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Health Department Clarification of Act 159
The Arkansas Department of Health is offering further clarification of Act 159 for Arkansas citizens concerned about vaccination of their dogs and cats. Act 159, an act to modernize Arkansas’s rabies control and to empower the State Board of Health to establish reasonable vaccination requirements against rabies, was signed by Governor Beebe on February 16th. This act updates the Rabies Control Act removing extensive obsolete sections. The main change of interest to citizens is the interval for rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats. The old act required rabies vaccines to be given yearly. The new act requires “All dogs and cats shall be vaccinated against rabies annually or as required by the State Board of Health.” The Administrative Procedures Act for changing rules and regulations established by the State Board of Health will take some time. Until these rules and regulations are changed, the requirement will remain for dogs and cats to receive their rabies vaccinations annually.
President's Letter
December 2009
Our winter conference is just around the corner and Dr. LaVergne has put together a great meeting. I look forward to seeing everyone February 5-7 in Hot Springs. The Federal Trade Commission has delayed the enforcement of the 'Red Flags Rule' from November 1, 2009 to June 1, 2010. On October 20, the U. S. House of Representatives approved legislation that will exempt veterinary offices with fewer than 20 employees from the red flag identity theft guidelines. The Department of Finance and Administration will be publishing the sales and user tax guidelines for veterinary practices any day now. These guidelines will be open for public comment for 30 days after publication. The Arkansas VMA will send the guidelines to its membership for their comment once they are published. All public comments will then be reviewed by the DFA after the 30-day period for any revisions to the guidelines. Implementation of the new code would take effect by late February or early March. The new Rabies vaccination law goes into effect January 1, 2010. If any one has any questions concerning this new law contact Dr. Susan Weinstein at the Arkansas State Department of Health. Our lobbying firm of Phillips Management continues to provide excellent service for the Arkansas VMA's legislative interests. Congratulations to the ASU Beebe Veterinary Technician School for receiving provisional accreditation from the AVMA Accreditation Committee. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the association for allowing me to serve as President this year. It has been an honor. I also want to thank the entire board for their commitment and service to this organization. A special thank you to our executive director, Ms Maggie Milligan, for all her hard work and dedication to the management of our association. Most of all I want to thank all the members of our association. Without your support we could not exist.
Thank You,
David Blount
President
Executive Director's Message
December 2009
The Arkansas VMA's Winter Meeting is just around the corner. Be sure to mark your calendar for February 5-7, 2010 in Hot Springs. Dr. Rene' LaVergne has put together an excellent program. The Winter Meeting is a great time to fulfill your continuing education obligations and also gain insights from fellow colleagues from around the state.
We have had a busy year at the Association office this year. Dr. David Blount has taken care of a lot of issues legislatively. The new Rabies law will go into effect January 1, 2010. If you have questions concerning the new law, you can contact Dr. Susan Weinstein at the Arkansas State Department of Health or you can call the Association office. Dr. Blount has also been in constant contact with the Department of Finance and Administration regarding the sales and user tax guidelines for veterinarians. We hope to have these guidelines any time and will send these to the membership for comment. We are very excited to have these guidelines implemented so ALL veterinarians will know exactly what the requirements are.
If you have not signed up for the list serve, please take advantage of this tool. You can go to the web site, www.arkvetmed.org and click on the envelope to sign up. This is an excellent tool for communication. We would like EVERY member to sign up. If legislative issues come up, this will be the fastest way to communicate with you and ask for your help. You can also use the list serve to post questions to other veterinarians about cases and stay informed about upcoming meeting. If you have questions about the list serve, please contact me. SIGN UP TODAY.
I would like to thank Dr. David Blount for all his hard work this year and his dedication to the veterinary profession. He was thrown in full force with a very active legislative session from day one. He has served the Association well and has been an OUTSTANDING leader. It has been my pleasure to work with him this year.
I hope you all a VERY Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year!!
