On June 29, 2026, the California Veterinary Medical Association testified in opposition to two bills—AB 2774 and AB 2775—that were potentially going to include new language that would allow all licensed human health care providers to expand their scopes of practice to include animals following the completion of a certification program.

The CVMA has a long history of successfully fighting scope creep attempts by chiropractors and physical therapists, including stalled legislation earlier this year that would have permitted chiropractors who have taken a certification course to expand their practices to include animals by becoming a “animal chiropractic practitioner.”

AB 2774 and 2775 are atypical legislative vehicles for scope expansion language to be introduced in because they are “sunset review” bills for both the Physical Therapy Board of California and State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, respectively. During a sunset review, the California Legislature conducts a review of each regulatory board within the Department of Consumer Affairs to determine if it is still necessary, cost-effective, and performing its intended duties. The language set forth by each agency is historically noncontroversial “clean-up” language, for if the sunset bill does not pass, the agency’s authority expires and it is legally abolished.

However, this year’s sunset reviews for the Physical Therapy Board of California (AB 2774) and State Board of Chiropractic Examiners (AB 2775) proposed last-minute amendments that would have invited all licensed human health care providers to practice veterinary medicine. Furthermore, the model framework language provided no reciprocity for veterinarians to practice on humans.

CVMA Past-President and Co-Legislative Chair Dr. Keith Rode and Director of Regulatory Affairs Dr. Grant Miller testified alongside Jessica Sieferman, the Executive Officer of the California Veterinary Medical Board (CVMB), as opposition witnesses against these proposed amendments at the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee meeting on Monday.

The committee members debated the issue following the CVMA and CVMB opposition statements and in turn received assurances from the committee chair that the proposed language would not be included in the bills. Rather, the bill analyses task both the Physical Therapy Board and the Board of Chiropractic Examiners to further develop a pathway for the licensees to work on animals with adequate consumer protections in place.

It is likely that stakeholder meetings will occur in the coming months, and the CVMA will be actively participating to represent the veterinary profession in these matters. The CVMA will continue to elevate scope of practice expansion attempts as our #1 opposition priority.