House Agriculture, Forestry & Economic Development Committee
Video
Transcript
Bills discussed (9)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
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HB1712
· 5 mentions in chapter, transcript
Matched: “HB1712”
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Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HB1055
· 3 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…ill that I filed back in January. Actually, we ran January. House Bill 1055. We've worked through this bill and made this an equine-onl…”
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Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HB1280
· 3 mentions in chapter, transcript
Matched: “HB1280”
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Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HB1424
· 3 mentions in transcript, chapter
Matched: “to the full floor. We now go to House Bill 1424, Representative”
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Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HB1702
· 3 mentions in chapter, transcript
Matched: “HB1702”
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Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HB1763
· 2 mentions in chapter, transcript
Matched: “HB1763”
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Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HR1021
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HR1021”
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Pre-2017 bill | ||
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SB265
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “Thank you. I believe Senate Bill 265, Senator Simon said that she wanted to pass over that. She…”
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Pre-2017 bill | ||
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SB47
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…that she wanted to pass over that. She was here. Likewise, Senate Bill 47, Senator Baker, is passing over.”
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Pre-2017 bill |
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Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
0:00
I want to welcome everyone to the committee meeting today, and I would ask the committee members to please take note that we will meet this Friday at 9 o'clock. We have several items on the agenda, and we may be getting more that's not on our agenda as of yet. So, yeah, the staff person says we are. So we're going to try to work through six or eight, maybe ten of these bills this morning if testimony allows.
And we'll see how we go from there. First thing on the item of business that we
have today, I'd like to call on a Speaker of the House, Mr. Robert Moore. Robert, you're on. Thank you, Mr.
Representative Robert S. Moore, Jr.
Unverified
0:58
Chair and members of the committee. This is a little out of the ordinary business that I think all of the members of the committee
and everyone in this room certainly will have great appreciation for a moment off of our schedule and just give special recognition to a very special person to agriculture in the state of Arkansas, one of the finest, most knowledgeable men that I know in all areas, but especially in what's near and dear to this committee, and that's agriculture and the contributions that it makes to our communities and our economy and the lives of all Arkansans.
So with the committee's indulgence, I'd like to ask Dr. Milo Schult to come up for a moment. And we have a presentation we'd like to make. And then we'll give him the microphone for about 30 seconds. MR. Milo, it gives me great privilege, personal privilege here, to present you the following citation. And, Mr. Chair, if I may, I'd like to read the citation in its entirety.
MR. Absolutely. MR. Citation of Dr. Milo Schultz, whereas Dr. Milo Schultz has served as Vice President of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture for the past 18 years, improved the living condition of many Arkansans, and whereas Dr. Schultz, who moved the agriculture program forward through its leadership, through his leadership and vision, oversaw the development of more than $72 million in new construction and facility upgrades, including new construction or improvements to every research station and research and extension center across Arkansas,
and whereas Dr. Schulte, who is to be commended for his many great achievements, will go on to make many positive contributions in his community and the state of Arkansas, and whereas The House of Representatives of the 88th General Assembly of the state of Arkansas takes great pride in recognizing Dr. Milo Schultz for all his accomplishments and wishes him well. Now, therefore, to this motion by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to direct this citation be presented on this, what day is today?
Because we've got the wrong one on here. How about the ninth day of March? I believe the snow got us, Mr. Speaker. We did have a snow day back then. And, Dr. Schulte, we are so proud of you and your contribution, and we thank you for your many years. And just because you're taking a new title doesn't mean you're leaving us. We're still going to call on you. Thank you so
Speaker 12
3:37
much. I appreciate that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And be assured, I got the chairman's message very clearly, so I will not take a lot of your time.
But let me just say this, that it has always, throughout the entire time that I've been here, really been a pleasure to work with the members of the General Assembly. You have, you and those that have gone on before you, have always been very kind to the Division of Agriculture and appreciate your support very much. And you can count on me, as I've been telling a lot of folks, to continue to serve now in the role as irate taxpayers. So thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. We know your
Speaker 13
4:10
voice will be well heard. Thank you, Dr. Schultz.
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
4:14
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, sir. Gentlemen, now we go to our regular calendar. The first order of business is House Bill 1280. Representative Letting, I believe you have an amendment, a Senate amendment.
Speaker 23
4:44
Good morning. Recognize yourself, please, and you may begin.
Representative Greg Leding
Unverified
4:49
Representative Greg Ludding. I'm going to let the gentleman here with me introduce himself before I continue.
Speaker 25
4:54
I'm Ryan Benefield. I'm the deputy director of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. I want
Representative Greg Leding
Unverified
5:00
to first let my colleagues know on the committee that this will be the easiest vote you get to cast today, so you can thank me later. House Bill 1280, just to recap briefly, it was a bill I brought to you several weeks ago. Several weeks ago, it amends various provisions of the Arkansas Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation
Act of 1979. We got it out of here unanimously in about two minutes. It got down to the Senate, and they liked it so much they just wanted to get their fingerprints on it a little bit so they could claim some of the glory. So we have a few changes. See the first changes on line one through four of the amendment. They're correcting references to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality as being the rulemaking body for regulations under this section. We've changed these references to the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission, and so the bill is now consistent with authorities granted to the department.
Change five of the amendment. This change makes the last sentence of the paragraph consistent with the first sentence. There was a little discrepancy there. Sixth change. This change was made to correct an error in drafting the bill. The language as changed is consistent with the federal requirements and is needed to ensure that the program remains authorized by the federal government. That was the original goal of this bill, was to make sure that Arkansas remained eligible for a federal grant that ADEQ applies for each year to pay for 100% of the cost of reclaiming abandoned mining lands. Since 1980, we've received about $27.5 million to pay for the cost of reclaiming 3,700 acres, and there's still about 6,200 acres of potentially unsafe abandoned mining lands out there.
So we want to make sure that we remain eligible for this grant. Change 7, this change is to correct a missed reference to the appropriate section. The section refers to lien provisions in the bill and incorrectly reference section B1 when the lien language is actually located in section C1 And with that we'll take questions Any command committee member
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
6:46
have questions on this amendment? If not what's the pleasure of
the committee? We have a motion do pass all in favor of the amendment the a a lot
against like son Representative Letting, you have passed your amendment. Thank you very much. It will now go
to the full floor. We now go to House Bill 1424, Representative
Westerman. For the record, please recognize yourself, Representative, and you
Representative Bruce Westerman
Unverified
7:25
may begin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Representative Bruce Westerman.
Members of the committee, if you've ever been to a pumpkin patch, a corn maze, a pick-your-own fruit orchard, then you've participated in agri-tourism. When I introduced this bill, several of you asked me, along with others, what exactly is agri-tourism, and that in itself is part of the reason for drafting this bill that is to help create an identity for agri-tourism, which the bill does define what agri-tourism is,
and it's to establish liability protection for agri-tourism operators. If I could share with you from the executive summary for a report called Agritourism Development in Arkansas Economics and Associated Constraints, this was prepared for the Public Policy Center and the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. It says all across the United States, small and medium-scale farms are dwindling in numbers, and their incomes are stagnating. To revitalize rural agrarian economies, agritourism activities are being used as a catalyst
to generate supplemental income and trigger economic growth. The Agricultural Census in 2002, which was updated in 2007, showed that agritourism activities in Arkansas grew by 17 percent over that time. And it's a developing sector of our economy. It's something that can help farm activities out. It's for supplemental income. And going back to this study, it says that based on the survey results,
the issue of most common concern to agri-tourism providers related to operation of their enterprise was affordable health insurance, promotion and marketing, finding and hiring quality employees, and liability insurance. And the purpose of this bill today is to address the concern of liability insurance. Before I get to the bill, I do have an amendment that I would like to put before you today. Speaker Moore and I have been working on this bill, and we had a last-minute amendment that I believe is being passed out now.
Yes, staff will hand out the amendment. Okay. Mr. Chair, if it's okay, I'll continue making my presentation. That'd be fine. I would just like to read to you from the purpose of the bill. It says to promote rural tourism and rural economic development by encouraging owners or operators or farms, ranches, and other rural land or attractions, including historic, cultural, and natural attractions, to invite members of the public to view, observe, and participate in the operations and attractions for educational, entertainment, or recreational purposes. um that's what we're trying to do with this bill and to establish some liability protection for
those owners who are who are operating uh these services and i'll be happy to answer any questions
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
10:25
let's take action on the amendment does anybody
have any questions on the amendment if not what's
the pleasure of the committee on the amendment we have a motion to do pass all in favor say aye Aye. Opposed? Like sign.
Now, does anyone have questions on the bill of House Bill 1424? Representative Collins, you may begin.
Motion at the proper time, Mr. Chair. Any other questions? If not, anyone in the audience want to speak against this bill? Representative Williams? Do you want to
speak against the speaker? Huh? See how brave you are. Anyone want to speak for the bill? Reverend Westerman, do you want to close for your bill? I'll close, Mr. Chair. Do I hear a motion?
