Prop. 129: Establishing Veterinary Professional Associates & Prop. 130: $350M in one-time Funding for Law Enforcement

Proposition 129 – Establishing Veterinary Professional Associates 

Prop 129 would create a new category of veterinary professional called a Veterinary Professional Associate (VPA), analagous to Physicians’s Assistants who work with M.D.s (Photo: Unsplash)

This measure would create a new a class of veterinary medical professional analagous to Physician’s Assistants (PAs) who work with M.D.’s in human health care. It would require a Master’s Degree in veterinary clinical care or the equivalent to become a Veterinary Professional Associate (VPA) and would require VPAs to register with the state board. It would allow registered VPAs to practice veterinary medicine under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian.

The measure would become effective in 2027. There is currently no accredited national educational program or testing in place for this professional position. It would all have to be started from scratch.

A veterinarian friend on the western slope shared this thoughts on the measure, saying:

“There is a severe shortage of veterinarians in Colorado and some relief would be welcome. I suppose a well-managed practice would more easily be able to increase productivity [with such a measure]. The precedents in human medicine of Nurse Practitioners and Physicians Assistants should ensure that the concerns about regulation of quality and safety are met.”

Prop. 129 is supported by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the Dumb Friends League, an animal shelter based in Denver. The CEO of the Dumb Friends League, Apryl Steele, DVM, who has two decades of experience in veterinary care, says “We have a severe workforce crisis. There’s long wait times, whether it’s routine or emergency. Veterinary hospitals aren’t accepting new patients.”

Prop. 129 opposed by professional veterinarian associations, including the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, American Association of Equine Practitioners, American Association of Swine Veterinarians, American Association of Veterinary State Boards, American Veterinary Dental College, Colorado Veterinary Medical Association and others. The groups argue that the newly-created position would be duplicative of much of what they already do, and could cause liability problems. The American College of Veterinary Surgeons says it is opposed “to allowing non-veterinarians to perform any surgical procedures on animals.”

RECOMMENDED VOTE on Proposition 129: YES

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Proposition 130 – Additional one-time Funding for Law Enforcement

This measure would make the legislature pay a one-time additional $350 million towards the training and support fund for municipal and county law enforcement agencies to help them hire and retain officers. The additional money would be used for salaries, bonuses, initial and continuing education and training, and to provide a $1 million death benefit for a police officers, fire and first responders killed in the line of duty. It would require the additional one-time funding to supplement existing appropriations. Prop. 130 does not include any mechanism for raising the funds to pay for it or to sustain the changes that could be started by the $350 million (such as maintaining the increased salaries, bonuses or training) or any way the funding could be sustained over time,

The measure was sponsored by the conservative group Advance Colorado and is backed by the group’s president, Michael Fields, who is the former state director of Americans For Prosperity (AFP), a tea party group that belongs to a network of 501(c)(4) “dark money” groups linked to billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch. AFP has long worked to block action on climate change, fought automobile efficiency standards, plotted to tank public transit projects and opposed health care reform. In August 2021, Charles Koch was ranked as the 20th richest person in the world. In promoting Prop. 130, Fields says “Colorado is in the middle of a violent crime and property crime surge. Violent crime is at a 25-year high and has grown 28% in the last decade alone.” But this isn’t true. Colorado crime rates are actually falling. Violent crime dropped across Colorado in the first six months of 2024 compared to the last two years, according to data from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

Prop. 130 is opposed by The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), whose interim Director of Advocacy, Sophia Mayott-Guerrero, says Prop. 130 “is designed to waste taxpayer money while masquerading as a ballot measure for public safety. This measure will direct additional money away from critical community programs such as education, social services, and healthcare, that are proven ways to increase community safety and does not include any financial support for diversion, mental health resources, or other, more effective public safety programs.”

Recommended vote on Proposition 130: NO

 

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