UPCOMING PUBLIC HEARINGS
Tuesday, March 20, 11:00 AM, House Environment & Agriculture Committee, Room 303, Legislative Office Building
SB 370 Clarifying that local law enforcement has authority to enforce animal cruelty laws.
Thursday, March 22, 9:15 AM, Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, Room 102, Legislative Office Building
HB 325: Allows purchasers to accept a sick or injured animal and requires that imported dogs, cats and ferrets be held for 48 hours at a licensed facility before being sold in order to assess health status.
Legislative Status Report
SB 370: No longer Dog breeding and care requirements. Amended in the Senate to remove the original wording and replace it with wording that clarifies the current powers of law enforcement. The bill as amended in the Senate is intended only to make clear that local law enforcement has the jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute suspected violations pertaining to the domestic animal abuse statutes. A copy of the bill as amended by the Senate can be obtained at http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2012/SB0370.html
DOGS Position: Opposed to the original bill. Supporting the Senate amended bill to provide for clarification of local law enforcement jurisdiction.
STATUS: House Environment & Agriculture Committee public hearing on 3/20 at 11am.
HB 325: As amended by the House, allows purchasers to accept a sick or injured animal if the transferee has knowledge of the sickness or injury and requires that imported dogs, cats and ferrets be held for 48 hours at a licensed facility before being sold in order to assess health status.
DOGS Position: DOGS believes that the new provisions are an improvement to the current law in order to address the challenges of dogs being imported into NH from other states and countries.
STATUS: Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee public hearing on March 22 at 9:15am. This bill was held over from last year and amended in the House. A copy of the amendment can be obtained at http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/amendments/2011-2796H.html
Please note: At this time, the copy of the bill that is posted on-line is being corrected.
HB 1362: As passed by the House, retains the current exemption from licensing and registration fees for service dogs and retired armed services dogs. The bill creates a one-time registration/licensing option for service animals that have been certified as such and properly tagged by the governor’s commission on disability. Requires the Governor’s Commission on Disability to issue and administer service animal permanent registration tags.
DOGS Position and Concerns: DOGS supports the exemption from licensing fees for service animals. DOGS has concerns regarding the new procedure such as:
- The Commission does not have the authority to revoke registration if the service dog’s rabies vaccination is not current after the dog is registered.
- A municipality will have no way to identify or verify current rabies vaccination for a permanently registered service dog who is running at large.
STATUS: Passed the House with amendment (14-0 committee vote). Awaiting a public hearing in the Senate. A copy of the amended bill can be found on-line at http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2012/HB1362.html