We have a motion of do pass as amended. All in favor say aye. Opposed like sign. Congratulations, Representative, you passed your bill.
Thank you. I believe Senate Bill 265, Senator Simon said that she wanted to pass over that. She was here. Likewise, Senate Bill 47, Senator Baker, is passing over.
So we go to House Bill 1702, Representative Williams. You did not leave. Have a seat. Recognize yourself, and you may begin,
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
12:13
Representative. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members. I'm Darren Williams, and if necessary, I've got the big guns with me. I've got Morris Jenkins and Dixon Flake if you have questions. The House Bill 1702 is simply an amendment to the Research Park Authority that we passed in 2007.
A research park really is a research facility which is sponsored by an institution of higher education and exists to create a linkage between the university, the community, and business and industry. Today there are probably more than 170 research parks operating across the United States. The first one was probably at Stanford, followed closely by the Research Triangle in North Carolina. The benefits of a research park really provides for economic development and
particularly job creation. It allows for the combining of the assets of the community, the knowledge base of higher institutions, and the workforce in the local community to create high-paying jobs. Also helps to establish homegrown jobs as well as to foster an environment of entrepreneurship. The amendment that's you today simply does a few things. It allows for a research institute or center to be a
co-sponsor of a research park authority. A research park has to have an institution of higher education as one of its sponsors. It can also have a city, a county, or a state agency. This would allow it to also have a research institute or a research center, which which is simply just a non-profit organization involved in research. This bill also makes it clear who makes a determination for a state agency would be the governor would make a determination of joining the research park, for a city would
be the council, for a county would be the quorum court, and for the research park institute that we're asking that you add, it would be their board of directors. So with that, Mr. Chairman, I would be happy to entertain any questions. Questions by the committee?
Speaker 39
14:16
Representative Love. Motion at a proper time. Any other
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
14:23
questions by committee? Go to the audience. Anybody want to speak against this bill? For the bill?
Speaker 57
14:34
If not, Representative, I'm assuming you're closed. I am closed, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, and thank you, committee. A motion, Representative Love. Recommend
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
14:42
due pass. We have a due pass. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, like. Congratulations, Representative Williams. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you,
committee. Tough bill. Did a good job. We now move to House Bill 1712, Representative Gary Smith.
Speaker 64
15:16
No. No. Hey, what's her name? Stop her. Don't pin his out until she gets ready to testify. Okay.
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
15:47
Representative, you may begin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, committee members. This House Bill 1712 is a modification of an original bill that I filed back in January. Actually, we ran January. House Bill 1055. We've worked through this bill and made this an equine-only bill, dealing with exempting equine husbandry, massage, farriery, floating of teeth, and equine training from the Veterinary Practice Act. and to establish a certified equine dental practitioner and for other purposes.
If I could scan through this just a moment. We've modified, massaged, and even floated a little bit on this one, so I want to let you all know that this is an attempt to get to some common ground for the benefit of the large animal owners, most especially the equine owners in our great state. So in talking of teeth floating, we talk about removing enamel points, and this is all above the gum line and no sedation. You see that on the first page. We talk also about the part here that on page 2,
beginning with line 21 through line 26, I believe, the Veterinary Board, by rule on 26th of January, agreed to release these things from their veterinary practice act, and that's engaging in the art or profession of equine farriery and hoof care, training equine except that the training should not include diagnosing or prescribing or dispensing of a therapeutic agent, collecting, preparing, or freezing semen from equine,
and D, performing non-surgical artificial insemination on equine. That was given by rule on the 26th of January by the veterinary board, and I appreciate that, and that shows an act of good faith that they are willing to work with us on this as well. The part about the performing massage, as you recall, in House Bill 1055, we talked about acupuncture and also chiropractic work, and I've modified that down to massage, and that massage, of course, you folks, members, is that if your granddaughter or daughter's running in a barrel event,
the old horse gets a little stiff and that's just to help him do better in the next day's event, and that's all that's about. There's no medicines prescribed in that at all. We went on a little bit farther here, and on page 3, we talk about a certified equine dental practitioner. Now, that would be someone that has the requirements of this part, provides teeth floating to horses and other equidia. There's no extraction. Let me reiterate, no extraction and no introduction of medication at all, but just above the gum line only.
And many of the members on this committee, we've discussed with you and tried to work where we all can have some common ground to operate or allow a technician to really have job creation in our state. And these folks are the people that know what they're doing. I have a very simple example here. If you want the front-end alignment on your pickup truck, you don't go down to the local McDonald's hamburger place to get your front-end aligned. You go to a front-end alignment shop. And the practitioners that know what they're doing, that is floating these teeth, have been doing it for a long time.
They've got good experience. And you, the horse owner, or me, the horse owner, we're going to pick the person that's most qualified by word of mouth, transmission of information, and that we know these people are good at what they do. And I think this gives freedom to the horse owner. It's a less government from that viewpoint, and that's another thing I like about this. So on page four, we went on to talk about the certified equine dental practitioner. Now, to become certified on line 16 has been, well, let me back up to line 13,
has been certified by a private equine dental certification organization recognized by the commission, including the International Association of Equine Dentistry. And then part two says he's completed 80 hours of training in teeth floating and related safety at a college vocational school, technical school, community college, or specialty school recognized by the commission. And we went on to include A through G, actually, several schools of technology that teach equine dental work at ASUBB, for instance, Weatherford, Texas,
King Hill, Idaho, Glens Ferry, Idaho, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, Percival, Virginia, and El Dorado Hills, California. And I went on to add in there, line 30, has performed teeth floating on more than 200 horses or other equidia any time before July 1 of 2012. That means that this person knows what they're doing. If they've got that kind of background, they can be certified. If they would agree to become certified, then on page 5 we talk about here that they would be answerable to the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission
and if there's any complaints, then those would be aired through that commission. this person could have that certification by paying a $100 fee and then could practice and have that on his identification card or his business card that he is certified as a certified equine dental practitioner. And if there's penalties, we've got penalties invoked in that on page 5, line 9 and 10, that the commission could impose a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 per violation
and take away their title as Certified Equine Dental Practitioner. Again, this is something that I listened to your comments from different entities, and I agreed to put that in this bill so that you, the horse owner, or John Public, the horse owner, knows that if someone says he's a Certified Equine Dental Practitioner, that he has the credentials to carry with him to prove that. Again, I guess I'm ready to take questions at this point, And I appreciate the pleasure of the committee listening to my comments, and I'm glad to entertain questions at this time, Mr. Chairman.
Representative Stephen Meeks
Unverified
21:55
Questions by the committee? Representative Meeks. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Representative, what has been the response from the veterinarian groups? They were the ones that were primarily opposed to 1055. What is their thinking on this
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
22:17
bill? Well, I imagine that they're not exactly in line with it because it takes something away that presently is in the Veterinary Practice Act. But, again, why do we need that as they're only being the only entity able to do this
if we've got technicians that are trained in this skilled level? That's what you see people have told me. They take their horses to Oklahoma, they go to Texas, they go to Missouri, and some of the people that are doing that practice in those states actually reside in Arkansas. I want them to be able to practice their trade in this state, and I still believe we've got guarantees in there of safety for the horse owner and the person that's a practitioner has to meet the guidelines of the intent of this bill. So, you know, again, I'm not speaking for the vets, but I've got a feeling they're probably not exactly in line with me,
and there's some here probably testify to that extent. All right. Thank you.
Representative Robert E. Dale
Unverified
23:12
Thank you. Representative Rappel, do you have a question? Representative, how many licensed
Speaker 74
23:15
horse chiropractors are in the state of Arkansas? I
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
23:20
don't know. I'm not talking about chiropractors. It's
Speaker 74
23:23
in here in this bill. It says it's certified
Speaker 77
23:26
by American Veteran Cooperative Association of More Animals. Where are you reading that, please?
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
23:36
House Bill 1712? Yes, sir. What page are you on? Page 3, Section 10. Okay, it says any chiropractor licensed in this state and certified the American Vet Chiropractic Association from performing chiropractic upon animals so long as the chiropractic is performed under the immediate supervision of an Arkansas licensed veterinarian. I'm not changing that. Right, I know. I just wondered how many we had that were certified. I really don't know. I appreciate the question, but I don't know. I've tried to stay away from that part. Okay.
Speaker 39
24:06
Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions by committee? Representative McQuarrie. Motion
Speaker 82
24:18
at the proper time, Mr. Chairman. Other
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
24:23
questions? If not, we'll go to the audience. And I want to caution the audience once again, like I did last time and
several others. We will not tolerate repeat performances. I don't want to hear about your horse, and then your neighbor talks about his horse, okay?
