Back to Iowa

SF31 • 2026

A bill for an act allowing emergency medical care providers to diagnose and treat severe injuries suffered by police service dogs while on duty.(See SF 296 .)

A bill for an act allowing emergency medical care providers to diagnose and treat severe injuries suffered by police service dogs while on duty.(See SF 296 .)

Healthcare
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
McCLINTOCK
Last action
2025-02-12
Official status
Committee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 296 . S.J. 261 .
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act allowing emergency medical care providers to diagnose and treat severe injuries suffered by police service dogs while on duty.(See SF 296 .)

A bill for an act allowing emergency medical care providers to diagnose and treat severe injuries suffered by police service dogs while on duty.(See SF 296 .)

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act allowing emergency medical care providers to diagnose and treat severe injuries suffered by police service dogs while on duty.(See SF 296 .)

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-02-12 Iowa Legislature

    Committee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 296 . S.J. 261 .

  2. 2025-01-22 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee recommends passage.

  3. 2025-01-16 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee Meeting: 01/22/2025 2:30PM Senate Lounge.

  4. 2025-01-15 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee: Westrich, Knox, and Shipley. S.J. 90 .

  5. 2025-01-14 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, referred to Judiciary. S.J. 67 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act allowing emergency medical care providers to diagnose and treat severe injuries suffered by police service dogs while on duty.(See SF 296 .)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Senate

File

31

-

Introduced

SENATE

FILE

31

BY

McCLINTOCK

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

allowing

emergency

medical

care

providers

to

diagnose

1

and

treat

severe

injuries

suffered

by

police

service

dogs

2

while

on

duty.

3

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

4

TLSB

1075XS

(2)

91

da/ns

S.F.

31

Section

1.

Section

147A.8,

Code

2025,

is

amended

by

adding

1

the

following

new

subsection:

2

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

3.

Provide

veterinary

medical

services

by

3

diagnosing

or

treating

a

severely

injured

police

service

dog

4

as

provided

in

section

169.4.

5

Sec.

2.

Section

169.4,

Code

2025,

is

amended

by

adding

the

6

following

new

subsection:

7

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

17.

a.

An

emergency

medical

care

provider

8

certified

pursuant

to

chapter

147A

who

elects

to

provide

9

veterinary

medical

services

by

diagnosing

or

treating

a

police

10

service

dog,

if

all

of

the

following

apply:

11

(1)

The

police

service

dog

was

on

duty

under

the

supervision

12

of

a

peace

officer

as

defined

in

section

801.4.

13

(2)

The

police

service

dog

suffered

a

severe

injury.

14

(3)

The

veterinary

medical

services

are

necessary

to

15

immediately

stabilize

the

police

service

dog’s

condition

for

16

later

diagnosis

or

treatment

by

a

licensed

veterinarian

or

the

17

holder

of

a

valid

temporary

permit.

18

b.

An

emergency

medical

care

provider

certified

pursuant

19

to

chapter

147A

may

elect

not

to

provide

veterinary

medical

20

services

under

paragraph

“a”

.

21

c.

If

an

emergency

medical

care

provider

certified

pursuant

22

to

chapter

147A

elects

to

provide

veterinary

medical

services

23

under

paragraph

“a”

,

all

of

the

following

apply:

24

(1)

The

emergency

medical

care

provider

shall

diagnose

or

25

treat

the

police

service

dog

only

after

diagnosing

or

treating

26

any

injured

human

at

the

scene

of

the

emergency.

27

(2)

The

emergency

medical

care

provider

shall

not

be

civilly

28

liable

for

diagnosing

or

treating

the

police

service

dog

if

the

29

emergency

medical

care

provider

acted

reasonably

and

in

good

30

faith.

31

EXPLANATION

32

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

33

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

34

BACKGROUND.

Current

law

provides

for

veterinary

medical

35

-1-

LSB

1075XS

(2)

91

da/ns

1/

2

S.F.

31

services

that

include

diagnosing

or

treating

an

animal’s

1

injury.

The

services

are

required

to

be

provided

by

a

2

veterinarian

holding

a

license

or

temporary

permit

issued

by

3

the

Iowa

board

of

veterinary

medicine

(Code

chapter

169).

4

Certain

exceptions

apply

which

allow

other

persons

to

provide

5

limited

services,

such

as

persons

performing

accepted

livestock

6

management

practices

(Code

section

169.4).

7

BILL’S

PROVISIONS.

This

bill

provides

an

exception

for

8

a

person

certified

by

the

department

of

health

and

human

9

services

as

an

emergency

medical

care

provider

(Code

chapter

10

147A)

when

diagnosing

or

treating

a

police

service

dog

acting

11

under

the

supervision

of

peace

officer

(e.g.,

county

sheriff

12

or

deputy,

police

officer

employed

by

a

city,

or

member

of

the

13

department

of

public

safety).

The

police

service

dog

must

14

be

injured

while

on

duty,

the

injury

must

be

severe,

and

the

15

veterinary

medical

services

must

be

necessary

to

immediately

16

stabilize

the

police

service

dog’s

condition

for

a

later

17

diagnosis

or

treatment

by

a

licensed

veterinarian

or

temporary

18

permit

holder.

The

bill

provides

that

an

emergency

medical

19

care

provider

is

not

required

to

diagnose

or

treat

a

police

20

service

dog,

cannot

provide

such

a

service

prior

to

diagnosing

21

or

treating

a

human

at

the

scene

of

an

emergency,

and

is

not

22

civilly

liable

for

diagnosing

or

treating

the

police

service

23

dog

if

the

emergency

medical

care

provider

acted

reasonably

and

24

in

good

faith.

25

-2-

LSB

1075XS

(2)

91

da/ns

2/

2