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HB0233 • 2023

Transportation and care of injured police dogs.

AN ACT relating to peace officers; authorizing emergency medical services providers to transport and treat injured police dogs as specified; providing definitions; providing immunity to emergency medical services providers as specified; and providing for an effective date.

Healthcare
Inactive

Wyoming marks this bill as inactive, which usually means it is no longer moving in the current session.

Sponsor
Representative Allemand
Last action
2023-02-07
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2023

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify whether a law enforcement officer must accompany an injured police dog during transportation.

Transporting and Treating Injured Police Dogs

The bill allows emergency medical services providers to transport and treat injured police dogs under certain conditions and provides them with immunity from liability.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows emergency medical service (EMS) providers to transport injured police dogs if no human patients need immediate care at the time.
  • Permits EMS providers to give basic first aid, such as opening airways or applying bandages, to injured police dogs during transportation.
  • Provides immunity for EMS providers from personal liability when they treat or transport an injured police dog in good faith.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Emergency medical services providers
  • Law enforcement agencies and corrections agencies that own or employ police dogs

Terms To Know

Police Dog
A dog owned or employed by a law enforcement agency or corrections agency for work purposes, including search and rescue.
Emergency Medical Services Provider (EMS)
Professionals who provide emergency medical care to patients in need of urgent attention.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if there are human patients needing immediate care when a police dog is injured.
  • It is unclear how this law will be enforced or monitored by the state.
  • The bill was marked as inactive, meaning it did not pass in its current session.

Bill History

  1. 2023-02-07 House

    H:Died in Committee Returned Bill Pursuant to HR 5-4

  2. 2023-02-07 House

    H No report prior to CoW Cutoff

  3. 2023-02-03 House

    H10 - Labor:Do Pass Failed 2-7-0-0-0

  4. 2023-01-25 House

    H Introduced and Referred to H10 - Labor

  5. 2023-01-25 House

    H Received for Introduction

  6. 2023-01-24 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
23LSO-0515
2023
STATE OF WYOMING
23LSO-0515
Numbered
2.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0233

Transportation and care of injured police dogs.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Allemand

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to peace officers; authorizing emergency medical services providers to transport and treat injured police dogs as specified; providing definitions; providing immunity to emergency medical services providers as specified; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 33
‑
36
‑
116 is created to read:

33
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36
‑
116.

Use of ambulances for transporting police dogs; treatment of police dogs; immunity.

(a)

As used in this section:

(i)

"Ambulance" means as defined by 33
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36
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102(a)(i);

(ii)

"Police dog" means a dog owned or employed by a law enforcement agency or corrections agency in the course of the agency's work, including a search and rescue dog as defined by W.S. 6
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5
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211(b)(iv), fire dog as defined by W.S. 6
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5
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211(b)(iii), service dog or other dog that is owned or employed by a law enforcement agency or corrections agency.

(b)

It shall not be a violation of professional or licensing standards for emergency medical services providers to transport or treat a police dog injured in the line of duty provided that there are no persons requiring ambulance transport or services at that time. An emergency medical services provider may require a member of the law enforcement agency or corrections agency to accompany the police dog during transport. During transport, an emergency medical services provider may provide care including:

(i)

Opening and manually maintaining an airway;

(ii)

Giving mouth to snout or mouth to barrier ventilation;

(iii)

Administering oxygen;

(iv)

Managing ventilation by mask;

(v)

Controlling hemorrhage with direct pressure;

(vi)

Immobilizing fractures;

(vii)

Bandaging;

(viii)

Administering an opiate antagonist as defined by W.S. 35
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4
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902(a)(i), if the drug is administered either in accordance with a written protocol established and provided by a veterinarian or pursuant to a consultation with a veterinarian.

Section 2
.

W.S. 1
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1
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120 by creating a new subsection (d) and 33
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36
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111(a) are amended to read:

1
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1
‑
120.

Persons rendering emergency assistance exempt from civil liability.

(d)

No emergency medical services provider who in the performance of their duties and in good faith renders emergency first aid to an injured police dog shall be held personally liable for any damages occurring as a result of rendering such aid or services or as a result of transporting a police dog to a veterinary care facility, nor shall they be held personally liable to a veterinary care facility for its expenses if, under emergency conditions, they cause the admission of a police dog to the veterinary care facility.

33
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36
‑
111.

Authorized acts of emergency medical technicians.

(a)

An individual who holds a valid emergency medical technician license issued by the division is authorized to perform any act authorized by division rules and regulations, under written or oral authorization of a licensed physician,
is authorized to provide care and ambulance transportation to police dogs pursuant to W.S. 33
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36
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116
and may provide emergency medical technician services in other states as permitted by the Recognition of Emergency Medical Services Personnel Licensure Interstate Compact Act, W.S. 33
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36
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202.

Section 3.

This act is effective July 1, 2023
.

(END)

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HB0233