If you've got something that we need to hear, hey, we'll be glad to hear it. We'll be here all day. No problem with that. And so we'll start on our list with the
against. Sheila Weaver. I'm sorry, David Blount. Yes. If you'll go to the end of the table,
and please recognize yourself, you may begin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Speaker 86
25:09
Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair and members of the Ag Committee. I'm David Blunt. I'm a veterinarian from Fort Smith, Arkansas, and I'm the legislative chairman for the Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association. On behalf of the association, I'm here to bless our opposition to HB 1712. The association opposes this bill on several counts. Number one, it is redundant of HB 1055 that was defeated in this committee on January 19th. All that basically was done with this bill was to identify the various animal husbandry
procedures as equine specific. The Arkansas
Speaker 87
25:43
Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners actually enacted policy on five of the animal husbandry procedures in 1055 to exempt them from the Veterinary Practice Act. the only act of animal husbandry to be exempted by the examining board that was equine-specific was farriery. Number two, this bill still incorrectly defines equine teeth floating as a distinct procedure from the practice of veterinary dentistry, of equine dentistry.
As Dr. Paul Turchie testified before this committee on January 19th, teeth floating is not a simple procedure in that it can, in fact, result in harm to the horse if not done with proper training. Protecting the welfare of the horse is the primary concern in not allowing unregulated third-party contractors to perform this procedure. The bill also allows anyone to perform the practice of equine massage. Equine massage is not merely the application of liniments to the horse, but in fact requires knowledge of equine anatomy and physiology to properly treat a horse through massage.
Even in human massage therapy, training and certification is required to perform proper and safe massage therapy. The major inconsistency we see in this bill outlines the program for an individual to become a certified equine dental practitioner. We're not exactly sure what the purpose of outlining such a program in this bill is since the bill also states in 2B.A. to allow the owner of an animal to have unregulated third-party contractors perform what it calls routine accepted livestock management practice of
tooth floating. There is no stipulation for any certification or regulation. So the question is, why would an individual seek to obtain certification to become a certified equine dental practitioner when there is no requirement to have such certification? It just makes no sense. I want to emphasize that the main concern here is the protection of the welfare of the horse. The Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association is already studying these issues at this time. There is an interim study proposal to examine the Arkansas Veterinary Medical Practice Act
concerning large animal medicine. In fact, the study is currently addressing the equine issues, specifically concerning teeth floating and massage therapy. It will address the various issues in large animal welfare, not just of horses, but of all farm animals and the needs of the large animal owner. that support this interim study are Farm Bureau, University of Arkansas Ag Department, Cattlemen's Association. The study will examine the large animal veterinary shortage, the need for large
animal technician services, large animal health care exemptions, and the impact that exemptions in lay health care providers have on animal health care. We are also monitoring the National American Veterinary Medical Model Practice Act. This Model Practice Act is currently undergoing study for any revisions or modifications. Arkansas will be watching this Model Practice Act very closely for guidance as well. Our goal is to
Speaker 91
28:45
have these practices studied over the next two years for
Speaker 87
28:48
any changes to the Practice Act to be made in the next legislative
session. These issues do take time and thorough study by expert and qualified people before instituting change. They need to be science-based decisions with respect to emotion-based concern. Maintaining the highest quality of animal health care in Arkansas is the vital concern in this study. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Will you take questions?
Speaker 95
29:15
Yes, sir. Reverend Lenderman. Thank you, Dr. Blunt.
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
29:23
Are you aware that there is another bill that we will look at today, House Bill 1763? Yes, sir. That addresses many of these issues as well? Yes, sir. Have you looked at both of these bills? Absolutely. Which one do you think most closely protects the animals and does what we feel like needs to be done to protect the animal and still allow paraprofessionals to perform these jobs? Well, 1763,
Speaker 87
29:52
the bill coming up, definitely, I think, is the most sound bill to look at here.
One of the, of course, it does take the policy that was enacted by the examining board Back on January 19th, I'm sorry, 26th, I'm sorry, 19th was 1055. You're right. Probably as important as anything in this bill is the two-year moratorium that will give teeth floaters and equine massage therapists leeway from any action by the Arkansas Veterinary Medical Examining Board while this interim study is being conducted.
We feel that with, I mean, the basis of that is that an individual performing tooth floating or equine massage can obtain two references from clients they've used to have on file with the examining board before practicing these, conducting their practice. This would give time for the interim study to thoroughly look at proper certification of tooth floating and equine massage. I mean, it's a big subject.
There's states around us that have been looking at this for years and years. But we're trying to take examples from different states around us to try to come up with the best solution for this. But that's where we're trying to kind of bridge the gap. But it does kind of at least help the tooth
Speaker 86
31:24
floaters and massage therapists for the next couple of years with two references to be
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
31:29
able to practice their trade. Okay, this question might should have went to Representative Smith, but on page 4, line 30, line 29 actually is where it starts.
It gives a list of places and activities that a person can participate in to be certified, but it says, or has performed teeth floating on more than 200 horses or other equine prior to July 1, 2012. Well, who would certify or where is any way that that could actually be documented? Who's going to enforce that part of the legislation right there? These people
Speaker 103
32:06
that are tooth floaters have references that they've dealt with,
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
32:11
and they can bring their records. They operate a business that's taxable, so they keep records. And those records would show whose horses they'd worked on. 200 sets of teeth, in my opinion, would give you a lot of OJ teeth, don't you think? No question about that. And the oversight would be the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission. And, again, that's headed toward the same direction that this other bill, 1763, is, but it gives the opportunity to have a certified tooth floater. And if you can allow the farrier to work, then the tooth floater and the farrier is trained, too.
Why don't you require him to be certified? But if they gave that up by rule, then could we not also make this one for the two-year interim that we're talking about? Because I agree there needs to be an interim study. And I'd like to propose House Bill 1055 be put to an interim study before the session is over because it talks about all the things, the cattle people
too. And I'm very concerned with what the cattle folks believe they can do by law if they really are violating the law. But I'm trying to make it legal for people that want to help your horse be better able to perform and do that because they know what they're doing.
How many veterinarians practice the tooth floating in the state of Arkansas? Are you asking me? I
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
33:23
don't have a question how many of them do that. I don't even know how many vets we've got in Arkansas.
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
33:28
But anyway, your point's well made. I think we all are driving to the same point. We want the individual owners to have some levity and not feel like they're breaking the law. But I guarantee you the concern in my heart is that the horse is better qualified and better tended to by whomever. Like I said a while ago, you don't go to McDonald's and get your front-end line on your Ford truck. You go to a front-end alignment shop, it's got a good record.
And that's what these practitioners will have because they've proven that by their information. It's like a grandfathering is what it is for those that are already there. And then the new person that's just graduated from our high school can attend any of these institutions and
become a certified tooth floater. I'm trying to open it up for a new job creation. It's a job-creating bill. Thank you. Do we
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
34:10
have any other questions for Dr. Blunt? If not, thank you, sir,
for your testimony. Next on the list, four, Sheila Weaver.
Ms. Weaver, if you'll have a seat at the end of the table and recognize yourself, you may begin. Excuse
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
34:28
me just a moment, Mr. Chairman. I would pray that you would allow me to leave about one or two minutes at the end to close for my bill. We'll have time to
Speaker 110
34:35
close for your bill, sir. Thank you, sir. Thank you. I
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
34:46
would like to thank the committee members. I'm sorry, please recognize yourself because you
Sheila Weaver
Unverified
34:49
are being recorded. My name is Sheila Weaver, and I would like to thank the committee members today for hearing my testimony.
Speaker 115
34:56
I'm a resident of Van Buren County, and I'm a horse owner. And I can assure you that there was no one more concerned about the quality of care my horses receive more than me. I would like to take this opportunity to explain my situation. It involves something that I'm very passionate about, something in which I'm well trained and qualified, and that is equine massage.
I worked as a veterinary assistant for Dr. Ben Mays, who is a past member of the Arkansas Veterinary Board. I assisted Dr. Mays for 20 years. I'm also a licensed massage therapist for People, and I hold a current Arkansas massage license. I'm also a certified equine massage therapist. I'm certified under Jim Masterson, who is the therapist for the United States Equestrian Team.
This is an accredited equine program through the National Certification Board of therapeutic massage and body work. In order to receive certification in this equine program, you must be a human massage therapist. I trained in Louisville, Kentucky. I came home, did about six months of case studies on numerous performance horses. And then I went to Austin, Texas, studied some more. That's where I was tested and I received my certification.
In my human massage practice, I'm allowed to massage a newborn baby. I can massage the most elderly or frail person, or I can massage the most fit athlete. I'm referred clients from medical doctors, from physical therapists, from chiropractors. They do not see me as incompetent nor a threat. The state medical board does not
Speaker 124
37:04
require me to be a physician to massage a human client.
Speaker 115
37:11
Yet, I'm told by the Arkansas Veterinary Board that I cannot massage a horse. By massaging a horse, I'm providing relief to that horse.
Speaker 126
37:21
And by providing relief, that is the practice of veterinary medicine.
Sheila Weaver
Unverified
37:28
I have here a chain of emails between myself and
Speaker 115
37:33
Sherry Glover of the Arkansas Veterinary Board concerning the Board's views on equine massage. These emails were before I received my equine certification, and I would like to read these.
