Submit Ideas About Changes To Laws Regulating Veterinary Medicine and Veterinarians
As we prepare for the legislative session that begins in January 2025, TDLR and the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (TBVME) are accepting ideas about changes to the laws regulating veterinarians and the TBVME. Please submit them to osc@tdlr.texas.gov no later than September 15, 2024.
In 2023, the Texas Legislature enacted legislation that administratively attached the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (TBVME) to TDLR for a four-year period scheduled to end on August 31, 2027.
During this period, TDLR will assist TBVME with policymaking and administrative oversight, guidance, and support. All day-to-day licensing and regulatory functions of the TBVME – such as new applications, renewals, and complaints – remain with the TBVME during the temporary attachment.
TDLR staff are working closely with our colleagues at TBVME to identify opportunities to improve and enhance licensing, inspection, and enforcement policies and procedures. We also are working with the Department of Information Resources to determine TBVME’s licensing software needs, and to acquire and implement a new licensing system for them.
During this four-year attachment, the TBVME Board will serve as a TDLR advisory board. The Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation is granted final enforcement and rulemaking authority during the attachment but cannot adopt a new rule related to scope of practice or standards of care unless the rule has been proposed by the advisory board.
How We Got Here
During the 88th Legislative Session in 2023, the Sunset Advisory Commission recommended administratively attaching the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners to TDLR for a four-year period, and the recommendation was adopted in Senate Bill 1414 (88-R), effective September 1, 2023.
After August 31, 2027, TBVME will return to its independent agency status. At any point during the next four years, TDLR can assign duties back to TBVME in advance of the scheduled end of the attachment.
Prior to the 89th Legislative Session, TDLR will provide statutory recommendations designed to improve the TBVME’s operations to the Sunset Advisory Commission and the standing committees with jurisdiction over TBVME. Also, not later than December 31, 2026, TDLR must conduct a review of all TBVME rules, giving license holders and the public the opportunity to provide meaningful input.
