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HR 8983

PETS Act

119th Congress Introduced by Cory Mills

The PETS Act expands PDMP obligations to veterinarians, requiring PDMP consultation before prescribing controlled substances and mandating reporting of non-fatal overdoses and drug

Introduced in House
1
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HR 8983

Overview

H.R. 8983, introduced May 21, 2026 by Rep. Cory Mills, is titled the Practitioner Enforcement and Tracking of Substances Act (PETS Act). The bill aims to increase compliance with Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) by veterinarians and to strengthen reporting related to non-fatal overdoses and drug misuse.

Purpose and intent

  • Improve adherence to PDMP requirements for all licensed practitioners, with targeted adjustments for veterinary medicine.
  • Ensure veterinarians who dispense or prescribe controlled substances report to PDMPs and consult PDMP data prior to prescribing, similar to other practitioners.
  • Expand reporting obligations to include non-fatal overdose events and enhance oversight of drug dispensing and misuse.

Key provisions and changes

1) Increasing compliance by veterinarians
- Amends Section 399O(h)(1) of the Public Health Service Act to add a specific veterinary provision.
- Allows State authority to prohibit PDMP reporting for minor patients if a licensed veterinarian prescribes or dispenses a controlled substance to a veterinary patient, with the condition that the veterinarian reports information about the owner or primary caretaker instead of the patient.
- Defines veterinarians as eligible to report to the PDMP in place of a physician for the purpose of PDMP data reporting.
- Adds veterinarians to the set of “dispenser” definitions (replacing “physician” with “physician, veterinarian” in Section 399O(k)(3)).
- States, regardless of contrary state law, that veterinarians must comply with PDMP requirements (consultation prior to prescribing and PDMP reporting) to the same extent as other practitioners.

2) Reporting of non-fatal overdoses
- Amends Section 399O(b) to add a new reporting requirement.
- Requires reporting of non-fatal overdose events that required intervention, by the prescribing or dispensing practitioner (or their designee), to the PDMP within 72 hours of the event.

3) Drug misuse and abuse
- Codifies that reporting to the PDMP by practitioners (or their designee) for drug misuse and abuse is mandatory (changes language from “may” to “shall”).

Who is affected

  • Veterinarians who dispense or prescribe controlled substances.
  • States and PDMP administrators who implement reporting and data-sharing requirements.
  • Other PDMP participants (physicians and dispensing practitioners) who must continue PDMP reporting and consultation obligations.
  • Owners or primary caretakers of veterinary patients in cases where reporting information is redirected from the patient to the owner.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • The bill was introduced in the House and referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce (no Senate actions listed in the provided text).
  • Effective dates are not specified in the excerpt; the bill would become law through the standard legislative process if enacted.

Summary

The PETS Act broadens PDMP compliance to include veterinarians, requiring them to consult the PDMP prior to prescribing controlled substances and to report relevant dispensing data. It also expands reporting obligations to include non-fatal overdoses and strengthens mandatory reporting related to drug misuse and abuse. The bill includes a nuanced provision allowing State authority to route PDMP reporting information to the owner or caretaker in certain veterinary patient scenarios.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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