My letter to Ms. Glover states, I'm a massage therapist licensed in the state of Arkansas. I've also worked as a veterinary assistant since 1991. I would like to do equine massage. are the laws concerning this? I was advised by my state board of massage therapists that my Arkansas massage license allows me to massage horses. And Ms. Glover's reply is, the definition of the practice of veterinary medicine under section 17-101-102-9 in our practice act reads,
the diagnosis, treatment, correction, change, relief, or prevention of animal disease, deformity, defect, injury, or other physical or mental condition. Equine massage is considered the practice of veterinary medicine in Arkansas. Well, I talked to Dr. Nixon, who is one of my equine veterinarians in Mountain View, and he offered to
Sheila Weaver
Unverified
38:47
allow me to come and work with him as an assistant
Speaker 115
38:52
and massage horses under his supervision. So again, I write the board and my question to the board is, as a veterinary assistant, can I work with certain horses under veterinary supervision? For example, if I'm working with Dr. Nixon and he has a client bringing a horse who has been injured and he prescribes certain stretches or the manipulation of a particular muscle group to this horse? Am I allowed to do this work if I am his assistant and would be working
under his supervision? I also talked to Dr. Mays about this, who was my boss at the time and was a past member of the veterinary board, and he said that he had no problem with it as long as I was not diagnosing or prescribing. The veterinary board, their reply to my question was, I forwarded your email to the members of the board,
and they have advised that massage therapy is the practice of veterinary medicine and cannot be performed by a lay employee even under the supervision of a veterinarian. I'm sorry. I know this is not the answer you wanted, but the board has to abide by the Practice Act and regulations. I have another email also if you're interested in that, and I just asked for a list of veterinarians in Arkansas
who provide equine massage, and there was not any on the list. So it's obvious through these
Speaker 126
40:37
emails. that the arkansas veterinary board does not want to compromise for some reason concerning equine massage
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40:48
in the meeting here on january 19th when we discussed house bill 1055 dr dr tate
of the arkansas veterinary board said in his testimony and i quote i wouldn't entertain a a complaint about a farrier because farriers are not practicing veterinary medicine." He goes on and says, quote, veterinary medicine is diagnosing and treating animals with disease. From that statement, I'm told farriers are exempt, and I don't mean to sound like I'm
going to bash the farriers because I believe they are a vital, vital point in the team it takes to maintain the healthcare of a horse, but I'm trained, I'm qualified, and I'm certified in my job as an equine massage therapist, but I can't work in the state of Arkansas, under veterinary supervision. Yet anyone
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41:55
can call themselves a farrier. They can do corrective
Speaker 115
42:02
shoeing and it becomes the owner's responsibility to determine if that farrier is competent. Who's at risk here? Who is more capable of causing injury to this horse? The farrier or massage therapist. What happened
Speaker 115
42:27
not allowed to practice equine massage because, number one, I provide relief. And by providing relief to this horse,
I'm practicing veterinary medicine. I cannot practice because, number one, I correct or I change this horse by massaging a restriction from his muscles. How is that different? How is the relief I provide during a massage different than the relief the farrier provides when he digs an abscess out of the hoof
Speaker 126
42:57
of a foundered horse? How is the relief I provide different than the relief the farrier provides
when he applies a pad or a corrective shoe
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43:09
to a hoof of a foundered horse? How is the correction or change I make in a horse different from the correction or change a farrier makes when he adjusts the angle of a hoof? The Veterinary Practice Act says what it says. It reads the same for me as it does for everyone in this room.
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43:36
How can you selectively police it? You
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43:39
cannot say, well, I didn't go to veterinary school to come and shoe horses. I don't want your job, that doesn't count for you, you're exempt. Where's the logic behind this decision? Relief means the same whether I'm an equine massage therapist or whether I'm a farrier. Correction, change, it should mean the same for everybody.
As I said, I worked as a veterinary assistant for a passport member for 20 years, and if I learned one thing in those 20 years, I learned what the practice of veterinary medicine is. And it is exactly what Dr. Tate said it was. It is the diagnosing and treating of animals with disease. And through equine massage, I do not practice veterinary medicine. I do not diagnose, I do not treat a disease,
I do not prescribe. I do exactly the same thing for my equine clients as I do for my human clients, and that is I help maintain. I help maintain. If I am practicing veterinary medicine through equine massage, why am I not guilty of practicing human medicine through human massage? Why am I not standing before the state medical board today pleading my case just as I am here today?
I want to be able to work in the state of Arkansas. I should have
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
45:22
that right. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Weaver. Do we have questions? Will you accept questions? Sure. Anyone
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
45:29
have questions? Reverend Lenderman. Yes, ma'am. Thank you for your testimony. I'm going to ask you the same thing I
asked Dr. Blunt. Are you aware that there is another bill, 1763, with an amendment that would allow for a two-year interim study
and would allow you to practice equine massage therapy? I knew there was a bill. I wasn't familiar with
Speaker 115
45:49
the two-year interim study, but I knew there was a bill. From what I read on the bill, massage therapy wasn't.
Speaker 126
45:55
There is a pending amendment that has been added to
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
46:00
that bill that has been filed to add that massage therapy. Would
you be in favor of the two-year interim study? Sure, I'll be in favor of it. I just want to practice.
Yes, ma'am. Okay, thank you very much. You're welcome. Does
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
46:23
committee have other questions for Ms. Weaver? If not, Ms. Weaver? I'm sorry, Reverend
Linderman? You have a motion? No, not right now, please. Okay. Yes, sir. Ms. Weaver? Yes, sir. Thank you very much. You're
Speaker 39
46:43
welcome, sir. Thank you. Representative Linderman, we already have a motion by Representative Macquarie at the proper time.
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
46:51
No, sir. That's a proper motion if you'd like
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
46:55
to make that motion now. Mr. Chairman, I'd like to limit the debate to 10 minutes per side on this pending question. that's a proper motion all in favor
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
47:02
say aye opposed like sign we will limit debate to ten minutes aside
and I want to remind the people that's testifying as they're called up in order that the sponsor of the
bill has requested time to close his time to close must be included in that ten minutes that
understood. If everyone that wants to speak for the bill takes 10 minutes, the sponsor will not have time to close. Understand that, Representative? All right, sir. Please start the clock when they start their testimony. Next to speak against the bill, George Badley.
Speaker 152
47:54
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm Dr. George Baddeley. I'm the Arkansas State Veterinarian. I work for you all. I am only here. I work for Livestock and Poultry. We are an animal disease control agency. I am the – there are two veterinarians in the Livestock and Poultry Commission that
do field work. One is Dr. Doss, and he is a poultry veterinarian. And then there's myself, and I do everything else. livestock and poultry, did not come to the first time that this bill went through because we weren't mentioned in the bill, but now the last two pages of the bill are all about
a certifying equine dentist. I am going to read a short thing, and I've written it down because I may get choked up and I might not be able to, so I've written it down because I may have trouble getting to it. In January of this year, my boss, the late, great John
Fitch, yelled at me from the office. Doc, he screams at the top of his lungs. That meant, if I was anywhere in the building, to get into his office right then. And that's what I did. And Mr. Fitch said, what about this equine dentistry bill? I said, Senator Fitch, I said, I am against that bill as a licensed veterinarian
but I said for livestock and poultry we don't have a dog in the fight so I said we're not concerned so Mr. Fitch came over here when this bill went through the first time in a serenital thing but he did not speak against it because we weren't included in it right before Mr. Fitch went to the hospital he called Doc again Yelled at East Satan. And he said, we're in the bill now. He said, I don't want to certify anybody because I don't know anything about it.
And I said, well, I don't want to certify them either. Livestock and poultry is a disease control agency. I have floated teeth back when I was a practicing veterinarian, But we're a disease control agency for the state of Arkansas. We're here to protect livestock and poultry from disease. We're not. There's already another agency that licenses animal procedures, and it's not us.
We would like to be excluded from this bill as it goes forward. We don't want to certify veterinarians, and that's really all I have to say. Will you accept questions, sir? Yes, sir.
Speaker 147
51:28
Anyone on the committee have questions? If not, sir, you're excused.
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
51:35
Thank you for your testimony. Thank you.
So, speaking for the bill, Lloyd Smith or Stith, I hope I got that name correctly.
If not, I certainly apologize. I caution you again that you
have 10 minutes complete with everybody now. You may begin. Introduce yourself
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52:10
and you may begin, sir. I am Lloyd Steth and I'm representing myself. Our family has been in the horse industry for over 20 years. Breeding, selling, and training. We have benefited from having access to quality equine dentists, massage therapists, chiropractors, and veterinarians.
Just as in the human health care world, one practitioner cannot be expected to be an expert on every aspect of the body. There are specialists available for humans, and we need to have legal access to these equine specialists for our horses. We will not stop using our veterinarians. They are obviously needed and very important.
