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Date Posted: 19:54:35 04/17/02 Wed
Author: Peggy ... From: SHARON A. COLEMAN
Subject: URGENT ALERT: CA SB 1373 GETS WORSE 4/17/02

----- Original Message -----
From: "SHARON A. COLEMAN"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 6:04 PM
Subject: URGENT ALERT: CA SB 1373 GETS WORSE 4/17/02


URGENT ALERT: CA SB 1373 GETS WORSE

April 16, 2002 (Last publication date 4/6/02. Appropriate forwarding
encouraged.)
Preserving Our Right To Own And Breed Animals Is Your Responsibility

IN THIS ISSUE:
· UPDATE (4/6) - PORTOLA VALLEY, CALIFORNIA PASSES "POP" BY 3-2 VOTE
· SB 1373 -PRE-SALE REGISTRATION & MICROCHIP BILL - AMENDED TO TARGET
BREEDERS WITH DRACONIAN FINES, SET FOR HEARING 4/22 - OPPOSE NOW!

PORTOLA VALLEY, SAN MATEO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: "Pet Overpopulation Program"
(POP) ordinance changes passed by 3-2 vote at the April 10 Town Council
meeting. This included breeder permits, cat licensing and feral cat
regulation but not the fancier permit. The Town of Hillsborough has also
enacted POP provisions over the last several months, specifics unknown.

CALIFORNIA SENATE BILL 1373: The hearing before the Senate Committee on
Business and Professions has been rescheduled for Monday, April 22, 1:30
p.m., Room 3191, State Capitol. SB 1373 by State Senator Jack O'Connell
(D-18) of Santa Barbara has been amended AGAIN and should now be captioned,
SB 1373, amended April 16, 2002; Dogs and cats: registration and
microchipping. What began as a "microchip" bill in 2001 has turned into a
dragnet for any and all breeder "sales" that would provide a basis for
enforcement of the Polanco-Lockyer Dog Breeder Warranty Act, amended last
year (AB 161) to lower the threshold for breeders subject to requirements
and impose the same high penalties (Health & Safety Code Section 122060.)

The original scheme is still in place: registration and payment -- prior
to sale a cat or dog less than one year -- of a "registration fee" to the
local animal control agency, which would issue a "registration fee receipt
number" to be used any advertisement for sale. Each local jurisdiction
would set its own registration fee and requirement that the seller "ensure
that the dog or cat has been microchipped and the owner's identification
has been entered into a registry. The bill only creates new, independent
sections in the Civil Code, adding sections 1731-1734 that are not related
to the Health and Safety Code provisions of the Polanco-Lockyer Dog Breeder
Warranty Act or the Lockyer-Polanco-Farr Pet Protection Act although some
wording has been selectively copied.
SB 1373 language has been substantially amended to do the following:

· THE SCOPE OF SELLERS COVERED HAS BEEN NARROWED FURTHER to exclude the
occasional re-seller (the puppy who didn't work out) by creating new
definitions for "pet dealer" and "breeder:"

"Pet Dealer" means a person engaging in the business of selling dogs or
cats, or both, at retail, and by virtue of the sales of dogs and cats is
required to possess a permit pursuant to Section 6066 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code. (Language from the definition at H&S Section 122125(b)
omitted in SB 1373 is, "For purposes of this article, the separate sales of
dogs or cats from a single litter shall constitute only one sale under
Section 6019 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.")

"Breeder" means a person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other
association that sells dogs or cats that were bred and reared on the
premises of the person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other
association. "Breeder" does not include publicly operated pounds, humane
societies, privately operated rescue groups or organizations, or persons
involved in the rescue of dogs or cats.
(This wording is based on the Polanco-Lockyer breeder definition but
eliminates the exemption threshold Section 122045 (b) and the 12-month
look-back period.) The exemption for shelters, humane organizations and
rescue is broader than past wording or comparable provisions.

· The operant provisions are:
REGISTRATION - New Civil Code Section 1731:
(a) No pet dealer or breeder may sell a dog or cat that is less than one
year old unless a registration fee for the sale has been paid to the local
agency providing animal control services according to the provisions of
Section 1733. Upon payment of the registration fee, the local agency shall
issue a registration number or numbers to the pet dealer or breeder as
determined by the agency.
(b) The registration number or numbers issued by the local agency pursuant
to subdivision (a) shall be displayed in any advertisement for the sale of
the dog or cat.
(c) The local agency shall obtain from the pet dealer or breeder, the
street address and telephone number of the pet dealer or breeder and the
breed, sex, color and number of dogs or cats offered for sale.
New Civil Code Section 1732:
MICROCHIPPING - A pet dealer or breeder shall ensure that the dog or cat
has been microchipped and the owner's identification has been entered into
a local registry maintained by a local agency providing animal control
services or into a national registry.
FEE AND REVENUE - New Civil Code Section 1733:
1733. A local agency may charge a fee for the administration of Sections
1731 and 1732. It is the intent of the Legislature that the proceeds from
these fees be used to supplement, rather than
supplant, existing funding of the local agency. The fees charged may be
above the costs for administering Sections 1731 and 1732 but may be used
only for the following purposes:
(a) The costs of administering the provisions of Sections 1731 and 1732.
(b) Programs to spay or neuter dogs and cats.
(c) Programs to encourage the adoption of dogs and cats.
(d) The costs of microchipping dogs and cats.
(e) Public education programs to prevent overpopulation of dogs and
cats.

· PENALTIES - And a new Civil Code Section 1734 -
(a) Any pet dealer or breeder who violates Sections 1731 or 1732 shall be
subject to a civil penalty for a first offense of up to one thousand
dollars ($1,000), or shall be prohibited from selling dogs or cats for up
to 30 days, or both. If there is a second offense, a pet dealer or breeder
shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to two thousand five hundred
dollars ($2,500), or a prohibition from
selling dogs or cats for up to 90 days, or both. For a third offense, a
pet dealer or breeder shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to five
thousand dollars ($5,000), or a prohibition from selling dogs or cats for
up to six months, or both. For a fourth and subsequent offense, a pet
dealer or breeder shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to ten thousand
dollars ($10,000) or a prohibition from selling dogs or cats for up to one
year, or both. For the purpose of this section, a violation that occurred
more than five years prior to the most recent violation shall not be
considered. An action for recovery of the civil penalty and for a court
order enjoining a pet dealer or breeder from engaging in the business of
selling dogs or cats at retail for the period set forth in this section,
may be prosecuted by the district attorney for the county in which the
violation occurred, or the city attorney for the city in that the violation
occurred, in the appropriate court.
(b) Nothing in this chapter limits or authorizes any act or omission that
violates Section 5971 of the Penal Code.
Any valid local ordinance that imposes more restrictive requirements than
the provisions of Sections 1731 and 1732 of the Civil Code shall prevail
over these sections.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH SB 1373?
· De facto statewide licensing of dog and cat breeders who "sell"
offspring under 1 year old.
· High turnover of breeders would make breeder information an ongoing and
expensive effort.
· No control over local fees or timely issuance of registration or
additional provisions.
· Every local animal ordinance in California would require amendment and
costs to implement and administer.
· Has little to do with microchipping and more about punishing breeders.

SOME OPPOSITION POINTS INCLUDE:
· Local governments should determine their own need for pet laws and
should not be burdened with the cost and controversy of developing a
bureaucracy they do not need or want.
· Sales of dogs and cats in California are either not profitable for
individuals or low margin for pet stores so that additional costs will
either deter sales or increase costs to consumers who want local sources
for quality pets of their choice.
· Instead of selling low-end dogs and cats for a token or modest price to
deter undesirable purchasers, "breeders" may unnecessarily surrender these
to avoid the extra expense and trouble of pre-sale microchipping and
registration, putting more burden on shelters.
· Microchipping has been useful and increasingly but not universally
accepted technology, not without cost and extra effort, and not without
some problems.

WHAT TO DO?
The provisions have been so substantially amended, that it is important to
restate your opposition, or if you have not already written, object
strongly to this direction. The March 25 Update reviewed the usual
procedure for all California bills: the various committees assign each bill
before it to a "consultant" who prepares a written analysis including
arguments pro and con and listing support and opposition, naming
organizations and usually just a general reference to the amount of
individual opposition. It is always very important that we have a
substantial number of organizations listed as opposition, and despite the
late date, we should go ahead and request listing or re-confirm our prior
request in a letter to Consultant, Bill Gage . Fax is the safest method.

Letters should be clearly marked as SB 1373, amended April 16, OPPOSITION
and addressed:

The Honorable Liz Figueroa
Chair, Senate Committee on Business and Professions
Senate Committee on Business & Professions
State Capitol, Room 2053
Sacramento, CA 95814

Attention: Bill Gage, Chief Consultant
COMMITTEE FAX NUMBER: 916-324-0917

Individual Committee Members: (Corrected list, March 28, 2002)
The Honorable Liz Figueroa D-10, Fremont
Chair, Senate Committee on Business and Professions
State Capitol, Room 2057 (Regular office)
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 445-6671
Fax (916) 327-2433
Senator.Figueroa@sen.ca.gov

The Honorable Maurice Johannessen, R-4, Colusa (Vice Chair)
State Capitol, Room 5061
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-3353
Fax: (916) 445-7750
Senator. Johannessen@sen.ca.gov

The Honorable Mike Machado D-5, Stockton
State Capitol, Room 3086
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-2407
Fax (916) 323-2304
Senator.Machado@sen.ca.gov

The Honorable Bill Morrow R-38, Carlsbad
State Capitol, Room 4048
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 445-3731
Fax: 916-446-7382 **Corrected 3/28/02**
Senator.Morrow@sen.ca.gov

The Honorable Kevin Murray, D-26, Los Angeles
State Capitol, Room 4082
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-8800
Fax (916) 445-8899
Senator.Murray@sen.ca.gov

The Honorable Jack O'Connell (D-18) Santa Barbara
State Capitol, Room 5035
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-5405
FAX (916) 322-3304
Senator.OConnell@sen.ca.gov

The Honorable Richard Polanco D-22, Los Angeles SENATE MAJORITY LEADER
State Capitol, Room 313
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-3456
Fax (916) 445-0413
Senator.Polanco@sen.ca.gov

*****
*a service of THE ANIMAL COUNCIL, P.O. BOX 168, MILLBRAE CA 94030
Published sporadically since 1997. Appropriate forwarding is encouraged.
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reply to the message. Legislative tracking is subject to continual change.
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