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TVMA Opposes Plan To Temporarily Attach TBVME to Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), Supports Other Proposals To Rehabilitate Agency
For the fourth consecutive legislative session, the Sunset Commission review of the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (TBVME) has emerged as a key issue for veterinarians. Recently, the Sunset Advisory Commission endorsed a plan to temporarily “attach” the agency to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) to help the board rectify longstanding “systemic issues” the commission has identified.
TVMA strongly opposes attachment to another agency because it is in the best interest of neither veterinarians nor the public. However, many other elements of Sunset’s most recent recommendations show promise. TVMA will work hard this session to prevent the attachment while developing a path forward for the agency that sets it up to better serve both licensees and the public.
How We Got Here
In 2017, TBVME underwent a full sunset review, the process by which the legislature scrutinizes state agencies and their functions and makes changes to address problems and adjust operations to best serve current needs. Typically, agencies undergo sunset review every 12 years. Click here for an in-depth discussion of TBVME’s recent history with the sunset process. In 2017, the commission identified numerous problems with TBVME including inadequate data collection, management and analysis procedures as well as unsatisfactory complaint resolution, inspection and enforcement procedures. Subsequent limited-scope reviews in 2019 and 2021 found the agency had made little progress in fixing its database problems.
2023 Sunset Review
In November 2022, Sunset Commission staff issued a report detailing continued problems with TBVME. Most notably, the commission found that the board had twice attempted and failed to implement a database system capable of meeting the agency’s needs.
In a hearing later that month, new TBVME Executive Director Brittany Sharkey cited a lack of funding and resources as a primary reason for the failure of prior leadership to implement the commission’s desired changes. Sharkey and the agency have requested additional funding from the current legislature, the first time the agency has asked for more money since the issues with sunset began. TVMA strongly supports funding the board at requested levels so it has the resources it needs to carry out its mission.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the legislators on the Sunset Commission directed commission staff to present it with options for addressing what it called “systemic issues” within the agency. In January, staff prepared a second report laying out three recommendations for addressing the agency’s issues.
Option 1: TBVME would become “administratively attached” to TDLR for a period of four years.
- During this time, rather than being a standalone regulatory board as it is currently, TBVME would become an advisory board to TDLR, which would have veto authority on all proposed new rules (though TDLR could not propose rules impacting veterinary licensees on its own).
- TBVME’s next sunset review would be moved up from 2029 to 2027 to coincide with the conclusion of the TDLR attachment.
- TBVME staff would shadow TDLR staff, who would provide guidance on licensing, inspection and enforcement policies and procedures.
- TBVME would work with TDLR and the Department of Information Resources (DIR) to assess, select and implement a suitable database solution for the agency.
- TDLR would make further recommendations to the legislature regarding possible agency improvements prior to the 2025 legislative session.
Option 2: Interagency work group would provide guidance to TBVME.
- A statutory work group consisting of TDLR, DIR the Texas A&M University System, the Texas Tech University System, the Texas Medical Board and the Texas State Board of Pharmacy would assist the agency with developing, adopting and implementing rules, policies and procedures to address its issues. This would include “helping procure an effective enforcement database system and improving enforcement procedures.”
- The workgroup would provide quarterly reports to the Sunset Commission and relevant legislative committees.
Option 3: Change state law to ensure systemic issues are addressed. Under this option, several statutory changes are recommended regardless of the overall structure of the agency’s rehabilitation plan. Those changes include:
- Requiring the agency to work with DIR on the purchase and implementation of a new database system to ensure the system is best suited to meet both present and future needs.
- Requiring the agency to develop consistent procedures for data collection, analysis and reporting.
- Requiring the agency to develop priority-based procedures for conducting inspections and resolving complaints in a timely and more efficient manner.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the Sunset Commission elected to adopt Option 1 as the starting point for fixing TBVME’s issues.
What Happens Next?
- Option 1 will be drafted into bills, which would then need to be approved by the House and Senate before being signed into law by the governor. Like any bill, these can be modified throughout the legislative process before becoming law.
- If the legislature is unable to pass a bill, nothing changes. In a regular sunset review cycle, an agency is abolished if its continuation isn’t approved by the legislature, but since TBVME was continued until 2029 in its last full sunset review, the agency isn’t facing a ticking clock this session. However, given the scope of the agency’s issues and the attention given to them by lawmakers on the Sunset Commission, the legislature is very motivated to pass something in response.
- TVMA will work hard throughout the legislative process to ensure that the interests of veterinarians are heard and protected.
Where Does TVMA Stand?
TVMA strongly opposes the four-year attachment to TDLR but supports utilizing that agency as one of several subject matter experts to help rehabilitate various portions of TBVME’s operations. TDLR has a strong reputation for developing and implementing policies and procedures, but it lacks the specialized knowledge necessary to direct an agency regulating medical professionals.
All three options presented by the Sunset Commission contain ideas that show promise in fixing TBVME’s documented problems. TVMA supports implementing several of these ideas as part of a comprehensive plan to reform the agency.
“TVMA looks forward to working with the legislature during the 88th Legislative Session to set TBVME on a path for success without jeopardizing its independence as an agency, which is critical to serving the best interests of Texas veterinarians and the public they serve,” TVMA President Tamra Walthall, DVM, wrote in the association’s position statement on the best path forward for TBVME.
To view TVMA’s full position statement, click here.
If you have any questions, please contact TVMA General Counsel/Director of Government Relations Trent Hightower at 512-610-6656 or thightower@tvma.org.
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