S651 - Amend Veterinary Practice Act/DACS Budget. (SL 2022-67)

Overview: S.L. 2022-67 does all the following:

• Defines "staff' and eliminates the phrase "veterinary employee" from the veterinary statutes.
• Defines "veterinary consulting" and clarifies that it does not constitute the practice of veterinary medicine.
• Increases the dollar cap on fee increases for veterinary practice facility inspection, veterinary facility inspection, and sets a dollar fee cap on veterinary facility permit issuance.
• Expands the eligibility for "veterinary student interns" to include currently enrolled students who have satisfactorily completed the second year of an accredited veterinary college.
• Eliminates the position of "veterinary student preceptees" from the veterinary statutes.
• Makes technical and conforming changes to the North Carolina Veterinary Practice Act.
• Allows the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) to use funds allocated to it to repair the restaurant facility at the Piedmont Triad Farmers Market.
• Makes a technical change to a DACS budget provision.

This act becomes effective October 1, 2022, except that the DACS-related provisions became effective July 1, 2022.