Official Summary Text
SB1144 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet
Assigned to
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PASSED BY COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh
Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
FACT SHEET FOR
S.B. 1144
veterinary
technicians; certification; education alternative
Purpose
Adds alternative pathways for a person to become certified as a
veterinary technician.
Background
The Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board (Board) is charged
with protecting the public from unlawful, incompetent, unqualified, impaired or
unprofessional practitioners of veterinary medicine through licensure and
regulation of the practice of veterinary medicine and the voluntary
certification of veterinary technicians (
A.R.S.
� 32-2207
).
A person desiring to be certified as a veterinary technician must apply
in writing to the Board and meet the following requirements: 1) be at least 18
years old; 2) submit satisfactory evidence of graduation from a two-year
curriculum in veterinary technology, or the equivalent of such graduation as
determined by the Board, in a college or other institution approved by the
Board; 3) pass a national and state veterinary technician examination as
adopted by the Board in rules; and 4) pay all applicable fees. A certified
veterinary technician may perform those services, authorized by the Board in
accordance with statute, in the employment of and under the direction,
supervision and control of a licensed veterinarian who must be responsible for
the performance of the certified veterinary technician (A.R.S. ��
32-2201
and
32-2242
).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund
associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1.
Allows
an applicant for a veterinary technician certification to furnish to the Board
satisfactory evidence of graduation, or the equivalent of such graduation, from
a two-year curriculum in a nonprofit organization approved by the Board.
2.
Allows
an applicant for a veterinary technician certificate, in lieu of the two-year
curriculum requirement, to furnish to the Board a record of working for at
least 4,000 hours, within six years, under direct supervision of a state
licensed veterinarian during which the applicant learned skills pursuant to the
veterinary technology student essential and recommended skills list prescribed
by a national nonprofit organization that prescribes and enforces standards for
veterinary education.
3.
Deems
an applicant, who satisfies the requirements for the alternative supervised
work training route of certification, eligible to take:
a)
the Veterinary Technician National Examination; and
b)
any
state examination for veterinary technicians approved by the Board.
4.
Requires,
for the alternative route of certification, the supervised work to include:
a)
a description of the skill or skills the applicant developed; and
b)
the affidavit of the responsible veterinarian.
5.
Requires,
the responsible veterinarian, before beginning any supervised work, to provide
the Board on a form approved by the Board the following information:
a)
the name of the applicant;
b)
the name of the responsible veterinarian;
c)
the location of the premises at which the supervised work will occur;
and
d)
a description of the training that will be provided to the applicant to
meet the certification requirements.
6.
Defines
responsible veterinarian
as a veterinarian who is
licensed in Arizona and who is responsible for the supervised work of an
applicant for certification under the alternative supervised work requirements
and for any veterinarians who provide direct supervision of the applicant.
7.
Becomes
effective on the general effective date.
Amendments
Adopted by Committee
1.
Removes
the authorization of an applicant for a veterinarian technician certification,
in lieu of the two-year curriculum requirement, to furnish to the Board at least
4,000 hours of on-the-job training.
2.
Requires
the supervised work to include an affidavit, rather than a signature, from a
responsible veterinarian.
3.
Requires
the responsible veterinarian, before beginning any supervised work, to provide
the Board on a form approved by the Board the following information:
a)
the name of the applicant;
b)
the name of the responsible veterinarian;
c)
the location of the premises at which the supervised work will occur; and
d)
a description of the training that will be provided to the applicant to
meet the certification requirements.
4.
Defines
responsible veterinarian
as a veterinarian who is
licensed in Arizona and who is responsible for the supervised work of an
applicant for certification under the alternative supervised work requirements
and for any veterinarians who provide direct supervision of the applicant.
5.
Makes
conforming changes.
Senate
Action
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Prepared by Senate Research
February 6, 2026
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Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
SB1144 - 572R - S Ver
Senate Engrossed
veterinary
technicians; certification; education alternative
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
SENATE BILL 1144
AN
ACT
Amending Section 32-2242, Arizona
Revised Statutes; relating to veterinary TECHNICIANS.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 32-2242, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
32-2242.
Application for certification as veterinary technician;
qualifications; definition
A. A person desiring to be certified as a veterinary
technician shall apply in writing to the board on a form furnished by the
board.
B. The applicant shall be at least eighteen years of
age and shall furnish
either:
1.
Satisfactory evidence of
graduation from a two-year curriculum in veterinary technology, or the
equivalent of such graduation as determined by the board, in a
nonprofit
organization,
college or other institution approved by the board.
2. A record of working for at least
four thousand hours within six years under the direct supervision of a
veterinarian who is licensed in this state, during which time the applicant
learned skills pursuant to the veterinary technology student essential and
recommended skills list prescribed by a national nonprofit organization for
veterinarians that prescribes and enforces standards for veterinary education.�
An applicant who satisfies the requirements for the alternative supervised work
route of certification is eligible to take the veterinary technician national
examination and any state examination for veterinary technicians approved by
the board.� The supervised work must include:
(
a
) A
description of the skill or skills the applicant developed.
(
b
) The
affidavit of the
responsible veterinarian.
C. The application
shall be accompanied by the application and examination fee established by the
board.
D. Before beginning any supervised
work, the responsible veterinarian shall provide to the board on a form
approved by the board the following information:
1. The name of the applicant.
2. The name of the responsible
veterinarian.
3. The location of the premises at
which the supervised work will occur.
4. A description of the training that
will be provided to the applicant to meet the requirements of this section.
D.
E.
An
applicant from another state is not required to retake the veterinary
technician national examination if the applicant can provide all of the
following:
1. Proof that the applicant's original score meets
the minimum score required by the board.
2. Proof that the applicant holds an active license
in good standing in another state or in Canada.
3. Proof of employment as a veterinary technician in
two of the preceding four years or four of the preceding seven years.
F. For the purposes of this section,
"responsible veterinarian" means a veterinarian who is licensed in
this state and who is responsible for the supervised work of an applicant for
certification under this section and for any veterinarians who provide direct
supervision of the applicant.
END_STATUTE