The Year Lawmakers Turned Their Attention to Veterinary Medicine

In a column for Today’s Veterinary Business, Mark Cushing and Caitlin Cushing survey the wave of veterinary-related legislation moving through statehouses in 2026, framing the surge as the byproduct of a growing profession whose workforce pressures are finally drawing lawmakers’ attention. Drawing on the Animal Policy Group’s ongoing monitoring of state legislatures, veterinary boards, and pharmacy boards nationwide, the Cushings organize the year’s activity around four themes. On veterinary technicians and the emerging mid-level “veterinary professional associate” role, they track bills aimed at mandatory licensure, expanded clinical scope, and new practitioner categories, citing measures in Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Colorado, and Florida. On licensing portability, they argue that easing interstate practice barriers benefits veterinarians and pets alike, pointing to bills passed in Colorado, Florida, Indiana, and Maryland. On non-compete clauses, they trace the movement to restrict or void such agreements — a trend touching roughly 30 million Americans — through legislation in Virginia and Washington. And on veterinary telemedicine, they highlight states moving in opposite directions, with Washington expanding telehealth access while Alabama and South Carolina reinforce the in-person VCPR requirement. A sidebar examines a March U.S. Supreme Court decision and a related Fifth Circuit ruling that could impose new First Amendment limits on state professional licensing boards, including veterinary medical boards. Throughout, the authors present these developments as evidence that veterinary medicine’s rapid growth is now driving legal and regulatory change, with the digital revolution in the field here to stay even as individual states adapt at their own pace.