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LEGISLATIVE ALERTS
To find your state legislators, click here.
To find your congressional representatives, click here.
Bills to Watch:
S1396 Clarifies failure to provide minimum care to an animal constitutes animal cruelty.
3/3/2008 Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Economic Growth Committee
S979 Requires bittering agent to be added to certain engine coolants and antifreeze to render it unpalatable.
The AWFNJ supports this bill which would provide another tool to protect the welfare of children and animals. For background on the bill and other suppporters, click here.
1/28/2008 Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Economic Growth Committee
S1026 Requires all cats and dogs released from animal shelters and pounds be sterilized with certain exceptions and establishes penalty for noncompliance.
A2820 Prohibits use of certain underwriting guidelines by insurers pertaining to dogs harbored on the insured property. 6/22/06 Received In Senate Referred To Senate Commerce Committee; 2/8/07 Reported Senate Committee Amendments 2nd Reading.
A1432/S695 Increases maximum municipal dog license fee from $7 to $21.
A1929/ S1681 Requires State OEM, counties and municipalities to include in their respective emergency operations plans provisions to support the needs of individuals with a household pet or service animal in a major disaster or emergency. Passed the assembly 78-0-0 on 3/6. Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety and Veterans' Affairs committee.
A2335 Referred to Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee. Current law permits senior citizens living in senior citizen housing projects to own, harbor or care for domesticated animals, and allows landlords to promulgate reasonable rules for the keeping of these pets. This bill amends section 2 of P.L.1990, c.55 (C.2A:42-104), in order to prohibit landlords from charging senior citizens extra compensation, or any additional security deposits, for keeping domesticated animals.
A3192 Authorizes civil action for certain economic damages against owner or keeper of pet animal that injures or kills another person's pet animal. Moved out of committee 6/12/06 with amendments.
Protecting Animals
A2649 Recodifies Title 4 criminal animal cruelty offenses in State criminal code; increases level of certain offenses and crimes; establishes new offenses; revises civil penalties; repeals various sections of law; designated as Angel's Law. 1/29/2007 Assembly Floor Amendment Passed. 2/22 Assembly Floor Amendment Passed.
AWFNJ feels this bill is a strong one, but finds several aspects of the bill to be potentially harmful to animal sheltering in New Jersey. Among these are the allowance of rescue groups and individuals to impound stray animals without being subject to the same regulations as shelters, the extension of the 7 day holding period and allowance of individuals to reclaim lost pets without payment of impound fees, and the placing of microchip scanning responsibilities on ACO's in the field rather than shelters.
AWFNJ cannot lend our support to this bill unless these issues are resolved. We encourage you to write to bill sponsor, Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew and your local representatives on these issues. For contact information to Assemblyman Van Drew. Search for your local legislator.
To read our statement, please click here
A2773/ S1705 Establishes animal cruelty offenses pertaining to chaining or other restraint of animals. Referred to Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and referred to Senate Economical Growth Committee.
A909/S1956 Prohibits product testing with traditional animal test methods if federally recommended alternative test methods exist.
A2615 / S365 Prohibits trapping of dogs and cats; limits trapping to animal control officers, members of SPCA and DEP professionals. Referred to Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
A2501 This bill would prohibit the use of a dog or other animal in a drug distribution scheme. This passed from the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and has been referred to the Assembly Judiciary Committee
A2502 Makes use of an animal to carry illegal drugs or facilitate drug-related crimes an animal cruelty offense; provides for non-merger of criminal animal cruelty offenses . This passed from the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee with revised language on February 27.
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Breed Specific/Dangerous Dog Legislation
S801 The "Responsible Pit Bull Ownership Licensing Act" authorizes municipalities to require a license for a person to own, keep or harbor a pit bull.
The Animal Welfare Federation of New Jersey is opposed to breed specific legislation and is deeply concerned about the unfair burden this bill would place on responsible dog owners, animal shelters and municipalities while not producing the affect desired by the bill's author.
A1603 Revises vicious and potentially dangerous dog law; designated Congo's Law.
1/8/2008 Introduced, Referred to Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
Signed into Law!
A2233 Provides that public school pupils may choose not to participate in certain experiments involving animals and requires schools to provide alternative education projects.
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