But so are these qualified specialists. The horse community is a tight-knit group, and we are always looking for quality care for our horses, and word of mouth spreads very quickly. Sometimes there may be issues the vet can't help with, and non-traditional specialist care is needed. Why can't we legally use these people found in the state?
Let us make the decisions for who and what we want to use. We've been doing it for years with no problem, and in fact, we're with a great deal of success. People who travel are concerned for the well-being, or I'm sorry, people who truly are concerned for the well-being of one's livestock and horses know the reality.
As a cattleman also, I would like to see these same standards be issued to the working of our cattle. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Steele. Seeing
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
54:23
no questions, you are excused. Seeing no one else on our list
to speak against the bill, we'll go back to the for the list. On
our for list, Ms. Betty Jones.
Please recognize yourself and you may
Speaker 159
54:52
begin, Ms. Jones. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm Betty Jones. I am president of the
Betty Jones
Unverified
54:57
Arkansas Horse Council. Just to give a little bit of quick history, we've been in existence here since 1986. We've been instrumental in getting quite a few bills passed to help the horse industry in Arkansas. The horse industry in Arkansas has over $5 billion in total assets. It's very important to the state that we keep it healthy.
In our state, we also have over 200,000 horses at the last estimate of the University of Arkansas Extension Service and the Horse Council. We've always had a shortage of vets in this state, particularly equine vets. That's our main concern and the reason we support this bill so much is that we want all the horse people in our state to continue to decide who works on their horses and for
what, whatever they're needed. We like to have experts working on our horses. We don't let just anybody touch our horses. We're very picky people. And believe you me, if somebody makes a mistake, everybody in the community. This is statewide, knows it. We have a very good statewide network, thanks to the Department of Livestock and Poultry and the laws that we got passed on the EIA, which is the Equine Infectious Anemia.
The Arkansas Horse Council developed a certification program that is statewide. is now topped by the Arkansas Department of Livestock and Poultry, and we have over 2,500 horse owners certified to check cog and vid events to help curtail this disease in our state, and it's been very effective. So we have a very large network, and these people are your constituents. They are concerned. They do want to see the Veterinary Practice Act amended, and our board believes that any
non-invasive procedure to any horse should not be considered the practice of veterinary medicine in the state. And for that reason, we would ask for a very good vote from all of you to let us continue what we have been doing for years, very successfully, and I thank you for your time. Thank you, Ms. Jones.
Speaker 71
57:32
Any questions from the committee? Mr. Chairman, may I address the chair? We've got another hour
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
57:38
to go and we've got a lot of people that travel a long way. I know we've limited debate, but is there any leniency on the part of the committee to allow these people that have traveled? Many of them came in January and didn't get to speak. I think this is
Speaker 71
57:50
part of good policy. Did you agree? I'm sorry, Representative. We have a motion by the committee, and the committee voted to limit the debate to ten minutes a side. I understand that. I'm just trying to voice
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
58:00
for the people at large, and I think they deserve that opportunity.
But I go along with your decision. I just want to make public notice. Thank you. I appreciate your comment. We'll go next
Speaker 59
58:08
on the list, speaking for the bill. Ms. Ruth
Ruth Hale
Unverified
58:27
Hale. down to less than five minutes my name is Ruth Hale and I reside in Faulkner County Thank You chairman Brown and committee members I've asked that a
Speaker 168
58:33
handout be passed out to each and every one of you it's basically just a statement of my belief on being able to have this bill passed I've had a a foxtrotter that was in good health, and after I took him to a licensed vet to abide by the rules that the Arkansas veterinary has put forth, the vet at the time used outdated equipment. He assured me that he had 32 years experience of large equine animals to care
for. After a few minutes into the processing of having his teeth floated, the equipment that he used crushed the palatine artery in the horse's mouth and he was bleeding out. The vet assured me that he had a bad tooth or he had a cyst or something that was in the back of his mouth that he hit accidentally that caused this bleeding for him to bleed out and after six weeks he was put down. I feel as though that I should have the opportunity
as a horse owner to be able to go and find the people that have the love and the care for the horses that I have that I have and I want that opportunity to be able to go and pick the person that I want to care for my horses. I have grandchildren that love their horses dearly. I love them as well. They're part of our family. And to be able to be limited, to only use in a vet for shoeing and equine dentistry and massage therapy for
our horses is like telling you that you need to go to a heart doctor to get your teeth cleaned. That's pretty much all I have to say. Thank you for your
Speaker 169
1:00:26
time, Chairman Brown and committee. Thank you. We have a little
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:00:39
less than four minutes. If it's okay with you, Thank you. Rependie Smith, we'll call upon Ms. Sylvia Ritchie. Thank you.
Ms. Ritchie? Ms. Ritchie, if you'd have a seat and please recognize yourself, you may begin.
Sylvia Ritchie
Unverified
1:00:59
My name is Sylvia Ritchie. I'm a horse owner and I live in Pulaski County. I'm hearing a testimony that everyone, Mr. Smith, Ms. Weaver, have eloquently put for me basically everything I wanted to say. I work in the medical profession and I would never ask a plastic surgeon to deal with my appendix or give me a massage. They don't do it every day. I would rather have somebody who does that job every day, all day, to take care of my horse, who float teeth and do massage.
I would not expect a vet to do that correctly or as good as them, and I think I should be given the opportunity to spend my money on the person who
Speaker 175
1:01:40
can do that job better. Thank you. That's all. Thank you,
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:01:50
Ms. Ritchie. Next on the list, we have Mr. John Brochie. John,
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1:01:56
do you pass? I'll pass. Pass. Mr. Paul Calvert.
Speaker 180
1:02:04
How much time do we got? Three minutes. Very quickly. I'm Paul Calvert from Faulkner County. I'm here to promote liberty. I believe this
Speaker 153
1:02:19
bill helps restore liberty. As I understand the law at present, the state is enforcing a monopoly that protects veterinarians from competition and some common practices that many people are qualified to perform, but they're not allowed to compete with a veterinarian because of state law. If the main concern of veterinarians is the safety of the horse,
why do we allow owners to perform these same procedures? Thank you very much. Thank you, sir. Next, Mr. Jim House. I'll remind
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:02:46
you that we have just over two minutes. I have to pass and give other people to ask me to speak.
Speaker 181
1:02:50
If there's time, I will speak. Thank you, sir. Seeing no one else
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:02:54
on our list, Reverend Smith, you have time to close for your bill. I'll allow him to use a minute, please. All right, sir.
Paul Calvert
Unverified
1:03:07
Thank you, Jim House. I'm a farrier from Fayetteville. I want to echo the things that many people have said here today. I am a horseshoer, and I do think horseshoers should be exempt from the practice of veterinary medicine. But the board, in going to a special call meeting by phone to set aside horseshoeing as something exempt from the Veterinary Practice Act was, I think, improper by the Administrative Procedures Act in this state. No public notice. Let's just do it. I agree with Ms. Sheila Weaver. What is it about horseshoeing that makes it not relief?
Why have we suddenly chosen to, we just want to keep horseshoeing out of this. Horseshoers should be under the same rules and regs as they are in the Veterinary Practice Act. The National Model Ordinance suggests exempting veterinary practice, horseshoeing practice, but the state of Arkansas at this time by
Speaker 183
1:03:55
the board policy has not done that. That's probably my minute. Thank you. Thank you,
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
1:04:03
Mr. House. Virginia Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, committee members, and thank you people from the public that have come today to express your desire.
I appreciate the fact that in America we can voice our opinion, and we do what we believe is right because that's freedom and that's liberty. This is a less government bill that gives me, the owner of my horses, the right to choose. And I will promise you I'll spend my dollar the wisest I can to get the most practice for what I can do. If it's a veterinary need, I'll call my vet. He's standing by. If it's a technician, I'm going to call that technician because I don't want my old horse to be hurt. And when I look at the picture that Ms. Hale presented you folks on page 2 and what happened from someone that claimed to have expertise in this line of work,
I really don't need to say anything else, but I would appreciate a very good vote on this, people. This is a less government bill. It's the right thing to do. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm closed. Thank you,
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:05:00
sir. Reverend McQuarrie, I believe you have a motion. Do pass. We have a motion. Do pass. All in favor
of the bill, say aye. Aye. Opposed, like son. No. We've asked for a roll call. Do I see two hands?
Speaker 189
1:05:37
Irvin, please call the roll. Representative Ratliff. Representative Shepard Representative Shepard
Representative Link Representative Linderman Representative Collins Representative Love Representative Love Representative Gene Representative Letting Representative Letting Representative Meeks
Representative Edwards Representative Edwards Representative McCrary Representative Dale Representative Perry Yes. Representative Lindsey. Yes. Representative Smith. Yes. Representative Stewart. Yes.
Representative Patterson. Representative Patterson. Representative Moore. Yes. Representative Burris. No. Representative Brown. By a vote
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:07:15
of eight yeses, seven noes. Representative Smith, your bill fails. Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
1:07:24
and thank you, Committee, for listening, and I appreciate your time.
