Assembly Bill A9562

                                BILL NUMBER:A9562

TITLE  OF BILL:  An act to amend the education law, in relation to the
practice of veterinary medicine

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 6701 of the education  law  is
amended  to  include  the treatment of dental conditions as within the
definition of the practice of medicine.

JUSTIFICATION: When the New York veterinary  practice  act  was  first
enacted  there  was  general agreement that the practice of veterinary
medicine included all of the veterinary specialties and for many years
the practice operated under that assumption.

Recently the State Racing and  Wagering  Board  attempted  to  exclude
unlicensed  "veterinary  dentists"  from  racetracks in the state. The
State Education Department's Office for the Professions joined in  the
effort  to  prohibit  this  unlicensed practice. The decision in State
Supreme Court in the Matter of Chris  Brown  v.  the  NYS  Racing  and
Wagering  Board was unfavorable and the state appealed the matter. The
Appellate Division upheld the lower Court on the grounds that the  New
York  Practice  Act,  unlike  many  others,  did  not include specific
reference to dentistry in its definition of veterinary medicine.

The Court noted that the New York  statute  marks  a  "departure  from
parallel statutes of sister states in our region. We are guided by the
              

maxim  expressio  unius  est  excluto alterius that the failure of the
Legislature to include a matter within  a  particular  statute  is  an
indication that its exclusion was intended." While the State Education
Department  urged  the  Court  to  accept  its view that dentistry was
within the scope of practice of veterinary medicine, the  Court  noted
that  this was a legislative matter for consideration and modification
if it was to occur.

It is important to note  that  most  of  the  states  in  this  region
including  Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode
Island and Maryland. Along with other  states  with  horse  industries
including  Oklahoma,  California, Texas, Montana, Minnesota, Kentucky,
Washington and Ohio include dentistry within the scope of practice.

The New York Practice Act has not been significantly altered  in  many
years  during which many of these statutes were enacted or amended. It
is therefore appropriate that New York join with similar states in the
treatment of animal dentistry. This is  especially  appropriate  given
the  efforts  of  the  Racing and Wagering Board to seek continuity in
racing standards through regional and national compacts.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill,

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately.