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

The Monthly National Legislation Reporthttp://mnlreport.typepad.com/Page 19 of 3307/5/2010Janet Wolf is running for re-election for 2nd district county supervisor. Wolf has been wonderfully supportive on animal issues. She has shown herself to be willing to work hard in support of animal causes. Wolfwas clear in her support of a spay/neuter ordinance. When the puppy abuse case hit the papers in early April, her office was quick to respond and make sure that Animal Services was taking the appropriate action.Wolf made a point of attending the Wags N’ Whiskers Adoption Festival and the K9 PALS shelter remodel ribbon cutting, to show her support. We need her to remain on the Board of Supervisors if we want to makefuture policy changes on behalf of Santa Barbara County’s animals.State Assembly—Democratic Primary: Das Williams or Susan JordanBoth Susan Jordan and Das Williams (currently sitting on the Santa Barbara City Council) are likely to be strong and committed advocates on animal issues. Their recordsoverall are quite similar, although Susan Jordan’s work has been more limited to environmental issues, while Das Williams, as a city council member and because of his generalinterests, has also been involved with education, health care, and a broader palette of social issues. Williams has been responsive and creative in helping with animal issues,including a threatened cut to City Animal Control, and getting the new County spay/neuter ordinance on the City Council agenda. Both have the endorsements of the majorenvironmental organizations. The Women’s Political Committee has endorsed Jordan; Williams has most of the Democratic Party endorsements. Both Jordan and Williams arestrong individuals who would fight hard for animals, carrying or supporting animal legislation.Sacramento County – (5/28/10) – Sacramento County Mulls Eliminating Animal Care Services. Six months after unveiling its $23 million shelter for unwanted dogs and cats, Sacramento County iscontemplating getting out of the animal care business, a county executive acknowledged Thursday. The county has dismissed its shelter director and on Thursday met with area officials to discuss the possibleconsolidation of animal care services across the region.COLORADODenver – (5/14/10) - Lawsuit filed against Denver, Aurora Pit Bull Ban. Three people who say they need their pit bulls for their disabilities are suing Denver and Aurora for banning thebreed. The class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in Denver Wednesday seeks more than $75,000 in damages for Glenn Belcher and Allen Grider and Valerie Pitz. The cities have bannedthe dog breeds. Grider is a Vietnam War veteran who says he has symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder and that his pit bull, Precious, helps him. Grider says Aurora officialsseized his dog in November and was later released to a friend. Denver attorneys declined to comment. Aurora City Attorney Charlie Richardson says he's disappointed in the lawsuit andthought the city had reached an agreement with Grider to allow him to keep his pet.FLORIDABroward County – (6/1/10) - Will dog ordinance bite Broward commissioner Ken Keechl? Broward county commissioner Ken Keechl has come under fire for his questionablecampaign spending and a reneged promise that he wouldn't take another job while serving as a commissioner. Now he's feeling heat for pushing the controversial One-Bite-and-You're-Out"dangerous dog" policy that's riled up some pet lovers. Could it turn out to be a campaign issue? Will Keechl's dog ordinance end up biting him come election time?Key West – (5/14/10) – Key West ordinance would bring back the dogs. A proposed ordinance to allow dogs at outdoor portions of restaurants that obtain a permit and followhealth and safety guidelines will go before the Key West City Commission Tuesday night. The city of Miami passed a similar canine dining ordinance in 2007. The proposed ordinance alsorequires restaurants that want the city permit to carry at least $1,000,000 in liability insurance. Restaurants that don't want dogs don't need to apply for a permit.Pinellas County – Clearwater – (5/7/10) – Pinellas amends dog ordinance: tightens “bad dog” rule. Bad dogs will be regulated more strictly under revisions to PinellasCounty's animal services ordinance. On Tuesday, the County Commission also changed the animal ordinance to restrict tethering of dogs and reduce the holding time for impounded animals.The ordinance amendment also revised rules on tethering of dogs. Tethering of sick or injured dogs is now prohibited, Burrell said. "Tying a dog to a stationary object is prohibited unless it isfor a reasonable time," the amended ordinance now declares. "A tethered dog must have access to water, adequate shelter and dry ground." The ordinance will be enforced primarily withwarnings. After an investigation, however, citations and fines of up to $500 could be levied, Burrell said. In another change, the holding time for strays turned in to Animal Services beforebeing screened for adoption. For dogs with ID tags the time has been reduced to seven days from 10. For dogs without ID, the holding time is now four days, not five.Winter Park - Parks & Recreation (P&R) Commissioner Bonnie Jackson is pushing for a new ordinance that bans all pet related events, such as the 11th Annual Pet Costume Contest and the8th Annual Spring Doggie Art Festival on Park Avenue. These events, hosted by local business owners Brian Wettstein and Jeff Brow of The Doggie Door and BullFish drive more than 8,000people and business into downtown Winter Park annually. Jackson has placed this topic on the agenda for the Parks & Recreation meeting on Wednesday, May 26th at 5 pm at the Parks &Recreation Building located at City Hall.Thank you Elisa LawGEORGIA(5/20/10 - Georgia Update: Proposed Rule Change Will Not Impact FanciersOn May 13, the Georgia Department of Agriculture published a notice of intent to adopt amendments to rules that would increase fees for animal shelters, kennels, pet dealers and stables.These fees are a part of an across-the-board increase in state fees that are designed to help offset state budget cuts that have been made necessary by the difficult economic times.Some concern has been expressed about a new section [O.C.G.A. § 4-11-14] that would require a $50 temporary permit fee for out of state pet dealers who wish to show, exhibit, sell, tradeor conduct a similar activity in Georgia. This provision is designed to impact only dealers—those who sell or transfer large numbers of animals at a show or exhibition. This new fee doesNOT apply to fanciers entering the state to exhibit their dogs at AKC dog shows.AKC’s Georgia Federation, The Georgia Canine Coalition is working with the Department of Agriculture to help clarify this language and to ensure that there is no further confusion on thispoint.View a copy of the proposed rule change.View a copy of Agriculture Commissioner Irvin’s letter explaining the fee increases.For more information, please view the attached documents, or contact the Georgia Canine Coalition or the AKC Government Relations Department.ILLINOIS(5/5/10) - Illinois Firearms Ban Threatens Sportsmen. An “assault weapon” ban currently pending in Illinois would prohibit many commonly used hunting firearms and could be up for avote at any time on the Statehouse floor. The measure, House Bill 5751 introduced by Representative Edward Acevedo (D-Chicago), would prohibit the manufacture, delivery, sale, purchaseor possession of semi-automatic “assault weapons.” The bill defines assault weapon to include many firearms that are commonly used for hunting such as semi-automatic shotguns thathave either a pistol grip or a thumbhole stock. The bill does allow for the continued possession of banned firearms that are owned before the ban takes effect but would not allow thepurchase or transfer of new firearms that are on the list. Additionally, HB 5751 includes an exemption for the possession of a banned firearm if it is used solely for hunting. However, thisexemption does not provide adequate protection for sportsmen who might also use that same firearm for recreational or target shooting.Chicago – (5/31/10) - State proposal to help pet buyers ferret out puppy mills. Audit finds federal agency lax in penalizing breeders for deplorable conditions. Petbuyers are closer to learning not only how much that doggy in the window costs, but whether it came from a large-scale "puppy mill" and has a history of health problems, according to a billapproved by the Illinois Senate. Pet stores will have to post information outside each dog and cat's cage that allows consumers to conduct further research. And buyers might think twice ifthey learn the animal comes from an out-of-state breeder or large facility, where animals may be housed in small wire cages with minimal exercise, said Jordan Matyas, Illinois director for theHumane Society of the United States. If signed by Gov. Pat Quinn, the law would take effect Jan. 1. The legislation comes on the heels of a scathing report released last week that takes U.S.animal welfare inspectors to task for failing to stop dog breeders who have repeatedly violated laws that protect animals from abuse. The inspector general for the U.S. Department ofAgriculture found that the agency responsible for investigating so-called "puppy mills" underreported violations, failed to enforce the federal Animal Welfare Act and even lowered penaltiesfor some repeat offenders. "It's just heartbreaking," U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said, describing his disgust with photos of animal abuse contained in the 69-page report. More than half of4,250 dog breeding facilities that were reinspected after violating the law were still ignoring minimum care standards, according to the inspector general's audit, conducted over three years.Inspectors relied on educating repeat offenders, without an "appropriate level of enforcement" that weakened its effectiveness, the report states. Other large-scale breeders have circumventedthe law by selling animals over the Internet, a loophole that Durbin vowed to close with legislation that will require any breeder who sells more than 50 dogs a year to be licensed and subject