Thank you for the people that testified both
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:07:33
pro and against this bill. Thank you, sir, and thank
you, everyone in the audience, for testifying. next on the agenda we have a house bill 1611 you want to pass over 1611 we'll pass over 1611 next on the agenda is
Speaker 200
1:07:54
house bill 1763 representative collins if we can get that far yeah we may not we may just get out of here it's very it's a technical
Representative Charlie Collins
Unverified
1:08:03
Thank you, Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen of the committee, and all the folks that are
here today. House Bill 1763 also deals with the topic that we've been talking about all today in this meeting, as well as what we talked about back on January 19th. So I don't want to plow a lot of new ground since I know so many people have spoken so eloquently on this topic.
And people like Representative Smith and former Representative House and others have done so much good work to expand the practice of husbandry procedures here in Arkansas. And what House Bill 1763 simply does is codify the common ground. I think as many of you recall, when House Bill 1055 was under discussion, we asked both sides upon what can we all agree.
And those items are delineated in page 2 of House Bill 1763 as exceptions to the Veterinary Practices Act. And they include things like horseshoeing, training, collecting and preparing semen, et cetera, the items that everybody can agree on. And the way I would look at this bill is it is Rome wasn't built in a day.
It's making progress together. It's something we can all feel good about. And I think all of the folks that may not have been in favor of some of those other bills are in favor of this one, including some of the people that spoke
earlier today. So with that, I'm happy to take questions. All right, sir. on the list to take questions,
Speaker 57
1:10:06
Rep. Stewart. Oh, before we take questions, there is an
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:10:11
amendment to this bill. We will hand the amendment out first and take action on the amendment,
Representative Charlie Collins
Unverified
1:10:18
Rep. Collins. MR. Yes, sir. Mr. Chairman, I believe that's Rep. Lenderman's amendment,
so I'm not sure of the proper procedure. Is that something he should talk about, or? It is.
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:11:03
You may begin, sir. Thank you, Mr.
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
1:11:06
Chair. I think that everybody in this room probably is wanting to go to the same place, and that is do what is good for the state of Arkansas, for the equine owners, and for the equine. I believe that this bill and this amendment does this. As my friend Mr. Collins reiterated, the things that came out of our earlier meeting were put in that bill. we felt like that we needed to add as amendment,
as a friendly amendment that we have worked together on, the amendment adds equine teeth floating and massage. The Veterinary Medical Examining Board is prohibited from enforcing board policy regarding equine teeth floating and equine massage therapy by either investigating or prosecuting an individual practitioner engaged in equine teeth floating or an individual practitioner practicing equine massage therapy until January the 1st of 2013. In order to engage in the practice of equine teeth floating or equine massage therapy in the state,
an individual practitioner must be able to produce a signed letter of recommendation from two previous clients who have previously employed the individual practitioner and who bear witness to the individual practitioner's ability to perform the equine teeth floating or equine massage therapy procedure. This bill was developed and this amendment was developed in conjunction with the Veterinary Licensing Board realizing that there was a problem that we did need paraprofessionals that were trained, that could be certified
that could perform these procedures as needed in the industry We believe that this bill and the amendment will meet the needs of the industry At the same time, protect the animals and also will give small business owners the right to engage in their profession. Thank you. All right, Mr. Committee, do we have any
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:13:04
questions on the amendment? Representative Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
1:13:09
Can you tell me, Representative, what teeth floating means in this amendment?
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
1:13:14
Teeth floating, again, means the same thing that we've talked about, the removal of enamel points. Does it specify above the gum line? Not in the amendment. No, sir, it does not. Do you not think it needs to
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
1:13:26
have that in there? Is that not a good question? It is a good question. Why don't you put it in there? If we're concerned of the health and safety of the horses, and you saw that picture a while ago, don't you think that needs to be added in this amendment? It is possible.
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
1:13:45
If we feel like later that that's an amendment that needs to be added to the bill, if this bill passes and comes out of committee, it's something that we might want to. Isn't this the right time to make that amendment, sir? I
don't think so. We've almost, an old cliche is, we've about beat a dead horse to death. And we're getting close to the end of the session. I think that this bill and the appending amendment is a step in the right direction to certify people
and to have an interim study that we can come back and develop procedures and rules and regulations to regulate this industry properly. If we pass it with
Speaker 103
1:14:27
this current language, will you agree to amend it to define tooth floating above the gum line? I won't commit to that at this time. Thank you,
Speaker 71
1:14:42
Mr. Chair. Do we have any other questions on the amendment?
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:14:48
What's the pleasure of the committee on the amendment? We have a motion
due pass. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, like, sign. The amendment carries. Now, Representative Collins, will you accept questions on the bill? Yes, Mr. Chairman. First on
Representative Randy Stewart
Unverified
1:15:10
the list is Representative Stewart. Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. On page two, talking about the profession of horseshoeing, it says any person lawfully engaging in the art or profession of horseshoeing.
Do we have any laws covering horseshoeing?
Representative Charlie Collins
Unverified
1:15:23
Representative, we have laws covering things like formations of a corporation. So if you were to form an LLC, we also have if somebody were to get into some kind of trouble where they were specifically prohibited. So there are not necessarily laws governing a certification of horseshoers, but there are laws governing business practices and other things, and that's what that's designed to address. So you're saying a horseshoer has to have an LLC?
Representative Randy Stewart
Unverified
1:15:51
No, Representative, I'm not. I'm just saying that he's not. So the horseshoer, Danic Kirby, that comes out and does a horse is, is he lawfully engaging in horseshoeing?
Representative Charlie Collins
Unverified
1:16:06
My understanding is he would be. Would there be any unlawfully engaging in horseshoeing? What I'd recommend is I think we've got some vets in the room who know the Practices Act much better than I do, and I'd invite them to come up if they want a Dr. Tate or another if I misspeak in terms of my understanding of
Representative Randy Stewart
Unverified
1:16:21
the Practices Act. I'm just trying to make sure that if there's an illegal way to do it or an unlawful way
Representative Charlie Collins
Unverified
1:16:26
to horseshoe now. Yeah, I don't think that's the intent of this word. I think the intent is if, for example, somebody created a problem and had some kind of judgment against them, it could be for financial malfeasance in the practice of a business. It could be for medical or veterinary or animal practice or something along those lines. It's not anticipating that a run-of-the-mill horseshoe would have a problem like that. But what this would do is not presume that through the Veterinary Practices Act it would
cover all lawful situations from law enforcement or financial, et cetera. Representative Stewart, let me interrupt
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:17:04
you. If you would like clarification on that, I will call Dr. Tate or someone from the Veterinarian Board up. If
Representative Randy Stewart
Unverified
1:17:10
you would, because that's kind of what I'm looking at, is I want to know if my local horseshoes in my area are doing it
Speaker 186
1:17:17
illegally, or does the word lawfully just need to be taken out? Does anyone from the Veterinarian Board want
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:17:23
to speak to that subject? I think that's very proper at this time to get clarification.
Speaker 71
1:17:29
Please introduce yourself for the record, and you may begin, sir. Lyndon Tate, member of the examining board of the
Speaker 230
1:17:43
state of Arkansas. The... Ask your question again.
Representative Randy Stewart
Unverified
1:17:47
Let me clearly understand this. What it says is that any person lawfully engaging in the art or profession of horseshoeing, and I
didn't know if you could unlawfully engage in that right now, since we have no laws covering it.
Speaker 233
1:18:01
I can't comment to that. The examining board, we've always been silent on horseshoeing. And at this point, the lawfully or unlawfully, I'm not in position to say one way or the other. I think
Representative Randy Stewart
Unverified
1:18:18
it's kind of important that we clarify to the horseshoers out there whether they're legal or illegal under this new bill. I'm kind of in favor of the bill, but I think that's a nebulous area that you did there.
Representative Charlie Collins
Unverified
1:18:32
Okay. Here, could I propose the amendment that we strike the word lawfully from the bill and approve that amendment in committee as we sit here? Can't do it
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:18:43
orally. No, sir. The amendment stands as written. You can re-amend at a later date, but we have to have
written a written amendment. We cannot do it orally. Representative, I'm sorry, go ahead. Can I respond to that also? Yes, sir.
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
1:19:02
Okay. Jim House is here, and my son's a horse here. They have never been prosecuted or anything, but as Jim said one time, it depends on who you talk to is what day as to whether or not they said that it was lawful or unlawful. And so this wording was something that we tried to work together and put in there to clarify this, to let everyone know that the practice realistically was not an unlawful practice.
And maybe we didn't get our wording as good as
Representative Randy Stewart
Unverified
1:19:38
we should. And I think what you did is made it very unclear because this only covers
lawful horseshoeing, and I'm trying to determine if there's any unlawful
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
1:19:47
horseshoeing going on. Well, this bill and the proposed amendment would clarify that it is lawful to shoe, was the intent, Representative Stewart. The intent
Representative Randy Stewart
Unverified
1:19:59
is good, but sometimes you've got to be careful what you say.
