January 2024

Kelly Crouch, CFA Legislative Information Liaison

As Father Time ushers in 2024, fanciers and legislators prepare for new legislative sessions. Thirty state sessions convene this month alone. Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas fanciers will have a small break as those legislatures have no sessions this year. Still, fanciers in all states will have local ordinances, state rulemaking efforts, and federal bills and regulations to monitor. Several states and the federal government allow bills to carry over from 2023 to 2024, though not all legislation will have the momentum to leap from one session to another. Even when bills do not cross over, the authors may find it advantageous to reintroduce it under a new bill number instead. Usually, legislation proposing new laws or amending existing ones is readily found, but all animal legislation must be monitored for fancier impact. For example, New Hampshire’s HB 1102-FN, (See Editor’s Note for alternate URL) would add an animal cruelty violation of selling animals, with a “deformity that causes suffering, such as [but not necessarily limited to] brachycephaly”. Breeding with the intent to sell two individuals would also be a violation. This legislation could impact a number of breeds including Persians, Burmese, Manx, and others.

Fanciers can use local media and government websites to monitor this and other legislation affecting them. The CFA Legislative Group also provides information on legislative matters. What’s Hot articles are published in the monthly CFA Newsletter for “hot” news. These articles are then republished on the CFA Legislative Group’s WordPress blog site for easy access. In addition, the blog has other helpful reference information, such as each state’s legislative website and APHIS flowcharts. The CFA LegislativeNews Facebook page features links to legislative or regulatory articles of interest to fanciers. It is a quick check for things that may affect you. Unfortunately, with over 30,000 local governments, not all issues are found through media searches. That is why we say you are the eyes and ears of the CFA Legislative Group. If you see something of interest, please share it with the group at legislation@cfa.org

EDITOR’S NOTE: New Hampshire is restricting hours of access to certain bill URLS. For alternate access to HB 1102 information, see the Legiscan link. This also has a link back to the New Hampshire bill page.