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

The Monthly National Legislation Reporthttp://mnlreport.typepad.com/Page 232 of 3307/5/2010SB 137 had previously been the bill to create an animal friendly license plate to help fund the state’s spay/neuter program. Senator Roberge recognized that the license plateinitiative needed more work and amended the bill on the floor of the senate to delete the license plate initiative. Now, the new SB 137 eliminates Plan A from the statespay/neuter program thereby providing additional funding for Plan B. Plan A allows the animal shelters to provide a voucher to reduce the cost of spaying/neutering a dog/cat thatis adopted at a shelter. There are no income criteria for being able to qualify for this voucher. SB 137 retains Plan B that provides dog or cat spay/neutering for a nominal co-payfor persons that participate in certain low-income programs.The April 16th public hearing on SB 137 was certainly a landmark event in the history of DOGSlegislative advocacy. Senator Roberge, Dr. Crawford (the state veterinarian), Joyce Arivella, Jan Gardner, Jay Phinizy, Peter Marsh and the representative from Bedford AnimalShelter testified in support of the bill. Nevertheless, some committee members are concerned about the need to reach out to cat owners and those who are not participants in thestate’s low-income programs that may need low cost spay/neuter services.A copy of the bill is available at http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2009/SB0137.htmlThis coming week, please take a few minutes to send a brief note to the members of the House Environment & Agriculture Committee (see contact list below) urging them tosupport the passage of SB 137, as amended by the Senate.Talking Points to include in your request to Support the new “SB 137”:- During this difficult economic period, it is crucial to target the state spay/neuter program funding to the target population where it will do the most good – those thatqualify as low-income.- Low income persons are those least able to afford to spay/neuter their dog or cat and are least likely to be able to afford to care for their pet’s offspring.- Those who do not qualify as low-income under Plan A, can access low-cost services at local shelters were spay/neuter is offered as part of the adoption service orconsult their veterinarian for which programs in their locality offer assistance in the procedures.- Nothing in SB 137 would prohibit the shelters who currently use Plan A to conduct their own spay/neuter program for pets as several do at this time utilizing their ownfunds or the services of other organizations. SB 137 allows shelters to offer the Plan B spay/neuter subsidy to those who qualify as low-income.Members of the House Environment and Agriculture CommitteeChair, Representative Tara Sad, Cheshire- District 02PO Box 909Walpole, NH 03608-0909Phone: (603)756-4861Email: tara.eric@gmail.comVice-Chair, Representative Jane Beaulieu, Hillsborough- District 17609 South Main StManchester, NH 03102-5134Phone: (603)203-8440Email: jane.beaulieu@leg.state.nh.usRepresentative Suzanne Smith, Grafton- District 0720 Brookside Ln.Hebron, NH 03241-7200Phone: (603)744-8871Email: zanne1@metrocast.netRepresentative Derek Owen, Merrimack- District 04580 Brockway RoadHopkinton, NH 03229-2012Phone: (603)225-2252Email: owen31@juno.comRepresentative Peter Allen, Cheshire- District 0625 Seaver RoadHarrisville, NH 03450-5538Phone: (603)827-5530Representative Leigh Webb, Merrimack- District 02PO Box 154Franklin, NH 03235-0154Phone: (603)934-8222Email: leigh.webb@leg.state.nh.usRepresentative Roger Beauchamp, Hillsborough- District 1725 Legacy DrManchester, NH 03102-2136Phone: (603)624-8332Email: roger.beauchamp@leg.state.nh.usRepresentative Steven Lindsey, Cheshire- District 0389 Marlboro St Apt 1Keene, NH 03431Phone: (603)547-7375Email: steven.lindsey@leg.state.nh.us