Introduced By: Senators Coderre T and Perry
Date Introduced : June 25, 1999
RESOLVED, That a special legislative commission be and the same is hereby created consisting of eleven (11) members: two (2) of whom shall be from the house of representatives, not more than one (1) from the same political party to be appointed by the speaker; two (2) of whom shall be from the senate, not more than one (1) from the same political party, to be appointed by the majority leader; three (3) of whom shall be representative of higher education, to be appointed by the chair of the Board of Governors for Higher Education; one (1) of whom shall be a representative of the human service community, to be approved by the director of the Department of Human Services; four (4) of whom shall be pet assisted therapy facilitators, two (2) to be appointed by the Speaker and two (2) to be appointed by the Senate Majority Leader; and one (1) of whom shall be a member of the general public, to be appointed by the Governor.
In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a permanent advisory commission, a legislative study commission, or any commission created by a general assembly resolution, the appointing authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu of a legislator, provided that the majority leader or the minority leader of the political party which is entitled to the appointment consents to the appointment of the member of the general public.
The purpose of said commission shall be to study the several college curriculums in Pet Assisted Therapy (PAT) which will include: input from the experience of commission members, to seek input from agencies with professional PAT programs, to ultimately develop and propose a state of the art university program in PAT.
Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at the call of the speaker of the house and organize and shall select from among the legislators a chairperson. Vacancies in said commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment.
The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services.
All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information, documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution.
The speaker of the house is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters for said commission; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the general assembly on or before June 30, 2000 and said commission shall expire on August 23, 2000.
