Alabama legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Alabama SB85: Veterinary medicine; veterinarian-client-patient relationship further specified; scope of practice inside and outside veterinarian-client-patient relationship further defined
Status: Signed into law, April 15, 2026
What the bill says
An Act, Relating to veterinary medicine; to amend Section 34-29-61, Code of Alabama 1975, to define the veterinarian-client-patient relationship and other terms; to add Section 34-29-77.1 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to prohibit veterinarians from dispensing medication without a veterinarian-client-patient relationship; to provide the amount of time within which a prescription may be refilled; to provide the veterinarian-client-patient relationship is shared among all veterinarians at a location; to require a veterinarian-client-patient relationship be reestablished annually…
From the enrolled text:
An Act, Relating to veterinary medicine; to amend Section 34-29-61, Code of Alabama 1975, to define the veterinarian-client-patient relationship and other terms; to add Section 34-29-77.1 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to prohibit veterinarians from dispensing medication without a veterinarian-client-patient relationship; to provide the amount of time within which a prescription may be refilled; to provide the veterinarian-client-patient relationship is shared among all veterinarians at a location; to require a veterinarian-client-patient relationship be reestablished annually; and to make nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the existing code language to current style. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA: Section 1. Section 34-29-61, Code of Alabama 1975, is amended to read as follows: "§34-29-61 For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings ascribed by this section: (1) ACCREDITED SCHOOL OF VETERINARY MEDICINE. Any veterinary college or division of a university or college that offers the degree of doctor of veterinary medicine or its equivalent and is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). (2) ANIMAL. Any animal or mammal other than man, including birds, fish, reptiles, wild or domestic member of Page including birds, fish, reptiles, wild or domestic member of SB85 Enrolled the Kingdom Animalia other than humans, living or dead. (3) APPLICANT. A person An individual who files an application to …