Connecticut 2026 Session Status: In Committee 1 D cosponsors

SB 190 — AN ACT AUTHORIZING CERTAIN FOREIGN-EDUCATED VETERINARIANS TO PRACTICE UNDER A TEMPORARY PERMIT AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A VETERINARIAN-CLIENT-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP THROUGH THE USE OF TELEHEALTH FOR THE TREATMENT OF URGENT MEDICAL CONDITIONS.

Last action — FILE NO. 27

Track this bill free

No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 11, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Stalled 16% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 D).

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

130 added · 26 removed

Plain-language change summary

The revised version of SB 190 extends the validity of temporary permits for veterinarians from one year to two years, and allows for a one-time renewal if the veterinarian does not achieve the required qualifications in the first period. This change is significant because it provides an additional opportunity for aspiring veterinarians to gain experience and meet certification requirements, which could help alleviate challenges in accessing veterinary care in the state, especially during urgent medical situations. Additionally, the bill continues to emphasize direct supervision of permit holders by licensed veterinarians, ensuring quality and safety in veterinary practices.

→
Previous
Latest
General Assembly Raised Bill No.
Senate General Assembly File No.
190 February Session, 2026 LCO No.
27 February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No.
1069 Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH Introduced by:
190 Senate, March 16, 2026 The Committee on Public Health reported through SEN.
(PH) AN ACT AUTHORIZING CERTAIN FOREIGN-EDUCATED VETERINARIANS TO PRACTICE UNDER A TEMPORARY PERMIT.
ANWAR of the 3rd Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT AUTHORIZING CERTAIN FOREIGN-EDUCATED VETERINARIANS TO PRACTICE UNDER A TEMPORARY PERMIT AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A VETERINARIAN-CLIENT-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP THROUGH THE USE OF TELEHEALTH FOR THE TREATMENT OF URGENT MEDICAL CONDITIONS.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 20-198, the department may, upon payment of a fee of five hundred sixty-five dollars, issue a license without examination to a currently practicing, competent veterinarian in another state or territory who [(1)] (A) holds a current valid license in good professional standing issued after examination by another state or territory that maintains licensing standards which, except for examination, are commensurate LCO No.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 20-198, the department may, upon payment of a fee of five hundred sixty-five dollars, issue a license without examination to a currently practicing, competent veterinarian in another state or territory sSB190 / File No.
1069 1 of 3 Raised Bill No.190 with this state's standards, and [(2)] (B) has worked continuously as a licensed veterinarian in an academic or clinical setting in another state or territory for a period of not less than five years immediately preceding the application for licensure without examination.
27 1 sSB190 File No.
27 who [(1)] (A) holds a current valid license in good professional standing issued after examination by another state or territory that maintains licensing standards which, except for examination, are commensurate with this state's standards, and [(2)] (B) has worked continuously as a licensed veterinarian in an academic or clinical setting in another state or territory for a period of not less than five years immediately preceding the application for licensure without examination.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisionsofsection 20-198,theDepartment of Public Health may issue a temporary permit to an applicant who (1) is a graduate from a school located outside of the United States, its territories or Canada with a degree of doctor of veterinary medicine, or its equivalent, from a program acceptable to the American Veterinary Medical Association as required to receive certification by the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates, (2) is working toward receiving certificationfrom the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates or Program for the AssessmentofVeterinaryEducationEquivalence,and(3)haspassedthe written, oral and practical examinations required under section 20-199.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisionsofsection 20-198,theDepartment of Public Health may issue a temporary permit to an applicant who (1) is a graduate from a school located outside of the United States, its territories or Canada with a degree of doctor of veterinary medicine, or its equivalent, from a program acceptable to the American Veterinary Medical Association as required to receive certification by the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates, (2) is working toward receiving certificationfrom the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates or Program for the AssessmentofVeterinaryEducationEquivalence,and(3)haspassedthe sSB190 / File No.
Such temporary permit shall authorize the holder to practice veterinary LCO No.
27 2 sSB190 File No.
1069 2 of 3 Raised Bill No.
27 written, oral and practical examinations required under section 20-199.
190 medicine only under the direct supervision of a veterinarian who has been licensed under chapter 384 for not less than four years.
Such temporary permit shall authorize the holder to practice veterinary medicine only under the direct supervision of a veterinarian who has been licensed under chapter 384 for not less than four years.
Such temporary permit shall be valid for a period not to exceed one year after the date of issuance and shall not be renewable.
Such temporary permit shall be valid for a period not to exceed two years after the date of issuance, except such temporary permit shall be renewable once for a period of two years if the applicant fails to receive certification from the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates or Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence within the first two-year period.
