Summary of 2025 MVMA Advocacy to Date

• LD 1220, An Act Allow Chiropractors to Treat Dogs and Equids
  • Summary: This bill was introduced by the Maine Chiropractic Association and seeks to allow chiropractors to treat animals.
  • MVMA Position: Opposed
  • MVMA Testimony: Read it here
  • Status: Public hearing held 4/3; work session held 4/16
  • On 4/16, Dr. Casey Cole, Legislative Chair, and Katherine Soverel attended the work session for LD 1220. As you may know from our emails, this bill had been expanded to allow chiropractors to see animals without a veterinary referral and even allow chiropractors with no animal training to treat animals. We are pleased to report that the committee voted to send this bill for a sunrise review. We are still figuring out exactly what that will entail, but it means that the Department that oversees both veterinary and chiropractic will evaluate the bill, review scope of practice, consider issues of enforceability, and make a recommendation back to the legislative committee. This process will involve multiple stakeholders, including the Board of Veterinary Medicine. The process will likely not begin until January 2026. The MVMA is pleased with this outcome and will continue to be involved as the process continues. 
• LD 962 An Act to Establish the Offense of Aggravated Operating Under the Influence Resulting in the Death of a Pet
• Summary: This bill adds felony charges when an individual driving under the influence kills a pet in a motor vehicle accident. It includes noneconomic damages for emotional distress. 
• MVMA Position: Opposed
• MVMA Testimony: Read it here
• Status: Public hearing held 4/1; work session not yet scheduled

• LD 113 An Act to Require Food Labels to Disclose Use of Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Vaccine Material in Food Production
• Summary: This bill would require special labels on meat products if the animal had been treated with an mRNA vaccine. There are no current mRNA vaccines for animals.
• MVMA Position: Opposed
• MVMA Testimony: Read it here
• Status: Voted ought not to pass by committee (public hearing and work session complete)

• LD 528 An Act to Address the Rise in Rabies in Animals by Appointing Certified Rabies Vaccine Administrators
• Summary: This bill aims to expand access to rabies vaccines by creating certified rabies vaccine administrators that would work under the state veterinarian. This bill was proposed by the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee.
• MVMA Position: Ought to pass - MVMA Chair Dr. Casey Cole worked closely on this bill and the MVMA helped provide input along the way.
• MVMA Testimony: Read it here
• Status: Voted ought to pass by committee (public hearing and work session complete)

• LD 765 An Act to Amend the Laws Governing the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program
• Summary: This bill adds veterinarians as prescribers to the PMP. Existing law correctly lists veterinarians as dispensers but does not include them as prescribers, even though veterinarians are both dispensers and prescribers. It does not change veterinarians' obligations under the PMP.
• MVMA Position: Ought to pass; Dr. Amanda Bisol worked with the PMP advisory council on behalf of the MVMA to ensure that this proposed legislation did not change veterinarians' current obligations under the PMP.
• MVMA Testimony: Read it here
• Status: Voted ought to pass by committee (public hearing and work session complete)