this data from 1995 to 2016, suggesting that this type of reporting is indeed within the CDPH’s purview.
AB 2133 was strongly opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association, California Veterinary Medical Association, and the Veterinary Medical Board, all of which claimed that RVTs could not perform the procedure safely. We disagree. The bill made clear that RVTs had to receive special training to perform cat neuters, and could only work under the direct supervision of a California licensed vet. Moreover, the experienced RVTs we spoke to said cat neuters were less complex than the dental extractions they are currently allowed to perform.
The pet overpopulation problem is a math problem. We need more medical professionals to do more surgeries. If a third of the RVTs in the state opted to take the required training, this bill would have increased the number of professionals authorized to do cat neuters by roughly 2,600. The additional surgeries completed by RVTs could save an incalculable number of animal lives.
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