Representative Charlie Collins
Unverified
1:20:08
And where I'd just leave that one, Representative Stewart, is it sounds like the word lawfully is clearly creating confusion for you and perhaps others. The reality is there are different arenas of law. Historically, being a good horseshoer was underneath the Veterinary Practices Act. There's also financial responsibility for your business. There's also, you know, criminal or those types of things, different aspects of the law. And this, I believe the intent was to simply say that with regard to the Veterinary Practices Act,
that element of lawfulness was what was being removed. But if somebody had financial problems in their business or whatever, this would not trump that end of the law. But amending that word out of there is not something that's problematic as far as I'm concerned, and it doesn't sound like it with anyone else, so it's just a matter of when. So I would commit to you that we'll amend that word out of there at a future date
Representative Randy Stewart
Unverified
1:21:11
if we can't do it here. Okay, and as long as you're doing the possible amendment, I, like Representative Smith,
think we also ought to put in the definition of tooth-loading back in the bill. just so we are very clear of what we're doing on T-floating. I don't think that would hurt your bill any, do you, by putting a definition in? No, sir, I don't. Okay. And if it would
Speaker 225
1:21:33
get you a couple of votes, would it be real helpful? Yes,
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:21:43
sir. Thank you. The committee has put the chair in a little predicament.
The next on the list to ask questions is Representative Linderman. So, Representative Linderman, if you have a question, I'd like for you to return to your seat and ask your question.
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
1:22:12
Thank you, Mr. Chair. May I ask this question of Dr. Tate since he's sitting there? Yes, sir. I will allow that. Thank you.
Dr. Tate, we work together on this bill quite
a bit. Are you happy and do you accept the language as is written that it will allow us the time to do the interim study to allow people to be certified as equine teeth floaters? Yes. Okay. You feel like the language that we have right there now is acceptable to allow us the interim to develop rules, regulations, and guidelines regarding equine.
Speaker 229
1:22:50
I feel like it is. I understand I'm not an attorney. Sometimes words get, I can't interpret those. But the intent of this is to lead us into the interim study, develop guidelines for all involved. The amendment, my understanding was the purpose of that is a moratorium to hold things the way they are right now, not to be adding or subtracting from the practice act,
just to hold things the way they are now, to stop cease and desist letters. That was
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
1:23:29
my understanding of this. Okay. Also, on the word lawful, to allow the lawful horseshoeing, that was simply a clarification in the law to allow people to know that it is
lawful to shoe horses where there's some people that there have been a question about that practice. Is
Speaker 244
1:23:44
that correct? Yes. Yes. It is lawful for them to practice.
Representative Homer Lenderman
Unverified
1:23:48
Okay. And the Veterinary Licensing Board did work with us and help with us on the language in this bill,
something that could be used and implemented to allow these practices in Arkansas. Is that correct? Yes. Thank you, sir.
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
1:24:05
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, sir. Next on list, Representative Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Am I hearing that you would agree to put this amendment to further define above the gum line tooth floating if we pass it today, Representative Collins? Yes. Thank you. I appreciate that and your ability to compromise. Can you tell me how to repair a quarter crack in a hoof?
Can I personally tell you that? I want you to answer my question from someone
Speaker 246
1:24:31
in the crowd. Okay. Thank you. Jim, can you help me out? Can a horseshoe
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
1:24:34
illegally do that? Can a horseshoe illegally do that? I mean, we're
talking about safety and health of the equine industry, and I'm not trying to be facetious, but can anyone tell me how to repair a quarter crack in a hoof that my old horse will still walk right? Yeah. Doctor? You asked for someone in the audience, and someone
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:24:53
has their hand up there. I want someone to give me an answer, please.
Is someone ready to answer that question? One moment,
Speaker 103
1:25:02
please. We have a point of order. One moment. Mr. Chairman, I would just humbly submit that I think for the sake of time and the process of the committee, I'd like to limit the questions to the amendment or to the bill that we have in front of us, as opposed to any wide-ranging topics that we may want
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:25:18
to discuss. Well, we actually, the amendment has been passed. We're actually back on the bill now, but we need to stay germane. Okay.
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
1:25:23
I would like to ask someone to define what horseshoe really means. Yes, sir. Ma'am?
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:25:30
Yes, ma'am. Would you please come to the end of the table
Betty Jones
Unverified
1:25:46
going to ask you to have a seat, please. Yes, sir. My name is Betty Jones. I am a certified hoof care consultant for a company called Hoof Armor. It is the only non-toxic hoof application product on the market right now.
Well, it will heal quarter cracks. I tell people it's more like a super-duper super glue. You can put on as many layers as you like to hold the crack together until it successfully grows out. It has Kevlar in it, which is a bulletproof material. It will not wear off. You've got endurance riders using it that get 100 miles of riding out of one application.
There are many other such products on the market, but unfortunately all of those have toxic materials in them. Besides the Kevlar, our product has a base of lactic acid that cures a lot of the other horse ailments that it comes in contact with. But that particular product you're telling
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
1:26:54
me would not harm the health of my horse. No,
Betty Jones
Unverified
1:26:57
sir. It's no way harmful. I put it on with my bare hands. It cures itself in 10 minutes.
And right now it's unlawful for me to do that in the state and charge anybody for doing it under the Veterinary
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
1:27:12
Practice Act. Have you had complaints from a veterinarian or from an individual
Betty Jones
Unverified
1:27:16
horse owner that you use that? No, sir. I've never had any complaints. And, in fact, Dr. Jolly had me down to his step-ahead farm for a farrier convention a few years ago to show them how to add this product to their tool chest. You know, it's another usable product. Right. And it's very inexpensive.
It costs about $5 a hoof for one application. You can all do it yourself. I can show you how to do it. It takes five minutes. But
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
1:27:46
why is it prohibited to be used in Arkansas? I don't think I understood
Betty Jones
Unverified
1:27:49
you. Because I'm giving relief to a horse, and I'm putting something on his foot, and I'm changing his foot. Okay.
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
1:27:56
All right. Thank you, and thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, sir. Representative Dale. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Representative Robert E. Dale
Unverified
1:28:08
Dr. Tate left the chair there. Is he available for additional questions? Only if he'd like to return. Dr. Tate, you've been
Speaker 254
1:28:32
asked to come back at your discretion. Yes, sir. Thank you very much,
Representative Robert E. Dale
Unverified
1:28:37
Dr. Tate. I appreciate that. I've become a little bit confused sitting here.
we've had a lot of comparisons between this bill and the bill that just failed what I see in this bill and what I understand to be said is that the veterinary board is very much in favor of the horses being protected or the animals being protected as I read this bill with the amendment on it it appears to me that We're just telling these people that they can operate for two years without any supervision.
Because you just stated a while ago that you can't send out a letter of cease and desist even if they were not operating properly. Is that correct? Representative Dale, I think what we're doing
Representative Charlie Collins
Unverified
1:29:34
here, And, again, we can make this more complicated than it seems, okay, because what we're doing is we're codifying the rules that the veterinary board put in place on January 26th after you and I and so many others sat here and talked to them and said, from House Bill 1055, what
can we agree on? And we agree on a handful of things. We didn't agree on nearly as much as some folks wanted us to agree on, but we agreed on a handful of things. The Veterinary Board then met and very quickly thereafter put out a rule that said, here are the things listed in House Bill 1763. We agree with Representative Smith and the others that want 1055 passed that these things should be good to go and not governed by the Veterinary Practices Act. Beyond that, beyond that, the amendment that Representative Linderman introduced said,
We are going to agree that the people that are practicing today are operating with the best of intentions, doing the best that they can, that they're capable, that all these other things so that the Veterinary Board is saying we're not going to pursue prosecuting any of those folks while we get to closure on a more complete solution, which may very well be, who knows, may very well be like some of the bills that were introduced and have been discussed previously or close to those bills for all we know.
So the amendment basically enables a status quo without folks that are operating those practices today, happen to be concerned they're going to be prosecuted or whatever, and also codifies things that were put in place by the veterinary board that we can agree on more permanently rather than being at the whim of the veterinary board's policy. So it's not a complete solution. It doesn't address every single jot and tittle of veterinary practice, but what it does do is says, we agree on this.
Let's lock it up and move forward in an interim study with no harm
Speaker 254
1:31:36
to others. That's the goal. Okay. Dr. Tate, my question was to
Speaker 260
1:31:48
wanted to provide everyone an opportunity to
Speaker 229
1:31:52
come to the table and let's discuss what's best for the people in the animal state of Arkansas. And we feel like this is the most appropriate way to do that, to reach common ground, go
to the interim study, let everyone discuss this. in the previous bill 1712 it did not let us do that there was third party contractors in there unlike this one more question mr.
