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Senate
sSB190 / File No. 27 1
General Assembly File No. 27
February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No. 190
Senate, March 16, 2026
The Committee on Public Health reported through SEN.
ANWAR of the 3rd Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the
part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT AUTHORIZING CERTAIN FOREIGN-EDUCATED
VETERINARIANS TO PRACTICE UNDER A TEMPORARY PERMIT
AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A VETERINARIAN-CLIENT-PATIENT
RELATIONSHIP THROUGH THE USE OF TELEHEALTH FOR THE
TREATMENT OF URGENT MEDICAL CONDITIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 20 -200 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 2
(a) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 20 -198, the 3
Department of Public Health may issue a license by endorsement to any 4
veterinarian of good professional character who is currently licensed 5
and practicing in some other state or territory, having requirements for 6
admission determined by the department to be at least equal to the 7
requirements of this state, upon the payment of a fee of five hundred 8
sixty-five dollars to said department. Notwithstanding the provisions of 9
section 20 -198, the department may, upon payment of a fee of five 10
hundred sixty -five dollars, issue a license without examination to a 11
currently practicing, competent veterinarian in another state or territory 12
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who [(1)] (A) holds a current valid license in good professional standing 13
issued after examination by another state or territory that maintains 14
licensing standards which, except for examination, are commensurate 15
with this state's standards, and [(2)] (B) has worked continuously as a 16
licensed veterinarian in an academic or clinical setting in another state 17
or territory for a period of not less than five years immediately 18
preceding the application for licensure without examination. No license 19
shall be issued under this section to any applicant against whom 20
professional disciplinary action is pending or who is the subject of an 21
unresolved complaint. The department shall inform the board annually 22
of the number of applications it receives for licensure under this section. 23
[(b)] (2) The Department of Public Health may issue a temporary 24
permit under this subsection to an applicant for licensure without 25
examination upon receipt of a completed application form, 26
accompanied by the fee for licensure without examination, a copy of a 27
current license from another state of the United States, the District of 28
Columbia or a commonwealth or territory subject to the laws of the 29
United States, and a notarized affidavit attesting that the license is valid 30
and belongs to the person requesting notarization. Such temporary 31
permit shall be valid for a period not to exceed one hundred twenty 32
calendar days and shall not be renewable. The department shall not 33
issue a temporary permit under this section to any applicant against 34
whom professional disciplinary action is pending, or who is the subject 35
of an unresolved complaint. 36
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 20-198, the Department 37
of Public Health may issue a temporary permit to an applicant who (1) 38
is a graduate from a school located outside of the United States, its 39
territories or Canada with a degree of doctor of veterinary medicine, or 40
its equivalent, from a program acceptable to the American Veterinary 41
Medical Association as required to receive certification by the 42
Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates, (2) is 43
working toward receiving certification from the Educational 44
Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates or Program for the 45
Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence, and (3) has passed the 46
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written, oral and practical examinations required under section 20 -199. 47
Such temporary permit shall authorize the holder to practice veterinary 48
medicine only under the direct supervision of a veterinarian who has 49
been licensed under chapter 384 for not less than four years. Such 50
temporary permit shall be valid for a period not to exceed two years 51
after the date of issuance, except such temporary permit shall be 52
renewable once for a period of two years if the applicant fails to receive 53
certification from the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary 54
Graduates or Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education 55
Equivalence within the first two -year period. No fee shall be required 56
for the issuance or renewal of a temporary permit under this section. As 57
used in this subsection, "direct supervision" means the licensed 58
veterinarian is present in the office where the temporary permit holder 59
is performing such holder's duties and immediately available to furnish 60
assistance and direction to such holder throughout the performance of 61
such duties. 62
Sec. 2. Subsection (c) of section 20 -197 of the general statutes is 63
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 64
1, 2026): 65
(c) [A] (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, a 66
