Chapter 18 - Livestock Board And State Veterinarian
CHAPTER 18 - LIVESTOCK BOARD AND STATE VETERINARIAN
11-18-101. Livestock board; creation; composition; qualifications;appointment and term of members; removal; vacancies; name defined.
(a) The Wyoming livestock board is created and shall consist ofseven (7) livestock producers. At least three (3) members shall be sheepproducers and at least three (3) shall be cattle producers, provided that if avacancy exists on the board and no person meeting all the qualifications ofthis section is available then any livestock producer within the appointmentdistrict may be appointed. Members shall be appointed by the governor with theadvice and consent of the senate and may be removed by the governor asprovided in W.S. 9-1-202. The members shall be appointed from each of theappointment districts pursuant to W.S. 9-1-218 and the appointment for eachdistrict shall be rotated among the counties within the district. The membersshall serve for one (1) six (6) year term and until their successors areappointed and qualified. In case of a vacancy for any reason, the governorshall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy in accordance with W.S.28-12-101. Each member of the Wyoming livestock board shall be a qualified electorof the county from which he is appointed and a resident of this state duringhis term of office.
(b) The name, "Wyoming livestock and sanitary board"wherever it appears in any statute, law or regulation of record in this stateor in any other document now in force and effect means "Wyoming livestockboard." All powers, duties and prerogatives having accrued by law to theformer livestock and sanitary board is hereafter vested in the Wyominglivestock board.
(c) Appointments and terms under this section shall be inaccordance with W.S. 28-12-101 through 28-12-103.
11-18-102. Livestock board; duties generally.
The Wyoming livestock board shall exercisegeneral supervision over and protect the livestock interests of the state fromtheft and disease, and shall recommend legislation as in its judgment willfoster the industry.
11-18-103. Livestock board; powers generally.
(a) In addition to powers and duties hereinafter provided, theWyoming livestock board shall:
(i) Appoint a state veterinarian who is a graduate of aveterinary college recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Associationand the Wyoming state board of veterinary medicine and licensed to practice inWyoming and who shall serve at the pleasure of the board;
(ii) Consult with the state veterinarian when the stateveterinarian appoints deputy state veterinarians. Any deputy stateveterinarians shall act under the direction of the Wyoming livestock board andthe state veterinarian. Deputy state veterinarians shall be graduates of aveterinary college recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Associationand the Wyoming state board of veterinary medicine. Deputy state veterinariansshall serve at the pleasure of the state veterinarian. The state veterinarianshall supervise and control the action of the deputy state veterinarians andprescribe their duties and tenure of office;
(iii) Supervise and control the action of the state veterinarianand prescribe his duties and tenure of office;
(iv) Remove the state veterinarian at any time;
(v) Promulgate and enforce rules, regulations and orders itdeems necessary for the importation of domestic animals, excluding thoseanimals covered in W.S. 23-3-301(a), recording and inspection of livestockbrands, inspection, testing, brucellosis vaccination or quarantining of anylivestock including brucellosis vaccination requirements for resident cattleand cattle imported into Wyoming and to develop a livestock health andemergency disease response program, including prevention, surveillance andinvestigation of livestock diseases through naturally occurring events or actsof agroterrorism. "Agroterrorism" for the purpose of this sectionmeans an intentional release of a biological or chemical agent that causes diseaseto livestock or crops or renders the food products of livestock or crops unsafefor human consumption;
(vi) Exercise the power and authority conferred upon it by thisact, either directly or through its agency;
(vii) Designate an agency to act as its representative asprovided by W.S. 11-20-201, recorded in its minutes, and transmit the name ofthe agency to the auditor and treasurer of Wyoming;
(viii) Develop a comprehensive livestock health and emergencydisease response program for reportable diseases as identified in W.S.11-19-102;
(ix) Promote the prevention, surveillance, investigation andelimination of diseases of concern and the protection of the overall health ofWyoming livestock by maintaining science based import regulations andquarantines and providing instruction to the ports of entry, veterinarians andlaw enforcement.
11-18-104. Livestock board; oath.
