May 2021

Kelly Crouch, CFA Legislative Information Liaison
Sharon Coleman, CFA Legislative Legal Analyst

California Assembly Bill 702 by Assembly Member Miguel Santiago (D-53) of Los Angeles to require all cat and dog breeders to obtain breeding permits from local jurisdictions had been set for hearing in the Assembly Committee on Business and Professions on April 27 (click here). However, the hearing was canceled at the author’s request, and the bill did not meet its April 30 deadline to be reported to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.

Before the scheduled hearing, George Eigenhauser, CFA Legislative Coordinator, submitted a Position Letter in opposition to the bill. CFA was included in the Registered Opposition list in the Committee Consultant’s Analysis which quoted from the letter as follows:

“This bill fails to recognize the practical and commercial differences between cats and dogs. While large scale breeding facilities for dogs exist, most commercial breeders have little or no interest in cats. Cats housed in large facilities are prone to the rapid spread of respiratory and other contagious illnesses. Instead, most cat breeders are hobbyists raising cats in their homes. Raising kittens in a home environment is the best possible way to provide healthy and well suited pets for the public. It allows the public to inspect the cats, and the home in which they were raised, prior to purchase. It would be impossible for many breeders who raise pedigreed cats to comply with this bill, even if they could get a business license, because of the many uncertainties – each jurisdiction can charge a different fee so it would be hard for breeders to anticipate annual costs. Since most cat breeders raise their pets at home, obtaining a business license is sometimes impossible because of zoning restrictions in residential areas. Inspections to assure compliance will require government intrusion into people’s homes, and even their bedrooms.”

For now, resident fanciers can relax. The Legislative Group will inform fanciers if any additional actions on AB 702 are needed.

EDITOR’S NOTE for more details and future reference about CA AB 702 (2021) see the Assembly policy committee analysis.

Recent CFA Legislative Group Blog Posts:
What’s Hot…. Chicago Lawmakers Contemplate Licensing All Breeders in Lieu of Better Solutions Just to Fix a Loophole in the 2014 Ordinance on Retail Pet Shops

EDITOR’S NOTE on April 21, 2021, the Chicago City Council passed a SUBSTITUTE ORDINANCE AS AMENDED that removed the breeder licensing provision but enacted the pet shop amendment previously proposed. For details, see