In the April 20, 2022 edition of the Louisiana Register, the Board of Veterinary Medicine published a Notice of Intent to amend its rules relative to the waiver language for the NAVLE and VTNE application requirements for licensure as well as the rule language relative to the RVT state jurisprudence requirement for licensure. The original proposed rule — LAC 46LXXXV.303.803 — can be seen at www.lsbvm.org/rulemaking-projects. Pursuant to the Board’s consideration of comments and testimony received during the May 26, 2022 public hearing and during the period for written comment submission from April 21 to May 10, the Board proposes to reduce the average number of weekly hours required for waiver eligibility from 32 hours to 20 hours. This proposed reduction in hours is mirrored in the RVT’s waiver of VTNE application requirement.
The original proposed rule already affords the Board greater discretion relative to gaps in employment in the five year period preceding the date of application for Louisiana licensure in determining when a licensed veterinarian applying for a Louisiana license has been a practicing veterinarian when the passing of the national examination (NAVLE) is older than five years. The proposed amendment to the required average number of hours allows waiver eligibility for part-time veterinarians with respect to the NAVLE application requirement. The proposed amendment to the VTNE waiver will also allow waiver eligibility for part-time registered veterinary technicians with respect to the VTNE application requirement.
A second public hearing has been scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on July 14, 2022 at the LBVM Office in the LA Department of Agriculture & Forestry to solicit comments and testimony on this proposed revision to the original proposed rule in Regulatory Project 2022-1 ~ NAVLE Waiver, VTNE Waiver, & RVT State Jurisprudence Requirement. More details on the rulemaking process can be found at www.lsbvm.org/rulemaking-projects.