May 2023

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

Oklahoma proponents of the Dog and Cat Bill of Rights experienced the same disappointment as their California counterparts when the Rules Committee failed to vote House Bill 1992 out of committee – or hold a vote on it. As reported in What’s Hot March 2023, the bill would have required all animal control, animal shelters, and rescue groups to conspicuously post a copy of the Dog and Cat Bill of Rights. These rights ranged from being free from cruelty to the right to mental stimulation, sterilization to prevent unwanted litters, and veterinary care. Although the session doesn’t officially end until May 26, 2023, the bill has missed the Deadline to be considered by the House as a whole. 

Oklahoma SB 349/HB 2059 to repeal the annual reporting requirements in §30.11 of the Commercial Pet Breeders Act were amended as emergency bills, changing the effective date from 11/1/2023 to when passed and approved. HB 2059 was passed and approved on 4/21/2023.

In Other News….

North Dakota House Bill 1361, declared an emergency measure in Section 2, amends the definition of person in §1-01-49(8) to exclude artificial intelligence, animals, inanimate objects, and environmental elements. A closer look was necessary to determine why “animals” would be in a bill defining “Person.” In general, there are varying definitions of “person” in different legal contexts that include both humans and non-human legal entities, public and private. The actions list of HB 1361 reveals extensive amendment of the original bill that removed a section to be added, “Personhood” expressly stating individuals’ rights are “superior and not equal to” listed non-human categories. However, the amended bill, now enacted law, only added an exclusion from the existing “person” definition, “The term does not include environmental elements, artificial intelligence, an animal, or an inanimate object.” North Dakota Can explains the rationale for this policy at https://ndcan.org/house-bill-1361