Such permit shall become void and shall not be reissued if the applicant fails to receive certification from the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates or Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence.
No fee shall be required for the issuance or renewal of a temporary permit under this section.
No fee shall be required for the issuance of a temporary permit under this section.
Sec.
2.
Subsection (c) of section 20-197 of the general statutes is repealed andthefollowing issubstituted inlieuthereof(EffectiveOctober 1, 2026):
(c) [A] (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, a veterinarian-client-patient relationship may not be established solely through veterinary telemedicine.
After a veterinarian-client-patient relationship has been established, such relationship may be maintained through veterinary telemedicine in between medically necessary examinations of the animal by the veterinarian or timely medical visits by the veterinarian to the location where the animal is kept.
If there is no veterinarian-client-patient relationship, a veterinarian may only providegeneraladviceusingelectronicmeansandshallnotprovideany specific advice regarding the animal, including, but not limited to, any diagnosis or recommended medical care or treatment of the animal.
As used in this subsection, "veterinary telemedicine" means the exchange of medical information regarding the status of an animal's health or the delivery of a medical diagnosis, care or treatment of an animal through electronic means, including, but not limited to, telephone, video, mobile sSB190 / File No.
27 3 sSB190 File No.
27 applications or an Internet web site-based platform.
(2) A veterinarian-client-patient relationship may be established through veterinary telemedicine only when (A) a veterinarian determinesthattheanimalisinurgentneedofmedicalcareortreatment that will take a maximum of fourteen days for the veterinarian to administer to the animal, and (B) the client schedules an in-person examination of the animal by the veterinarian to occur not later than fourteen days after the initial veterinary telemedicine visit.
The veterinarian-client-patient relationship established under this subdivision shall not continue after such fourteen-day period ends unless the veterinarian examines the animal in person within such fourteen-day period.
Section 1 October 1, 2026 20-200 Statement of Purpose:
October 1, 2026 Section 1 20-200 Sec.
To expand access to veterinary services in the state.
2 October 1, 2026 20-197(c) PH Joint Favorable Subst.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets.
sSB190 / File No.
Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.] LCO No.
27 4 sSB190 File No.
1069 3 of 3
27 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.
In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.
Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:
None Municipal Impact:
None Explanation The bill establishes a free temporary permit for certain veterinary school graduates and makes procedural changes regarding veterinary telehealth, resulting in no fiscal impact to the state.
sSB190 / File No.
27 5 sSB190 File No.
27 OLR Bill Analysis sSB 190 AN ACT AUTHORIZING CERTAIN FOREIGN-EDUCATED VETERINARIANS TO PRACTICE UNDER A TEMPORARY PERMIT AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A VETERINARIAN-CLIENT- PATIENT RELATIONSHIP THROUGH THE USE OF TELEHEALTH FOR THE TREATMENT OF URGENT MEDICAL CONDITIONS.
SUMMARY This bill allows a veterinarian-client-patient relationship to be established through telehealth if (1) a veterinarian determines that the animal urgently needs medical care or treatment that will take up to 14 days and (2) the client schedules an in-person examination of the animal to occur within 14 days of the first telehealth visit.
Show all 58 changed rows (18 more)
Previous
Latest
The veterinarian- client-patient relationship ends after the 14 days if the veterinarian does not examine the animal in-person during that time.
Under current law, while veterinarians may practice through telehealth, the initial appointment in all cases must be in person.
Generally, after this initial in-person appointment, veterinarians may use telehealth if it is not medically necessary for them to examine the animal in-person.
If there is no veterinarian-client-patient relationship, veterinarians may only give general advice electronically.
Separately, under specified conditions, the bill allows the Department of Public Health (DPH) to issue a temporary veterinarian permit to graduates of foreign veterinary schools, allowing them to work under direct supervision of certain state-licensed veterinarians.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
October 1, 2026 TEMPORARY PERMITS The bill allows DPH to issue a temporary veterinary permit to someone who (1) graduated from a veterinary school (see below) sSB190 / File No.
27 6 sSB190 File No.
27 located outside of the U.S., its territories, or Canada;
(2) is working toward certification from the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG) or Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence;
and (3) passed the written, oral, and practical exams required for a veterinarian license.
For the person to be eligible, the veterinary school program must be one that the American Veterinary Medical Association finds acceptable for ECFVG certification.
The bill allows a permit holder to practice only under the direct supervision of a veterinarian who has been licensed in the state for at least four years.
“Direct supervision” means the licensed veterinarian is in the office where the permit holder is practicing and immediately availability to help and direct the permit holder during that time.
The permit is valid for up to two years, and can be renewed once (for two years) if the applicant fails to get certification from the commission or program specified above during the initial two-year period.
There is no permit fee.
COMMITTEE ACTION Public Health Committee Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 31 Nay 0 (03/02/2026) sSB190 / File No.
27 7
⬇ Download PDF
View plain text versions (3)

