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Posted 18 June 2007
View legislative update (PDF)
Eighteen states are still in session as of today. Legislatures are slowly adjourning but not before enacting bills of interest to veterinary medicine. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed into legislation several revisions to the state's veterinary practice act, including reporting of animal cruelty or fighting. He also signed HB 1199 authorizing out-of-state veterinarians to volunteer in the state during declared emergencies.
A new law in Nevada requires the state's and local emergency management plans to address the needs of persons with pets, service animals or service animals in training during and after an emergency or disaster.
Tennessee expanded its definition of abuse to include actual or threatened physical harm to a pet of a person and now requires courts to place such an animal with the petitioner or in foster care.
Hawaii is the latest state to increase penalties for anyone convicted of cruelty to animals, creating a felony offense for cruelty to animals, up from a misdemeanor. Forty-two other states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands have felony cruelty animal laws.
On June 7th the California Assembly approved the much debated AB 1634 by a vote of 41-38, sending the measure to the Senate. The bill requires most dog and cat owners to sterilize their pets by 16 weeks of age, unless they get a special intact permit or an exemption letter from a veterinarian.
In the aftermath of the pet food recall earlier this year, two bills were introduced in New Jersey. A 4171 calls for certification of all pet food that it does not contain harmful byproducts or chemicals and is safe for consumption by a pet. A 4217 proposes civil damage awards for owners whose pet has become ill or died due to contaminated pet food, including loss of companionship up to $15,000, against manufacturers, distributors or anyone else who had a duty to act to prevent the illness, injury, or death. The Assembly Judiciary Committee reported A 4217 favorably after several amendments. More general non-economic damages bills are pending in District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island.
On June 14th, Judge Frederick Kapala of the U.S. District Court granted a 10-day extension of an order that lets a horse slaughterhouse in DeKalb, Ill. remain open while he considers whether to make the order permanent. Cavel International, owner of the plant, is seeking to invalidate a new state law that prohibits the slaughter of horses for human consumption and possession on the ground that it interferes with the federal government's authority to regulate foreign trade and states do not have the authority to convert a moral view into law.
Two other U.S. horse slaughterhouses, both in Texas, closed earlier this year. A federal appeals court upheld a Texas law banning horse slaughter for the sale of meat for food, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider the case. A Texas bill to overturn the ban was not taken up before the close of the legislative session.
Legislation was also introduced in Pennsylvania to ban horse slaughter. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma legislature weighed in on the subject by adopting a resolution asking Congress to reinstate the humane slaughter of horses.
The City of Chicago had a constitutional right to enact its ban on the liver delicacy foie gras, U.S. District Judge Blanche Manning ruled in dismissing a lawsuit by the Illinois Restaurant Association. While the law may be legal, its future still remains in doubt as Mayor Richard Daley and several aldermen have expressed support for a repeal.
If we needed a reminder that this is all serious business, simmering tensions in the Alabama Senate boiled over on the last day of the session when a Republican lawmaker punched a Democratic colleague in the head before they were pulled apart. One of the lawmakers claimed that the other called him a "son of a [expletive]" and "I responded to his comment with my right hand." Alabama Public Television captured the punch on tape.
The following link takes you to the latest chart of significant pending bills and regulations from around the country. Thank you for keeping AVMA informed about developments in your state, and please contact us if we can assist you with your advocacy efforts.
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