December 2019

UPDATE – January 2019, CURRENT TOPICS IN LEGISLATION: Consumer Protection Pet Leases and Finance Legislation Must Preserve Fancier Breeding Lease Practices

 

In the year since the first post on pet leases and finance legislation, five additional states have enacted these laws — New York, Washington, Indiana, Connecticut and New Jersey. Of the total seven, only two have included express breeding lease exemptions as discussed in our first post. New Jersey did expressly exempt breeding leases for dogs as well as cats, but unfortunately Connecticut only included dogs, leaving uncertainty whether there was a legislative purpose for the omission or merely accommodation of a request to exempt dog breeding leases, perhaps not realizing that this is a practice of all pedigreed cat registries.

All five statutes without exemptions were narrowly drafted to focus on title to the pet not transferring to the lessee (person in possession who would typically be defined as “owner” under animal laws) until completion of all lease payments as well as the pet being security for performance of the lease and possible repossession by or on behalf of the lessor.  This is the simplest legislative drafting approach to avoid confusion about what might possibly be included rather than is actually prohibited.

Some proposed pet lease bills failed in 2019, so we would expect more efforts in 2020 and beyond. If breeding lease exemptions should be necessary, these should include BOTH purebred dogs AND PEDIGREED cats.

 

Legislation – What’s Hot…………. As 2019 Draws to a Close, Stay Aware of Legislative Happenings

 

Legislation – What’s Hot, December 2019                                                                                    Kelly Crouch, CFA Legislative Information Liaison

As 2019 Draws to a Close, Stay Aware of Legislative Happenings
As the year draws to a close, remember to keep a watchful eye on legislative happenings. With most state legislatures out of session during the holiday season, it is hard not to be distracted by the glitz and glamour surrounding us. Yet while the more public legislative processes may lie dormant, other activities continue. Some states may already be accepting the pre-filing of bills in preparation for the next legislative session. There are also background efforts that often lead to bill creation. This is true even in states, such as Texas, where the legislature convenes only in odd-numbered years. For other states, sessions start as early as January 1, 2020, so these background activities may be gathering momentum now.
In addition to state legislative activities, state regulatory processes are in play year-round. Earlier this month, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship published the final changes to the state animal welfare rules. Under state law, a commercial breeder means “a person, engaged in the business of breeding dogs or cats, who sells, exchanges, or leases dogs or cats in return for consideration, or who offers to do so, whether or not the animals are raised, trained, groomed, or boarded by the person. A person who owns or harbors three or fewer breeding males or females is not a commercial breeder. However, a person who breeds any number of breeding male or female greyhounds for the purposes of using them for pari-mutuel wagering at a racetrack as provided in Iowa Code chapter 99D shall be considered a commercial breeder irrespective of whether the person sells, leases, or exchanges the greyhounds for consideration or offers to do so.” Iowa cat fanciers meeting the definition of a commercial breeder can find more information here .
Local lawmakers are generally busy year-round as well. Despite it being the legislatively quiet time of the year, the CFA Legislative Group has posted eight articles (and fielded more) relating to local ordinances on the CFA LegislativeNews Facebook page from November 11, 2019 to December 11, 2019. Represented locations are in Hawaii, Indiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Texas. Among the topics included in these proposed ordinances are pet limits, use of mandatory microchipping instead of city licenses, exercise requirements for pets, retail pet store sales bans, and a more general ban on the sale of animals.
Although legislative activities may be less frequent at this time of year, they are not nonexistent. Amidst the seasonal festivities, it pays to watch for legislative happenings impacting you. It is too easy for such things to go unnoticed during the holidays – potentially leading to unwelcome surprises in the new year.
Recent CFA Legislative Group Blog Posts:
Mandatory Microchipping Law Development: the Proposed Honolulu, HI Ordinance, November 15, 2019.

 

 

 

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