How this bill changes current law

6 changes Share ↗

AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

The bill establishes provisions for issuing temporary permits to foreign-educated veterinarians to practice under supervision in Connecticut.

  • Section 20-200

    [(b)] → (2)

    Replaces placeholder [(b)] with the new subheading (2) for more clarity in the section numbering.

  • Section 20-200

    Notwithstanding the provisionsofsection 20-198,theDepartment → Notwithstanding the provisions of section 20-198, the Department

    Adds a space for clarity in the text.

  • Section 20-200

    Notwithstanding the provisions of section 20-198, the department may issue a temporary permit under this subsection to an applicant for licensure without examination upon receipt of a completed application form, accompanied by the fee for licensure without examination, a copy of a current license from another state of the United States, the District of Columbia or a commonwealth or territory subject to the laws of the United States, and a notarized affidavit attesting that the license is valid and belongs to the person requesting notarization. → Notwithstanding the provisions of section 20-198, the Department of Public Health may issue a temporary permit to an applicant who (1) is a graduate from a school located outside of the United States, its territories or Canada with a degree of doctor of veterinary medicine, or its equivalent, from a program acceptable to the American Veterinary Medical Association as required to receive certification by the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates, (2) is working toward receiving certification from the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates or Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence, and (3) has passed the written, oral and practical examinations required under section 20-199.

    Introduces a new process for issuing temporary permits specifically for foreign-educated veterinarians, expanding eligibility requirements.

  • Section 20-200

    Such temporary permit shall authorize the holder to practice veterinary medicine only under the direct supervision of a veterinarian who has been licensed under chapter 384 for not less than four years. → Such temporary permit shall authorize the holder to practice veterinary medicine only under the direct supervision of a veterinarian who has been licensed under chapter 384 for not less than four years.

    Clarifies that the temporary permit allows practice only under the supervision of experienced veterinarians.

  • Section 20-200

    Such temporary permit shall be valid for a period not to exceed one hundred twenty calendar days and shall not be renewable. → Such temporary permit shall be valid for a period not to exceed one year after the date of issuance and shall not be renewable.

    Extends the validity of the temporary permit from 120 days to one year.

  • Section 20-200

    No fee shall be required for the issuance of a temporary permit under this section. → No fee shall be required for the issuance of a temporary permit under this section.

    Clarifies that no fee is required for the temporary permit.

Action History

  1. FILE NO. 27

  2. SENATE CALENDAR NUMBER 48

  3. FAV. RPT., TAB. FOR CAL., SEN.

  4. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  5. REFERRED TO Office of Legislative Research AND Office of Fiscal Analysis 03/16/26

  6. FILED WITH LCO

  7. Joint Favorable Substitute

  8. PUBLIC HEARING 0218

  9. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Public Health

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 186 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (186)

186 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 186 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

veterans healthcare technology
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 190?
SB 190 is sponsored by Nick Gauthier (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 190?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 11, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 190?
Track SB 190 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on SB 190

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of SB 190

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →