California

[Liz ODell]

Mandatory Spay and Neuter Bill....unless YOU have already been neutered I would think you'll help do something about it.


SB250 TO BE HEARD JUNE 30th
Business and Professions

FLOREZ GETS SB250 ASSIGNED TO B&P
Nothing in the proposed ordinance relates to committee.

SB250 has been assigned to a Committee.

As anticipated, Florez was able to get this assigned to the Business and Professions committee in spite of the fact that no businesses or professions are affected. When AB1634 was in the Assembly, it required action from veterinarians. This bill does not.

So you need to mark June 30th on your calendar!

On June 2nd the Committee Consultant advised CDOC that letters needed to be in early if they are to be counted. That means your Clubs, organizations and businesses need to get their letters in right away. While they will not list letters from individuals she said they MAY include the count in the analysis.

When this bill was in the Senate, dog people, while writing to one another, were largely silent. One of the things that is in our favor is that there are many more of us that vote than there are of animal rights people. So make your voice count and let your views be heard.

When you write your letter, be sure you state Oppose SB 250 As Proposed to be Amended - and then note in the letter that you are aware of the amendments, but do not believe they are sufficient.

While we have been following the amendments closely they continue to be aimed at responsible owners and owned dogs - resulting in more deaths and higher costs. After 5:00 pm PST you will be able to find sample letters under the Resources tab at http://www.sb250.org.

The B&P Committee meets at 9:30 am on Tuesdays.

Letters should be sent to
Rebecca May
Associate Consultant
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-319-3301
916-319-3306

You also need to send a copy to every member of the Business and Professions Committee as well as your own Assembly Member.

Addresses are here.

You will also find more information on SB250 and the reasons it should be defeated at http://www.sb250.org.

If you work as hard on defeating SB 250 as you did on AB1634, it will fail. And, when you read the text, you will see that this is a much worse bill. If you sell or give away and dog and do not go through all the new legislative hoops that this bill requires, you can lose your right to ever own an intact dog again. Giving a dog to your parents or your children or your sister or the service organization you support is all it takes to trigger this.

Making a mistake on the sales tax issue on a dog also would trigger the penalty against owning an intact dog.

The owner, custodian, applicant, or licensee has violated a
state law, or a city, county, or other local governmental provision
relating to the care and control of animals.

This is not the time for apathy. This is the time to make calls, send faxes, send emails and make sure that the thousands of dog organizations in California get their letters into the Committee THIS WEEK.

[Liz ODell]

new Legislative Alert has been posted on the AKC's Web site. To view this alert, please click on the following link, or cut and paste it into your web browser http://www.akc.org/news/index.cfm?article_id=3883.


CA SB 250 to be Heard in Assembly Business and Professions Committee

Senate Bill 250 has been referred to the Assembly Business and Professions Committee and will be heard next Tuesday, June 30th. It is vital that concerned fanciers, dog owners, breeders, and clubs immediately notify the committee members of their ongoing opposition to the measure.

We are still awaiting the amendments that Senator Florez promised as the bill left the Senate. The amendments are expected to address exemptions for working dogs or those involved in hunting activities. A second amendment will require sterilization the 2nd time a dog is at-large, rather than the first. Until we see the text of these amendments, we cannot know their impact.

The American Kennel Club opposes Senate Bill 250 as it continues to use sterilization as a punishment for any violation of the animal control ordinance and for failure to license. Strict limit laws and unreasonably high license fees contribute significantly to people's failure to license their animals and these issues should be examined in dealing with the over animal control issues in the state.

Finally, existing state law already requires that owners of intact animals pay a license fee that is at least double that to license a sterilized animal (Food and Agriculture Code Section 30804.5); and provides for enhanced and graduated fines for owners whose intact dogs are impounded (Food and Agriculture Code Section 30804.7). These statutes are sufficient to incentivize owners to sterilize their animals and to address animal control concerns with specific intact animals who are impounded repeatedly.

This legislation will not improve the lives of cats and dogs, will negatively impact responsible owners and breeders. Additionally, by placing additional burdens on owners of intact animals, this measure may lead to an increase of animals in shelters. Concentrating animal control efforts on dogs whose behavior demonstrates that they are a problem for the community, regardless of their reproductive status, would be a much better use of taxpayer funds.

What You Can Do:
* Attend the Business and Professions Committee hearing to oppose SB 250.
June 30th at 10am
State Capitol, Room 447
Sacramento, CA 95814

* Contact the members of the Assembly Business and Professions Committee and ask them to oppose Senate Bill 250. For a sample letter visit this link: http://www.akc.org/canine_legislation/C ... SM_B_P.doc

* Ask your club to write a letter opposing SB 250. For a sample letter for your club, please visit this link: http://www.akc.org/canine_legislation/C ... SM_B_P.doc.

Business and Professions Committee Members

Assemblymember Mary Hayashi (Chair)
Assemblymember.Hayashi@assembly.ca.gov
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0000
Phone (916) 319-2018
Fax: (916) 319-2118

Assemblymember Bill Emmerson (Vice-Chair) Assemblymember.emmerson@assembly.ca.gov
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0000
Phone: (916) 319-2063
Fax: ((16) 319-2163

Assemblymember Connie Conway
Assemblymember.Conway@assembly.ca.gov
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0000
Phone: (916) 319-2034
Fax: (916) 319-2134

Assemblymember Mike Eng
Assemblymember.Eng@asm.ca.gov
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0000
Phone: (916) 319-2049
Fax: (916) 319-2149

Assemblymember Edward P. Hernandez
Assemblymember.Hernandez@assembly.ca.gov
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0000
Phone: (916) 319-2057
Fax: (916) 319-2157

Assemblymember Pedro Nava (Author)
Assemblymember.nava@assembly.ca.gov
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0000
Phone: (916) 319-2035
Fax: (916) 319-2135

Assemblymember Roger Niello
Assemblymember.niello@assembly.ca.gov
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0000
Phone: (916) 319-2005
Fax: (916) 319-2105

Assemblymember John A. Pérez
Assemblymember.John.Perez@assembly.ca.gov
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0000
Phone: (916) 319-2046
Fax: (916) 319-2146

Assemblymember Curren D. Price Jr.
Assemblymember.Price@assembly.ca.gov
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0000
Phone: (916) 319-2051
Fax: (916) 319-2151

Assemblymember Ira Ruskin
Assemblymember.Ruskin@assembly.ca.gov
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0000
Phone: (916) 319-2021
Fax: (916) 319-2121

Assemblymember Cameron Smyth
Assemblymember.Smyth@assembly.ca.gov
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0000
Phone: (916) 319-2038
Fax: (916) 319-2138