Euthanasia Bill    By Senator Butler    ENROLLED, An Act,      To authorize the Alabama State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners to promulgate rules and regulations relating to the purchase, possession, storage, and use of certain controlled substances used for the purposes of euthanizing animals and to establish fees therefor; to provide for those authorized to purchase, possess, store, and use the substances and the revocation or suspension of those permitted; to establish the qualifications for persons who may euthanize animals and a euthanasia technician certification course and licensure therefor; to provide for licensure and approval of facilities that employ euthanasia technicians; to provide that law enforcement officers or veterinarians may euthanize certain animals in case of dangerous or emergency situations; to authorize the Attorney General to enjoin violations of this act; to provide for Class B misdemeanor penalties for violations of this act; and in connection therewith would have as its purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901.    BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:    Section 1. (a) The State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, hereinafter called the board, shall adopt rules providing for the issuance of permits authorizing the purchase, possession, and use of sodium pentobarbital, sodium pentobarbital with lidocaine, or other similar agents at facilities approved by the board that are operated for the collection and care of stray, neglected, abandoned, or unwanted dogs and cats, or federally licensed wildlife rehabilitation centers, for the purpose of euthanizing injured, sick, or abandoned animals which are in their lawful possession. The rules shall set forth guidelines for the proper storage and handling of the substances and other provisions as may be necessary to ensure that these drugs are used solely for the purpose set forth in this section. The rules shall also provide for an application or inspection fee and an annual renewal fee.    (b) Any facility approved by the board that operates for the collection and care of stray, neglected, abandoned, or unwanted dogs and cats, or a federally licensed wildlife rehabilitation center may apply to the board for a permit to purchase, possess, and use sodium pentobarbital and sodium pentobarbital with lidocaine pursuant to subsection (a). Upon certification by the board that the applicant meets the qualifications set forth in the rules, a permit shall be issued.    (c) The board may revoke or suspend the permit upon a determination that the permittee is using the scheduled substances for any purpose other than that set forth in this section or if the permittee fails to follow the rules of the board regarding proper storage and handling of the substance.    Section 2. (a) The board may provide by rule that sodium pentobarbital, a sodium pentobarbital derivative, or other agent that acts on the central nervous system shall be the only injectable agents for euthanasia of dogs and cats at facilities approved by the board that are operated for the collection and care of stray, neglected, abandoned, or unwanted dogs and cats.    (b) The board shall promulgate rules providing for the use of carbon monoxide, CO, and inhalant anesthetics as an acceptable alternative to the injectable agents for individual animals or mass euthanasia in small animals. Rules shall include provisions for the type of chamber and gas used, training and inspection requirements, humane comfort of animals, and safety precautions for personnel.    (c) Euthanasia shall be performed only by a licensed veterinarian or an employee or agent of a facility approved by the board that is operated for the collection and care of stray, neglected, abandoned, or unwanted animals, provided the employee or agent has successfully completed a euthanasia technician certification course. The curriculum for the course shall be approved by the board and shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:    (1) The pharmacology, proper administration, and storage of euthanasia solutions.    (2) Federal and state laws regulating the storage and accountability of scheduled drugs.    (3) OSHA Safety and Material Safety Data Sheet Regulations.    (4) Euthanasia stress management.    (5) Proper disposal of euthanized animals.    (d) Notwithstanding the foregoing, a licensed veterinary technician, in accordance with Section 34-29-94, Code of Alabama 1975, and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, who is an employee or agent of a licensed veterinarian or animal shelter as defined in Section 1, may perform euthanasia without completing the certification course required by subsection (c).    Section 3. Whenever an emergency situation exists which requires the immediate euthanasia of an injured, diseased, or dangerous animal, a law enforcement officer, a veterinarian, or an agent or designee of a local animal control unit may humanely destroy the animal, as provided herein.    (1) Whenever any domestic animal is so injured or diseased as to appear useless and is in a suffering condition, and it reasonably appears to any officer that the animal is imminently near death and cannot be cured or rendered fit for service, and the officer has made a reasonable and concerted, but unsuccessful, effort to locate the owner, the owner's agent, or a veterinarian, then the officer, acting in good faith and upon reasonable belief, may immediately destroy the animal by shooting the animal or injecting the animal with a barbiturate drug. If the officer locates the owner or the owner's agent, the officer shall notify the owner or the owner's agent of the animal's location and condition. If the officer locates only a veterinarian, the officer shall destroy the animal only upon the advice and recommendation of the veterinarian.    (2) In the absence of negligence, wantonness, or willful conduct, no officer or veterinarian acting in good faith and with due care pursuant to this act may be held liable either criminally or civilly for euthanizing an animal, nor shall any civil or criminal liability attach to the employer of the officer or veterinarian.    (3) A court order shall not be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.    Section 4. No animal may be left unattended between the time euthanasia procedures are first begun and the time that death occurs, nor may the body of the animal be disposed of until death has been confirmed by a euthanasia technician or other qualified person as defined by Chapter 29 of Title 34, Code of Alabama 1975.    Section 5. The Attorney General may bring action to enjoin any violation of this act.    Section 6. Any person who violates this act shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished as provided by law.    Section 7. The purpose or effect of this act requires expenditures of local funds within the meaning of Amendment 621.    Section 8. The provisions of this act are severable. If any part of this act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, that declaration shall not affect the part which remains.    Section 9. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 34-29-94, Code of Alabama 1975, this act shall prevail in all cases in which there is a direct conflict.    Section 10. This act shall become effective on the first day of the third month following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.