veterinarian-client-patient relationship may not be established solely 67
through veterinary telemedicine. After a veterinarian -client-patient 68
relationship has been established, such relationship may be maintained 69
through veterinary telemedicine in between medically necessary 70
examinations of the animal by the veterinarian or timely medical visits 71
by the veterinarian to the location where the animal is kept. If there is 72
no veterinarian -client-patient relationship, a veterinarian may only 73
provide general advice using electronic means and shall not provide any 74
specific advice regarding the animal, including, but not limited to, any 75
diagnosis or recommended medical care or treatment of the animal. As 76
used in this subsection, "veterinary telemedicine" means the exchange 77
of medical information regarding the status of an animal's health or the 78
delivery of a medical diagnosis, care or treatment of an animal through 79
electronic means, including, but not limited to, telephone, video, mobile 80
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applications or an Internet web site-based platform. 81
(2) A veterinarian -client-patient relationship may be established 82
through veterinary telemedicine only when (A) a veterinarian 83
determines that the animal is in urgent need of medical care or treatment 84
that will take a maximum of fourteen days for the veterinarian to 85
administer to the animal, and (B) the client schedules an in -person 86
examination of the animal by the veterinarian to occur not later than 87
fourteen days after the initial veterinary telemedicine visit. The 88
veterinarian-client-patient relationship established under this 89
subdivision shall not continue after such fourteen -day period ends 90
unless the veterinarian examines the animal in person within such 91
fourteen-day period. 92
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2026 20-200
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 20-197(c)
PH Joint Favorable Subst.
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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill establishes a free temporary permit for certain veterinary
school graduates and makes procedural changes regarding veterinary
telehealth, resulting in no fiscal impact to the state.
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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 190
AN ACT AUTHORIZING CERTAIN FOREIGN -EDUCATED
VETERINARIANS TO PRACTICE UNDER A TEMPORARY PERMIT
AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A VETERINARIAN -CLIENT-
PATIENT RELATIONSHIP THROUGH THE USE OF TELEHEALTH
FOR THE TREATMENT OF URGENT MEDICAL CONDITIONS.
SUMMARY
This bill allows a veterinarian -client-patient relationship to be
established through telehealth if (1) a veterinarian determines that the
animal urgently needs medical care or treatment that will take up to 14
days and (2) the client schedules an in-person examination of the animal
to occur within 14 days of the first telehealth visit. The veterinarian -
client-patient relationship ends after the 14 days if the veterinarian does
not examine the animal in-person during that time.
Under current law, while veterinarians may practice through
telehealth, the initial appointment in all cases must be in person.
Generally, after th is initial in -person appointment, veterinarians may
use telehealth if it is not medically necessary for them to examine the
animal in-person. If there is no veterinarian -client-patient relationship,
veterinarians may only give general advice electronically.
Separately, under specified conditions, the bill allows the
Department of Public Health (DPH) to issue a temporary veterinarian
permit to graduates of foreign veterinary schools, allowing them to
work under direct supervision of certain state-licensed veterinarians.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
TEMPORARY PERMITS
The bill allows DPH to issue a temporary veterinary permit to
someone who (1) graduated from a veterinary school (see below)
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located outside of the U.S., its territories, or Canada; (2) is working
toward certification from the Educational Commission for Foreign
Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG) or Program for the Assessment of
Veterinary Education Equivalence; and (3) passed the written, oral, and
practical exams required for a veterinarian license.
For the person to be eligible, the veterinary school program must be
one that the American Veterinary Medical Association finds acceptable
for ECFVG certification.
The bill allows a permit holder to practice only under the direct
supervision of a veterinarian who has been licensed in the state for at
least four years. “Direct supervision” means the licensed veterinarian is
in the office where the permit holder is practicing and immediate ly
availability to help and direct the permit holder during that time.
The permit is valid for up to two years, and can be renewed once (for
two years) if the applicant fails to get certification from the commission
or program specified above during the initial two -year period. There is
no permit fee.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Public Health Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 31 Nay 0 (03/02/2026)