ASPCA September 2014 Dear California Animal Advocate, The California State Legislature recently adjourned, and animal welfare continued to be a major theme during the 2014 legislative session. With your help, the ASPCA played a key role as lead sponsor of three legislative proposals! I wanted to give you an update on how these animal bills fared and thank you for all your successful efforts to make California a more humane state—we couldn’t do it without you! Humane Options for Abandoned Animals Signed into law! This past May, the ASPCA announced our $25 million, multi-year investment in the Los Angeles region, which includes the opening of a brand new spay/neuter clinic. One challenge we faced was addressing an outdated state law mandating that animals abandoned by their owner at an animal care facility must be euthanized, regardless of the animal’s health. Thankfully, Assemblyman Brian Maienschein (San Diego) introduced A.B. 1810 which eliminated this mandate and expanded opportunities for animal care facilities across the state, like ours, to find new homes for abandoned animals. Puppy Imports Signed into law! The rise of online puppy sales has made importing dogs from other states directly to consumers easier than ever before—yet California was one of only two states without a way to track how many of these puppies are being imported and where they are destined. Local governments need this critical information to ensure their sheltering, spay/neuter and dog licensing programs are as effective as possible. A.B. 1809 will now require anyone importing puppies or dogs into California to submit a health certificate to the health department of the county to which the dog is being transported. Tax-Deductible Adoptions Did not pass this session, but led to happy endings for shelter dogs! The ASPCA backed an effort to make animal adoption fees tax deductible. A.B. 2326, authored by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson (Sacramento), would have authorized up to $100 per animal to be deducted each year. Unfortunately, nearly every bill proposing a tax deduction or credit was held up in the fiscal committee. Despite not passing, A.B. 2326 played an important role in educating legislators about shelter animals. An ASPCA-sponsored Adoption Fair brought local shelters to the steps of the Capitol to showcase their animals and interact with the legislature—and two dogs were lucky enough to go home with legislative staffers! Thanks again for all your hard work this session. I cannot wait to see what we can do together next year. All the best, Kevin ONeill Kevin O’Neill, ASPCA Senior State Legislative Director, Western Region
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 15:20:14 +0000
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