Powers and duties of commission

Section 5. Powers and duties of commission.

The commission shall have the following powers and duties:

(1) To adopt, issue, amend and rescind suitable rules

and regulations to carry out the provisions and purposes of

this act.

(2) To hear and determine all grants allowable under

this act.

(3) To receive funds from Federal, State and private

sources, to deposit the funds in an interest-bearing

restricted revenue account pursuant to section 4 and to

authorize expenditures from this fund for the purposes of

carrying out the provisions of this act.

(4) To coordinate animal health, animal research and

animal diagnostic programs in this Commonwealth, including,

but not limited to, those programs conducted at The

Pennsylvania State University, the Department of Agriculture

and the University of Pennsylvania: Provided, That this

coordination shall not affect the Department of Agriculture

in discharging its statutory and regulatory authority

concerning the prevention, control or eradication of

dangerous transmissible diseases of animals or birds.

(5) To make grants for, and acquire data regarding,

animal health research, including, but not limited to:

(i) the determination of long-term animal health

trends within the animal health industry, with emphasis

upon those areas deemed most critical to the animal

agriculture producers, the nutrition and health of the

consumers and the quality of life in rural communities;

(ii) the prioritization of animal health research

projects;

(iii) the maximization of receipt of grant funds

from Federal agencies for animal health research;

(iv) the maximization of receipt of funds from

private sources interested in animal health research;

(v) the distribution of funds for animal health

research projects to those institutions or agencies

within the Commonwealth which conduct contracted

diagnostic work in animal health;

(vi) the evaluation of factors involved in animal

health problems to determine which are biologic in origin

and which are caused by improper livestock management;

(vii) the computerized compilation, maintenance,

indexing and dissemination of animal health research

projects and results, where available, especially in

those cases where research was funded wholly or partially

by the Commonwealth;

(viii) the determination of the need for capital

funding for research facilities and equipment;

(ix) the conduct of annual surveys of the veterinary

medical profession, the food processing industries and

businesses related to livestock agriculture to isolate

trends or circumstances which may threaten animal or

human health; and

(x) the exchange of biomedical research and

information between human health and animal health

sources, including the isolation of animal disease

models.

(6) To make grants for, and acquire data regarding,

animal disease diagnosis, including, but not limited to:

(i) the development of a coordinated reporting and

monitoring system for animal disease diagnosis;

(ii) the development of toxicological capabilities,

especially those related to a drug detection program for

horse racing and to a determination of animal health

problems because of the close proximity of animal

agriculture to mining and to oil and gas drilling;

(iii) the expansion of diagnostic virology

capabilities, especially those related to virus isolation

procedures; and

(iv) the determination of the need for capital

funding for animal disease diagnostic facilities and

equipment.

(7) To make recommendations to the General Assembly and

to the Department of Agriculture regarding animal health

research, animal disease diagnosis and indemnification for

losses caused by animal disease.