(1) Veterinary peer health assistance program (a) There is created the veterinary peer health assistance program to provide assistance to veterinary professionals needing help in dealing with physical, emotional, or psychological conditions that may be detrimental to their ability to practice under this article 315. The board shall select one or more veterinary peer health assistance program designated providers. To be eligible for designation by the board, a provider must: (I) Provide for the education of veterinary professionals with respect to the recognition and prevention of physical, emotional, and psychological conditions and provide for intervention when necessary or under circumstances established by the board by rule; (II) Offer assistance to a veterinary professional in identifying physical, emotional, or psychological conditions; (III) Evaluate the extent of the physical, emotional, or psychological condition and refer the veterinary professional for appropriate treatment; (IV) Monitor the status of a veterinary professional referred for treatment; (V) Provide counseling and support for the veterinary professional and for the family of any veterinary professional referred for treatment; (VI) Agree to receive referrals from the board; and (VII) Agree to make its services available to all regulated veterinary professionals in Colorado. (b) Upon receipt of a signed complaint by a complainant, the board may require a veterinary professional to participate in the veterinary peer health assistance program and to enter into a stipulation with the board pursuant to section 12-20-405 (3) before participating in the program. The agreement must contain specific requirements and goals to be met by the participant, including the conditions under which the program will be successfully completed or terminated, and a provision that a failure to comply with the requirements and goals is to be promptly reported to the board and that failure will result in disciplinary action by the board. (c) Notwithstanding sections 12-315-112, 12-315-207, and 24-4-104, the board may immediately suspend the license or registration of any veterinary professional who is referred to the veterinary peer health assistance program. If the veterinary professional objects to the suspension, the veterinary professional may submit a written request to the board for a formal hearing on the suspension within ten days after receiving notice of the suspension, and the board shall grant the request. In the hearing, the veterinary professional bears the burden of proving that the veterinary professional's license or registration should not be suspended. (d) Any veterinary professional who is accepted into the veterinary peer health assistance program in lieu of disciplinary action by the board shall affirm that, to the best of the veterinary professional's knowledge, information, and belief, the veterinary professional knows of no instance in which the veterinary professional has violated this article 315 or the rules of the board, except in those instances affected by the veterinary professional's physical, emotional, or psychological condition. (e) A veterinary professional who is arrested for a drug- or alcohol-related offense shall self-refer to the veterinary peer health assistance program within thirty days after the arrest for an evaluation and referral to appropriate treatment, if necessary. If the veterinary professional self-refers, the evaluation by the veterinary peer health assistance program is confidential and cannot be used as evidence in any proceeding other than a proceeding before the board. A veterinary professional's failure to comply with this subsection (1)(e), alone, is not grounds for discipline under section 12-315-112 or 12-315-207, unless the veterinary professional has also committed an act or omission specified in this article 315. (f) As a condition of licensure or registration and renewal of a license or registration in this state, every veterinary professional applying for a new license or registration or to renew a license or registration shall pay to the board, for use by the administering entity selected by the board pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, a fee in an amount not to exceed forty dollars per year, which maximum amount may be adjusted on January 1, 2012, and annually thereafter by the board to reflect changes in the United States bureau of labor statistics consumer price index for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood for all urban consumers or goods, or its successor index. The board shall forward the fee to the chosen administering entity for use in supporting veterinary professionals through the veterinary peer health assistance program. (2) Administering entity. (a) The board may select an entity to administer the veterinary peer health assistance program. The administering entity must be a nonprofit private foundation that is qualified under section 501 (c)(3) of the federal "Internal Revenue Code of 1986", as amended, and that is dedicated to providing support for charitable, benevolent, educational, and scientific purposes that are related to veterinary medicine, veterinary medical education, veterinary medical research and science, and other veterinary medical charitable purposes. (b) The administering entity shall: (I) Distribute the money collected by the board, less expenses, to the designated providers, as directed by the board; (II) Provide an annual accounting to the board of all amounts collected, expenses incurred, and amounts disbursed; and (III) Post a surety performance bond in an amount specified by the board to secure performance under the requirements of this section. The administering entity may recover the actual administrative costs incurred in performing its duties under this section in an amount not to exceed ten percent of the total amount collected. (c) The board shall collect the required annual payments payable to the administering entity for the benefit of the administering entity and shall transfer all the payments to the administering entity. All required annual payments collected or due to the board for each state fiscal year are custodial funds that are not subject to appropriation by the general assembly, and the distribution of payments to the administering entity or expenditure of the payments by the administering entity does not constitute state fiscal year spending for purposes of section 20 of article X of the state constitution. (3) Liability limitations. Nothing in this section creates any liability on the board or the state of Colorado for the actions of the board in making grants to the veterinary peer health assistance program, and a civil action shall not be brought or maintained against the board or the state for an injury alleged to have been the result of the activities of any state-funded veterinary peer health assistance program or the result of an act or omission of a veterinary professional participating in or referred by a state-funded veterinary peer health assistance program. However, the state remains liable under the "Colorado Governmental Immunity Act", article 10 of title 24, if an injury alleged to have been the result of an act or omission of a veterinary professional participating in or referred to a state-funded veterinary peer health assistance program occurred while the veterinary professional was performing duties as an employee of the state. (4) Rules. The board may promulgate rules necessary to implement this section.
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