Page 1 of 330 The Monthly National Legislation Report 7/5/2010 ...

The Monthly National Legislation Reporthttp://mnlreport.typepad.com/Page 154 of 3307/5/2010AKC UPDATE re: SB460 – (8/5/09) - The North Carolina Senate passed SB 460 yesterday by a vote of 23-22. While the AKC appreciates the many changes that were made to the bill, we remain concernedthat the bill has been too rushed to allow time for legislators and the public to adequately review the bill and fully understand its implications. The AKC also believes that SB 460 is unnecessary, as NorthCarolina already has strong laws that address any cruel or negligent treatment of animals. The AKC Government Relations Department thanks the North Carolina Federation, its coalition partners, and all themany clubs and individuals who have worked so hard over the past six months to defeat SB 460. This bill will now go to the House, where it will be introduced and assigned to one or more committees. It islikely there may not be sufficient time in the remainder of this year's session to take up the bill. However, we fully expect that this bill will be brought up in the House either in the remainder of this session ornext year. The AKC continues to oppose a number of problematic provisions in the latest version of the bill, including:Vague definitions of "commercial breeder" and licensing requirements- Commercial breeder is defined as someone who owns 15 or more intact females "of breeding age" and 30 or more puppies. Itremains unclear whether these numbers refer to the number of dogs on the property at one certain time, or if this is cumulative over the course of a year. Kennels or establishments that operate for thepurpose of boarding or training hunting, sporting, herding, show, or working dogs are exempted from the licensing requirements. The bill does not exempt the breeders of such dogs. It is also unclear ifsomeone who trains show dogs, but also sells puppies is exempt from the licensing requirement.New, problematic legislative findings. The new version of SB 460 inserts eight legislative findings into the bill. We believe that some of these findings are based on unsubstantiated claims. Furthermore,the findings claim that the bill does not interfere with a person's right to participate in hunting and working activities with their dog. The actual bill, however, states that only those who board or train dogsfor show, hunting, working, etc. are exempted. Those that breed these dogs are still subject to the provisions of the bill.Unclear enforcement provisions. It appears that the bill seeks to exclusively empower localities to investigate violations. However, should the bill be enacted, this provision would appear in a section ofexisting law that empowers the State Director of Animal Welfare to investigate violations. These contradictory provisions could effectively create an unfunded mandate in which localities would beresponsible for the cost of state-generated enforcement activities.The new version of this bill also would establish an Internet "registry" of all North Carolinians who would fall under the vaguely-defined "commercial" definition. While this online list might be goodadvertising for true commercial breeders, the AKC believes that this may be an intrusion of the privacy rights of hobby (show, hunting, working, etc.) breeders. The AKC Government RelationsDepartment will provide updated information on our web site as it becomes available. AKC UPDATE – (8/10/09) - NC Victory: Sponsor Pulls Bad Breeders Bill from Committee Consideration -Senate Bill 460 was delivered a final defeat for the year today when its sponsor, Sen. Don Davis, pulled the bill from consideration by the House Finance Committee.Fayetteville – (8/2/09) - A new dog tethering ordinance went into effect in the All American City Saturday.According to the new rule, dog owners may not attach an animal to a stationary object using a chain, rope, cable or similar device. Pet owners are still allowed to walk their dogs with a leash that's attached to acollar or harness.City officials say the new law is designed to protect pets and people. "The thought is that the longer you chain an animal up outside the more aggressive it'll actually become, either to the owner or citizens,people just walking down the road," said Alan Canady, with Cumberland County Animal Services. Owners are allowed to tether dogs in situations where it is necessary for the safety of the animal or peoplearound the animal. But the owner must remain with the dog while it is tethered and the tethering device must not be harmful to the dog.Knightdale – (8/11/09) - The town council decided to slow down on a proposal to keep barking dogs from becoming a nuisance. The council referred the matter to the public safety committee’s Sept. 7meeting. The committee will iron out concerns voiced by council members at last Monday’s meeting. It will then report on the proposal to the full council. A public hearing will be held before the councilvotes, though the date for the hearing has not been set. The current proposal calls for citing owners of dogs that bark more than 10 minutes. But council members worried that dog owners who properly attendto their animals will be affected too. Councilman Terry Gleason suggested tailoring the current noise ordinance to address incidents like dog barking instead of passing a separate ordinance to address it.Council member Mike Chalk said the proposed dog barking ordinance didn’t address tethering animals. Several residents came to the council’s July meeting and asked for the ordinance to address how long andin what manner a dog could be tethered. Eddins said the public safety committee would weigh all the concerns and revise the proposal.Raleigh – (8/11/09) - Opponents and supporters of the Commercial Dog Breeding Bill packed the House Finance Committee meeting Monday to hear the case being made for further regulation of breeders. Thebill, sponsored by Sen. Don Davis, D-Greene County, is designed to eliminate abusive practices in puppy mills. The State Senate approved the bill, but technical wording forced a delay in the House Mondayafternoon. Now a decision on the measure is at least eight months away, when lawmakers return from their break. "There was a technical citation error as well as a procedural issue," Davis said. The delay,however, seems to a bonus for people on both sides of the hotly contested issue, giving them more time to voice their positions. Read SB460 HERE. (pdf)NORTH DAKOTAFargo – (8/10/09) - A draft law to control dangerous