Members of the Wyoming livestock board,before entering upon their duties, shall take the oath of office prescribed bythe constitution, and file it in the office of the secretary of state.
11-18-105. Livestock board; election of president; meetings generally.
The Wyoming livestock board shall elect one(1) of its members president. It shall meet at such times as called by thepresident, any three (3) members of the board, the state veterinarian or thedirector.
11-18-106. Livestock board; quorum; compensation.
A majority of the board constitutes aquorum for the transaction of business. Members of the board shall receivecompensation, mileage and per diem for time actually spent in the performanceof their duties and traveling expenses while in attendance, and going to andfrom board meetings in the same manner and amount as members of the Wyominglegislature.
11-18-107. Livestock board; seal.
The Wyoming livestock board shall have aseal upon which is engraved "Wyoming Livestock Board."
11-18-108. Livestock board; report to governor.
The Wyoming livestock board shall report tothe governor all proceedings and the condition of the livestock interest ofWyoming as required by W.S. 9-2-1014.
11-18-109. Disposition of collected fees and monies in general fund;payment of expenses of board.
(a) All fees and monies collected by the Wyoming livestockboard or any of its officers, agents or employees, not specifically required bylaw to be credited to a different fund, shall be placed by the state treasurerin the general fund.
(b) The expenses incurred in the conduct of the business of theWyoming livestock board, the state veterinarian and the director, including theper diem of members of the board, the salaries or wages of the director, deputystate veterinarians and other necessary employees, traveling expenses,furnishing of offices, stationery, supplies and all other expendituresnecessary and incident thereto, shall be paid out of the general fundappropriations provided by law. All expenses shall be itemized on the propervouchers, approved by the director, covered by proper receipts, and paid by thestate treasurer from money appropriated by law.
11-18-110. Director; deputy directors; term; powers and dutiesgenerally; orders subject to review.
(a) The board shall appoint a director, who shall be the chiefexecutive officer of the board. The director shall serve at the pleasure ofthe board and act as the secretary of the Wyoming livestock board, subject tothe rules and regulations of the board. He may act for and perform the dutiesimposed by law upon the board when the board is not in session, but an order orregulation made by him is subject to review, modification or annulment by theboard at any subsequent meeting.
(b) The director may appoint deputy directors for agencydivisions. The deputy directors shall serve at the pleasure of the directorand are responsible to and under the control and supervision of the director.
(c) The director shall supervise and control the action of theother employees and prescribe their duties and tenure of office.
(d) Unless otherwise specified in this chapter, the directormay only remove employees in accordance with personnel rules of the stateexecutive branch.
11-18-111. Deputy state veterinarians; appointment; powers and duties;term.
With the consent of the Wyoming livestockboard and approval of either the federal veterinarian in charge of Wyoming orthe chief of veterinary services, United States department of agriculture, thestate veterinarian may appoint federal veterinary inspectors stationed in thisstate as deputy state veterinarians, and federal lay inspectors stationed inthis state may be appointed agents of the Wyoming livestock board. All federalofficers appointed as deputies or agents of the Wyoming livestock board shallpossess the powers and duties of deputy state veterinarians or agents of the Wyominglivestock board, but they shall act without compensation and hold office onlyat the pleasure of the state veterinarian.
11-18-112. Authority of federal authorities and state inspectors tocall sheriffs for assistance; failure to comply; penalties.
All federal authorities authorized, and thevarious inspectors of this state, may call upon any sheriff or peace officer inany county in this state to assist them in the discharge of their duties andthose peace officers shall assist them when so requested. The federal inspectorhas the same power to enforce the laws of this state as the various inspectorsof the state when authorized as aforesaid and engaged in the discharge of theirofficial duties. Any person refusing to comply with the orders of such officeror federal inspector shall be punished as provided in W.S. 11-1-103.
11-18-113. When state veterinarian authorized to enter premises orvehicle to inspect livestock.
