(1) The general assembly finds and determines that:
More than one-third of rural communities in Colorado have at most one livestockoriented veterinarian, thus leaving the owners of hundreds of thousands of livestock with little or no access to veterinary medicine;
Food security and safety are directly linked to animal health;
Colorado plays a key role in meeting our growing population's increasing demand forprotein;
According to nationwide market statistics developed for the American VeterinaryMedical Association, less than five percent of veterinarians in the United States practice predominantly on livestock;
Rural veterinarians play a critical role in protecting the health of animals and humans;
Many graduates of Colorado state university's college of veterinary medicine and biomedical sciences were raised in rural areas and are interested in livestock-oriented practice; however, these graduates often feel limited to practice in areas of the state with higher starting salaries due to their loan repayment obligations; and
Loan forgiveness and repayment programs in other states have improved veterinarians' ability to pursue veterinary practices in rural areas.
(2) Therefore, the general assembly determines and declares that a veterinary education loan repayment program would benefit Colorado by providing financial incentives for veterinarians to practice in rural areas in which veterinary needs are not currently being met.
Source: L. 2017: Entire part added, (HB 17-1282), ch. 322, p. 1733, § 1, effective August 9.