or potentially dangerous dogs in Fargo has languished in the city attorney’s office for more than four months, members of an ad hoc group charged withputting it together say. The draft ordinance, a beefed-up version of Moorhead’s law, takes a bigger bite out of the pocketbooks of owners whose dogs are considered dangerous or potentially dangerous, saidcommittee member Steve Candor. The draft law also bans a person from keeping an animal if they’ve violated the law three or more times, Candor said. “We put some teeth in it,” Candor said. But nothing hashappened, he said. “I’d like to get this thing passed. I think it’s got a lot of merit,” he said. Fargo police Lt. Greg Lemke said the group got its work done in three months, submitting it for approval by the cityattorney’s office April 1. But two months later, the attorney who was to review the law left that office. The attorney who took over responsibility then had to take leave for the birth of a child. The delays haveraised some hackles, Lemke said.“It’s just been stuck there. It’s been very frustrating for our group, wondering what’s going on and what’s going to happen,” Lemke said. Attempts to determine the status of thedangerous dog ordinance were unsuccessful Thursday and Friday, as staff at the office of City Attorney Erik Johnson and Assistant City Attorney Robert “Butch” McConn said both men were on vacation. Thedraft law does not target specific breeds, Candor said. Lemke said the draft law allows for the possibility of having a dog once considered potentially dangerous to be taken off the list after training, testing and ayear of good behavior. The draft law has components aimed at animal well-being, too, including limits on how long dogs can be tethered or left unattended, plus shelter and welfare requirements. It’s alsowritten to make it easier for police to enforce barking dog laws, Lemke said. “It’s basically making people more responsible for their animals,” Candor said.OHIOChillocothe – (8/17/09) - Local agriculture groups believe a state issue will protect growers of livestock from radical animal rights laws. The Livestock Care Standards Board is an entitythat would be created if a state issue that appears on the ballot this fall, gets voter approval. The board would be appointed by the governor, that would implement policies that would regulatelivestock producers on the way they treat their animals. Ray Wells of the Ross County Cattlemen's Association and the Ross County Farm Bureau believes the wide cross-section of people thatwould be on the board, could protect farmers from radical aminal rights activitists bent on banning livestock production. Other Ag groups like the Ohio Farm Bureau are supporting themeasure.Dayton – (8/11/09) - Legislation to crack down on puppy mills being considered by state lawmakers could end up hurting legitimate breeders and even put some small breeders out of business, breeders andindustry advocates said. Bills being considered in the Ohio House and Senate would create a regulatory regime for kennels, levy annual kennel fees based on the number of puppies born and set age limits onbreeding dogs. State Sen. Jim Hughes said the bill he is sponsoring will help respectable breeders by getting rid of the bad ones. He said he won't pull back on his effort.Elyria – (8/7/09) - Calls to the Elyria Police Department about pit bulls have become fairly common. Now the city is researching a ban on the breed. Elyria Police Captain Daniel Jaykel says community watchgroups recently brought their concerns to the city. He says people who own pit bulls must keep them confined in a fenced in area, and if the dog is walked it must be on a leash no more than six feet long. Thecity's law director is researching laws to ban the pit bull breed. He will present the law to the safety committee on August 19th.Springfield – (8/10/09) - The gnashing of teeth over proposed state rules for commercial dog breeders likely will continue this fall as animal-rights advocates, animal breeders and legislators resume work onlegislation aimed at regulating breeding kennnels. Proponents of House Bill 124 and Senate Bill 95 say the measures are aimed at stopping abusive breeders who keep dogs in cramped, dirty or disease-riddenkennels and who breed dogs with genetic problems or illnesses. Measures aimed at putting more controls on commercial dog breeders — including the creation of a state-level regulatory regime for kennels, theimposition of annual kennel fees based on the number of puppies born and setting age limits on breeding dogs — are being debated by Ohio lawmakers, animal-rights groups and dog breeders. The measures —which remain in committee —are aimed at stopping abusive breeders who keep dogs in cramped, dirty or disease-ridden kennels and who breed dogs with genetic problems or illnesses. They also set forth othersteps, such as creating a state-level entity to oversee commercial breeding kennels, setting age parameters for dogs used in breeding and establishing state inspections. The goal is not to end all dog breeding inthe state, Hughes said. Breeders and industry advocates say the bills as proposed would saddle legitimate breeders with additional costs and rules, could affect even small-scale breeders and drive many out ofbusiness. For example, Britton said the proposed size requirements for kennel buildings included in the current proposals would force some to tear down adequate buildings and replace them with larger, moreexpensive ones.Summit County – (8/11/09) - Hoping to boost dismal dog license rates, Summit County is offering to waive late fees for owners of unlicensed pets. The amnesty program — called ''Pardon My Pooch'' —allows owners to buy a $14 license now and not incur the $14 late penalty. The catch is that the licenses must be purchased at specific community events to qualify. The goal is to boost compliance and to raiseawareness among dog owners that state law requires them to get a license, County Executive Russ Pry said. Earlier this year, a Beacon Journal analysis showed that only about 30 percent of dogs were licensedin the county last year — one of the worst rates among urban counties in Ohio. No one seems to know why the percentage is so low. Theories range from the cost to people ignoring the law to the county doinga poor job of marketing and enforcement.Toronto – (8/11/09) - Toronto's Safety Director wants to put more teeth in the city's vicious dog ordinance. John Parker said too many vicious dog owners don't carry the required $100,000 liability insurance.