Speaker 254
1:32:30
chairman then am I understanding you to say and I've heard you say you can't really represent
Representative Robert E. Dale
Unverified
1:32:38
the veterinary board maybe we could get them
back up here, are you supporting this bill with the amendment attached? Yes, I am. Thank you, Dr. Tate. Gentlemen, let's try to get out of here. We
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:32:50
have two or three people that want to speak for this bill. It's 20 minutes till 12. I'd love to eat lunch today.
Speaker 71
1:32:55
Representative Smith, you have a question? Yes, I do. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dr. Tate, can you tell me why that material
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
1:33:01
that's repairing a quarter crack in a hoop is not allowed by Veterinary Practice Act? Please. Is there,
can you tell Tell me why that's not allowed.
Speaker 229
1:33:14
I didn't know it wasn't allowed. Like I testified before, Farrieri has been silent at the board. But it's listed originally on the
Representative Garry L. Smith
Unverified
1:33:21
Veterinary Practice Act that it has to be done by veterinarians. So the question of the comment while ago. No,
no, no. The comment while ago from the individual said that that Kevlar material was not allowable under the Veterinary Practice Act because it gives relief and it corrects that hoof. Why is that
Speaker 71
1:33:39
the case? I believe that testimony is false. Oh, I see. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:33:46
Thank you, sir. Any other questions? If not, we have some people in the audience that'd like to speak for or against the bill. Is
there anyone that wants to speak against the bill? We have no one signed up. If not, speaking for the bill, David Blount.
Sir, if you'd go to the end of the table, recognize yourself,
Speaker 87
1:34:13
and you may begin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As I identified myself earlier, I'm David Blunt.
I'm the veterinarian chairman of the Arkansas, legislative chairman of the Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association, and the association does support 1763. Thank you. Thank you, sir.
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:34:30
Any questions for Dr. Blunt? Seeing none, you are excused. Anyone want to
speak against the bill? If not for the bill, Ms. Betty Jones.
Betty Jones
Unverified
1:34:49
Ms. Jones, if you would recognize yourself, you may begin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm Betty Jones. The only other things that I would like to add today is that I'm certainly glad that we are all getting to a place where we can sit down and talk together and work together on this thing because I think that the Veterinary Practice Act bill as it stands is definitely at the very least unconstitutional because the test of any bill is that it has to be
applied equally to everyone. So when we're going through our discussions and building a good bill to come back and to present to this committee. I think we need to keep that in mind and hold it to that test so that it will be something that we can all be proud of and that we can live with. Thank you.
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:35:51
Thank you, Ms. Jones. Any questions for Ms. Jones? If not, thank you very much.
Next on the list, is anybody to speak against the bill? Speak
for the bill? Rodney Baker. Mr. Baker, if you would go to
Speaker 265
1:36:11
the end of the table and introduce yourself. You may begin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm Rodney Baker with the Arkansas Farm Bureau. I testified here earlier this session on 1055 about the Farm Bureau's position was for not changing the veterinary practices act. That remains our policy. However, in the interim time since then, our board has looked at this issue and how the
The bills have developed. We had a county at that time that was in favor of that bill, as you may recall, and after looking at this issue again and all the things that have come up since our policy was formed in December, our board did vote to support an interim study, which is reflected in this bill. So we are supportive of the interim study, and I believe that the moratorium that is proposed in here, we'll allow that to go forward with a minimum of problems in the industry
and it's probably the best way, maybe the only way to proceed with this to an interim study and allow both sides the opportunity to come together. So we are supportive of this bill as amended. Thank you,
Speaker 186
1:37:17
Mr. Chairman. Any questions for Mr. Baker? Seeing none, Mr. Baker, you are
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:37:22
excused. Anyone else in the audience want to speak against the bill? Anyone want to speak for the bill? Mr. Jim House. Question?
Paul Calvert
Unverified
1:37:35
Motion. You may introduce yourself and you may begin. I'm Jim House. Thank you, Representative Collins. I would like to make a couple comments. I do want to be clear that I'm speaking in favor of this bill because it's something. I think it's wonderful that we live stream this committee meeting. I can guarantee you we're being watched by horse people in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania and other states. One of the reasons I was trying to get the answer, to be honest, from the veterinary board, what is horseshoeing? Because it's not just trimming feet and nail-in-on shoes.
We do quarter crack repair. We work on extensively foundered horses. We do a lot of things, and I would truly like to hear from the veterinary board if they intend to let horseshoers continue to do what we're doing now. i.e., good example, patching a quarter crack without veterinary guidance. But without hearing that, I must say, yes, we need to pass something today. This is a start. We can move forward. We need to continue study on this. And keep in mind we're a term-limited legislature.
And so the people that are going to participate in this interim study very likely couldn't be here to vote on it two years from now. So it's very important that during this interim study we involve lots of legislators and everybody from all parts of the discussion to make sure that we do get what's appropriate for the horse-owning public and the cattle-owning public. We need to go much broader than just equine. That's what the bill proposes. It's a large animal veterinary bill. So I would like to say that, yes, I am supportive.
I wish we could have gone further, but this is something I think we can pass today. So
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:39:16
I encourage you to support the bill. Thank you, Mr. House. Any questions for Mr. House? If not, you are
excused. Anyone else want to speak against or for the bill? If not, Representative Jean, do
Speaker 269
1:39:28
you have a motion? Yes, Mr. Chairman. I'll make a motion that we do pass 1763 as amended.
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:39:34
We have a motion that we pass House Bill 1763 as amended. All in favor.
Speaker 57
1:39:40
I'm sorry. I didn't call for the vote yet. Representative Stewart. Discussion of the motion. I asked for discussion. Question? All right, sir. I
Representative Randy Stewart
Unverified
1:39:53
just want to clarify from the sponsor that you have agreed to amend the bill, as we've talked about today, on
the definition of teeth floating, and then you'll look at that lawful thing to see if it needs to be fixed. Yes. Thank you. I think he answered that with Representative Smith.
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:40:09
Now, we have a motion that we pass this bill as amended.
All in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed, like so. Representative Collins, you have passed your bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is Representative Hopper in the room? Representative Hopper.
Yes. Gentlemen, Representative Hopper has a House resolution. I do appreciate your indulgence. Representative Hopper, I appreciate you staying around and listening to all the
testimony. President Hopper, please recognize yourself, and you may begin, ma'am.
Representative Karen S. Hopper
Unverified
1:40:50
I am Representative Karen Hopper, House District 81. And after all the difficult decisions you've had this morning, I hope this will be an easy one for you. I bring to you what I think is a simple resolution, but an important resolution. It does a great deal of good, in my opinion, because it both recommends and commends one of my constituents, Mr. Hugh McLean, who this Friday is scheduled to be inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame.
He's been recognized with this induction by the two institutions that host this event, the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and the Arkansas Farm Bureau. You will see in the resolution that he will take his place in the Hall of Fame among a number of folks that are easily recognized across our state for their contributions to agriculture, including two former U.S. Senators. This resolution is more than just about Mr. McClain.
It recognizes his business and his actions and the economic impact they have had to our part of the state. And while we appreciate him for that, I think this one sentence on the first page really sums him up and why he is worthy of this induction and your support here today, where he says, God has been watching over me. I've had a lot of help from so many good and loyal friends and coworkers. He knows it's not just about him. But, again, I think that kind of summarizes him and his contributions to our great state.
Obviously, I'm open for questions, and I would appreciate a good vote. Do we have any
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:42:35
questions for Reverend DeHopper? Come on, guys. Don't let her off that easy. Reverend Smith, I think
you have a motion. Do pass. We have a motion. Do pass. All in favor, say aye. All opposed, like? Thank you, sir. Congratulations, Reverend DeHopper. You've passed your resolution. Thank you so much. Gentlemen, we have one more item of business. I think Reverend DeLinderman – I mean, not DeLinderman, excuse me, Ratliff, do you have
Speaker 74
1:43:00
a motion? request that we put House Bill 1766 on special order of business for March 16. Everybody understand the motion? All in favor
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
1:43:15
of that motion say aye. Aye. All opposed like saying we will have special orders next Wednesday at 10 o'clock on House Bill 1766. Gentlemen, thank you for the day. We've had a great day. This meeting is adjourned.
Agenda
HB1280
HB1424
HB1702
HB1712
HB1763
HR1021
Adjournment
Documents
No documents posted.
Speakers
Representative Jerry R. Brown
Unverified
Representative Robert S. Moore, Jr.
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Speaker 12
Speaker 13
Speaker 23
Representative Greg Leding
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Speaker 25
Representative Bruce Westerman
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Representative Darrin Williams
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Speaker 39
Speaker 57
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Representative Garry L. Smith
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Representative Stephen Meeks
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Representative Robert E. Dale
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Speaker 74
Speaker 77
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Representative Homer Lenderman
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Sheila Weaver
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Betty Jones
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Ruth Hale
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Sylvia Ritchie
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Paul Calvert
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Representative Charlie Collins
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Representative Randy Stewart
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Representative Karen S. Hopper
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