(1) (a) As a condition of licensure and renewal in this state, every veterinarian applying for a new license or to renew the veterinarian's license shall pay to the board, for use by the administering entity selected by the board pursuant to this subsection (1), an amount not to exceed forty dollars per year, which maximum amount may be adjusted on January 1, 2012, and annually thereafter by the board to reflect changes in the United States bureau of statistics consumer price index for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood for all urban consumers or goods, or its successor index. The board shall forward the fee to the chosen administering entity for use in supporting designated providers selected by the board to provide assistance to veterinarians needing help in dealing with physical, emotional, or psychological conditions that may be detrimental to their ability to practice veterinary medicine.
(b) The board shall select one or more peer health assistance programs as designated providers. To be eligible for designation by the board, a peer health assistance program must:
Provide for the education of veterinarians with respect to the recognition and prevention of physical, emotional, and psychological conditions and provide for intervention when necessary or under circumstances established by the board by rule;
Offer assistance to a veterinarian in identifying physical, emotional, or psychologicalconditions;
Evaluate the extent of physical, emotional, or psychological conditions and refer theveterinarian for appropriate treatment;
Monitor the status of a veterinarian who has been referred for treatment;
Provide counseling and support for the veterinarian and for the family of any veterinarian referred for treatment;
Agree to receive referrals from the board; and
Agree to make its services available to all licensed Colorado veterinarians.
The board may select an entity to administer the veterinarian peer health assistanceprogram. An administering entity must be a nonprofit private foundation that is qualified under section 501 (c)(3) of the federal "Internal Revenue Code of 1986", as amended, and that is dedicated to providing support for charitable, benevolent, educational, and scientific purposes that are related to veterinary medicine, veterinary medical education, veterinary medical research and science, and other veterinary medical charitable purposes.
The administering entity shall:
Distribute the money collected by the board, less expenses, to the designated provider, as directed by the board;
Provide an annual accounting to the board of all amounts collected, expenses incurred, and amounts disbursed; and
Post a surety performance bond in an amount specified by the board to secure performance under the requirements of this section. The administering entity may recover the actual administrative costs incurred in performing its duties under this section in an amount not to exceed ten percent of the total amount collected.
(e) The board shall collect the required annual payments payable to the administering entity for the benefit of the administering entity and shall transfer all the payments to the administering entity. All required annual payments collected or due to the board for each fiscal year are custodial funds that are not subject to appropriation by the general assembly, and the distribution of payments to the administering entity or expenditure of the payments by the administering entity does not constitute state fiscal year spending for purposes of section 20 of article X of the state constitution.
(2) (a) Upon receipt of a signed complaint by a complainant, the board may require any veterinarian to participate in a peer health assistance program and to enter into a stipulation with the board pursuant to section 12-20-405 (3) before participating in the program. The agreement must contain specific requirements and goals to be met by the participant, including the conditions under which the program will be successfully completed or terminated, and a provision that a failure to comply with the requirements and goals are to be promptly reported to the board and that failure will result in disciplinary action by the board.
Notwithstanding sections 12-315-112 and 24-4-104, the board may immediately suspend the license of any veterinarian who is referred to a peer health assistance program by the board and who fails to attend or to complete the program. If the veterinarian objects to the suspension, the veterinarian may submit a written request to the board for a formal hearing on the suspension within ten days after receiving notice of the suspension, and the board shall grant the request. In the hearing, the veterinarian bears the burden of proving that the veterinarian's license should not be suspended.
Any veterinarian who self-refers and is accepted into a peer health assistance program shall affirm that, to the best of the veterinarian's knowledge, information, and belief, the veterinarian knows of no instance in which he or she has violated this article 315 or the rules of the board, except in those instances affected by the veterinarian's physical, emotional, or psychological conditions.
Nothing in this section creates any liability on the board or the state of Colorado forthe actions of the board in making grants to peer health assistance programs, and no civil action may be brought or maintained against the board or the state for an injury alleged to have been the result of the activities of any state-funded peer health assistance program or the result of an act or omission of a veterinarian participating in or referred by a state-funded peer health assistance program. However, the state remains liable under the "Colorado Governmental Immunity Act", article 10 of title 24, if an injury alleged to have been the result of an act or omission of a veterinarian participating in or referred by a state-funded peer health assistance program occurred while the veterinarian was performing duties as an employee of the state.
The board may promulgate rules necessary to implement this section.
Source: L. 2019: Entire title R&RE with relocations, (HB 19-1172), ch. 136, p. 1637, § 1, effective October 1.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 12-64-124 as it existed prior to 2019.