House Environment & Agriculture Committee Votes 12-1 to Kill the Bill
On January 28th, the House Environment Committee voted 12-1 to send HB 1624 to the house floor with the recommendation of “Inexpedient to Legislate”. Rep. Susan Wiley was the only vote in favor of the bill. Representatives Gandia, Knox, Tucker and Poznanski were not present. Representative Allen noted that a couple of the letters he received from supporters were identical but he received more letters from opponents that noted a variety of objections.
NEXT STEPS Read more…
SB 365 – requiring the sterilization of animals adopted from shelters mandates that licensed animal shelter sterilize all dogs and cats that they “sell, give away, adopt or otherwise transfer ownership of.”
There are no exemptions for the health or well-being of the animal nor is it clear whether this would apply to dogs and cats being reclaimed by their owners.
HB1417 – allowing companion dogs in certain areas of restaurants adds:
“A restaurant owner may allow, at the restaurant owner’s discretion, any person possessing a properly disciplined companion dog inside his or her place of business. Such dogs shall not be allowed in food preparation or production areas. Restaurant owners allowing companion dogs shall prominently display a sign at all public entrances advising patrons that companion dogs are allowed on the premises.”
to RSA 466:44 Dogs; Restaurants and Food Stores.
HB 1596 – relative to the civil forfeiture of unlicensed dogs makes changes to the licensing law. It shortens the grace period for late licensing of dogs and increases the costs.
- Changes from between June 1 and June 20 to between May 15 and May 31 as the date for the town clerk to create a list of unlicensed dogs.
- Sets June 10 as the latest date for the town to issue a forfeiture warrant for unlicensed dogs.
- Doubles the costs of service of the forfeiture warrant from $5 to $10.
HB 1639 -relative to the tethering of dogs amends RSA 644:8, IV-a(a), the animal cruelty statute, to allow an animal, suspected of being abused or neglected, to be taken into custody without a warrant even if there is no imminent danger to the animal’s health. Here is the proposed change:
“any appropriate law enforcement officer, animal control officer, or officer of a duly licensed humane society may take into temporary protective custody any animal when there is probable cause to believe that it has been or is being abused or neglected in violation of paragraphs III or III-a or when there is a clear and imminent danger to the animal’s health or life and there is not sufficient time to obtain a court order.” Read more…
Legislative Priority – this week – HB 1624 (Breeder Restrictions & Requirements)
HB 1624 is proposed as a bill to stop “puppy mills” but it will impose unnecessary and onerous requirements on responsible dog breeders.
If you have not sent a letter out to the members of the House Environment & Agriculture Committee in opposition to HB 1624 – Please do so immediately – and make sure to personalize it (begin with a different sentence than the draft provided in our previous email alert. For example: I am writing to ask, please pay attention to HB 1624, etc). Ask others in your network of contacts to send a letter and to fashion in their own words using any of our talking points that pertain to them.
NEXT STEP: Please plan to attend the public hearing (see time and location below). You can sign in opposed to speak or not to speak. If speaking, please contact Yvonne Nanasi, DOGS Legislative Consultant for assistance with your statement and advice about testifying at public hearings.
LEGISLATIVE PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED:
House Environment & Agriculture Committee
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1PM in Room 308
of the Legislative Office Bldg. in Concord
UPCOMING ISSUES:
Stay tuned to the DOGS legislative updates on other bills.
HB 1639: adds tethering of dogs for extended periods of time to the definition of criminal animal cruelty. More to come on the analysis of this bill next week.
HB 1417: allowing companion dogs in certain areas of restaurants.
HB 1525: relative to physical therapists practicing on animals.
HB 1562: Renames service dogs as assistance dogs, Provides an option for assistance dogs wear an identifying tag, Allows the advisory council on emergency preparedness to use New Hampshire assistance dog identification tag registration information to prepare for emergencies. The bill as introduced was requested for amendment by the sponsor to make the tag optional. . The NH Dept. of Emergency Preparedness, the NH Municipal Assn. and the NH Town Clerks’ Assn. have concerns with the bill. DOGS provided information to the sponsor and the Health & Human Services Committee at the public hearing that the bill has serious conflicts with the Federal Disabilities law that need to be resolved even if the tab is optional. The sponsor and committee members were very appreciative of DOGS’s input.
Dogged Dogdom has a great post about HB 1624.
The bill infringes on the individual owners rights to make decisions about their animal’s particular needs, and does more to create irresponsible breeding practices and care of animals than it does to protect it.
The bill uses an arbitrary number to define a limit on how many dogs can be adequately cared for by an individual and by a breeder.
Please read it all.
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