In the performance of their officialduties, the state veterinarian or any agent or officer of the Wyoming livestockboard may enter any place or vehicle used for the treatment, retention ortransportation of livestock, including poultry, or where he has reason tobelieve any livestock affected with or exposed to infectious, contagious orcommunicable diseases may be found.
11-18-114. Repealed by Laws 1978, ch. 47, 2.
11-18-115. Repealed by Laws 1978, ch. 47, 2.
11-18-116. Repealed by Laws 1978, ch. 47, 2.
11-18-117. Confidentiality of livestock premises and identificationrecords; penalties.
(a) Except as provided by subsection (b) of this section, allrecords, data and information collected by the state, recorded or otherwise,for the purposes of a national livestock identification program shall beconfidential and are not public records for purposes of W.S. 16-4-201 through16-4-205. The records, data and information shall be released only upon orderof the Wyoming livestock board to appropriate governmental agencies for thepurposes of a national livestock identification program, disease outbreak orlaw enforcement investigation. The board shall not release any records, dataor information to a federal agency until the agency confirms in writing that itwill maintain the records, data and information as confidential and that theyare not subject to the federal Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, asamended. Upon release by the board of any information to any other governmentalentity, the board shall notify the person to whom the information refers or pertainsthat the release has been made, the name of the entity to whom the informationwas released and shall provide a copy or summary of the information containedin the release. The records, data and information shall not be subject todiscovery or introduction into evidence in any civil action.
(b) The Wyoming livestock board may release informationcollected for the purposes of a national livestock identification programrelated to the ownership and location of individual animals to the extent theinformation is useful in controlling or preventing a disease outbreak or toshow particular animals or herds are not involved in a disease outbreak. Theinformation released may be a public release or may be limited to specificindividuals with a need to know the information, as the livestock board deemsthe circumstances require.
(c) A person who knowingly provides false information to theWyoming livestock board for purposes of a national livestock identificationprogram shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to onethousand dollars ($1,000.00), imprisonment for up to six (6) months, or both.
(d) A person who refuses to provide to the livestock boardinformation that is required under the authority of the livestock board forpurposes of a mandatory national livestock identification program shall beguilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to one thousand dollars($1,000.00), imprisonment for up to six (6) months, or both.
11-18-118. Conducting business electronically.
The Wyoming livestock board may allow itsbusiness to be conducted electronically as provided by the Uniform ElectronicTransactions Act, W.S. 40-21-101 through 40-21-119.
11-18-119. Veterinarian loan repayment program; rulemaking authority.
(a) The board is authorized to enter into agreements withgraduate veterinarians who are licensed to practice in the state of Wyoming, toprovide food animal health care in this state. For purposes of this section,"food animal" means cattle, swine, sheep or goats. The agreementsshall:
(i) Provide for the veterinarian to practice food animalveterinary medicine in a community of the state from among a list ofcommunities developed by the board. A veterinarian shall agree to provide foodanimal veterinary care for the period of the contract in underserved areas ofthe state;
(ii) Provide that the veterinarian shall be repaid up to onehundred percent (100%) of the total amount of outstanding educational loans theveterinarian has acquired as a direct result of undergraduate or postgraduateeducational training directly related to providing food animal veterinaryservices, not to exceed thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00) per year,including the matching funds specified in subsection (d) of this section, inexchange for practicing his profession under the terms of this section;
(iii) Require the veterinarian to practice food animal veterinaryservices for a minimum of three (3) years under the agreement;
(iv) Contain other provisions the board deems necessary orappropriate to accomplish the purposes of this section.
(b) The board, in consultation with the appropriate licensingboard and professional association, shall promulgate rules and regulationsnecessary to carry out the purposes of this section. In carrying out thissection the board shall assess food animal veterinary care needs of the stateby geographic areas and shall prioritize and enter into agreements under thissection accordingly.
(c) The board may vary the terms of each agreement in accordancewith this section based upon the community and the food animal veterinary needsof the state.
(d) No state money shall be expended for repayment of any loanunder this section unless twenty-five percent (25%) of the money is matchedwith other funds in any combination from any county, city, veterinary clinic,animal care facility, state agency, university, laboratory or veterinaryassociation.