Senate Bill S6461

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S6461

 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 excluio 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.