BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 490|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 490
Author: Smyth (R)
Amended: 7/9/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMM. : 10-0, 6/29/09
AYES: Negrete McLeod, Wyland, Aanestad, Corbett, Correa,
Florez, Oropeza, Romero, Walters, Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/21/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Pet stores
SOURCE : Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council
DIGEST : This bill modifies the definition of pet store,
and revises and clarifies the guidelines and requirements
for a pet store operator or employee of a pet store to
euthanize rodents and rabbits intended as food for another
animal.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Establishes the Pet Store Animal Care Act (PAC Act),
which regulates the care and maintenance of animals in
the custody of a pet store and provides limits on the
CONTINUED
AB 490
Page
2
sale or transfer of those animals.
2. Provides that the Legislature does not intend, by the
PAC Act, to regulate the care or handling of animals in
or on farms, ranches, livestock or horse auctions,
livestock markets, slaughtering facilities, or any place
other than pet stores.
3. Defines a "pet store" as any retail establishment open
to the public and selling or offering for sale animals.
4. Provides that a person who sells, exchanges, or
otherwise transfers only animals that were bred or
raised, or both, by the person, or sells or transfers
only animals kept primarily for reproduction, shall be
considered a breeder and not a pet store.
5. Provides that an animal intended as food for another
animal may be destroyed using a method or methods of
euthanasia that are humane, involve painless loss of
consciousness and immediate death as specified in
Appendix 2 of the American Veterinary Medical
Association (AVMA) "2000 Report of the AVMA Panel on
Euthanasia", and as authorized for the species in the
documented program as prescribed.
6. Requires that each employee who performs euthanasia
shall receive adequate training in the method or methods
used and proof of successful completion of that training
shall be documented in writing and retained by the pet
store, and that all training records shall be maintained
for two years and be made available, upon request, to
appropriate law enforcement officers, as specified.
This bill:
1. Changes the definition of "pet store" and provides that
a pet store is a retail establishment open to the public
that sells or offers for sale animals as pets, or
animals intended as food for other animals, but that a
"pet store" does not include a retail establishment
selling or offering for sale animals to agricultural
operations for purposes that are directly related to the
raising of livestock or poultry on a farm or ranch.
AB 490
Page
3
2. Clarifies that an animal intended as food for another
animal is a rodent or rabbit.
3. Clarifies the requirements for a rodent or rabbit to be
destroyed by the pet store if it is to be used as food
for another animal, by requiring a pet store operator or
an employee to euthanize the animal by a method that is
performed in a humane manner, appropriate for the
species, authorized by state law, and in compliance with
the AVMA pursuant to "Guidelines on Euthanasia", dated
June 2007, published by the AVMA.
4. Requires that in addition to a pet store operator or an
employee of a pet store who will perform euthanasia be
properly trained and proficient in performing the method
of euthanasia on that particular species, that they also
be certified, in writing, by a California-licensed
veterinarian that they have received such training and
are proficient in providing euthanasia to the animal,
and that the certification shall be made available, upon
request, to the appropriate law enforcement officers, as
specified.
5. No longer requires the pet store to maintain records of
the training of the pet store operator or employee in
euthanasia for two years, only the certification
required by the veterinarian for a period of three
years.
6. Specifies that it is the responsibility of the pet store
operator to ensure that euthanasia is performed in
compliance with the specified requirements.
Background
The PAC Act . The PAC Act established criteria and
procedures for the care and maintenance of animals in
California pet stores. It also established a new
infraction process which would require enforcement officers
to clearly indicate the nature of the alleged infractions,
identify the corrective action to be taken, and include the
timeframe in which corrections be completed. The PAC Act
came about as a joint effort on the part of animal
AB 490
Page
4
protection groups and the pet industry to provide clearer
guidelines on the care and handling of animals sold within
pet stores.
AVMA "Guidelines on Euthanasia" . The AVMA is a
not-for-profit association representing more than 76,000
veterinarians working in private and corporate practice,
government, industry, academia, and uniformed services.
The AVMA asserts that whenever it becomes necessary to kill
any animal for any reason whatsoever, death should be
induced as painlessly and quickly as possible.
In 2006, the AVMA convened a panel of scientists to produce
the "AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia". These guidelines
summarize contemporary scientific knowledge on euthanasia
in animals and call attention to the lack of scientific
reports assessing pain, discomfort, and distress in animals
being euthanized, and are intended for use by members of
the veterinary profession who carry out or oversee the
euthanasia of animals. They also include instructions on
proper euthanasia techniques.
Prior legislation . This bill is similar to SB 986
(Ridley-Thomas), 2007-08 Session, which the Governor
vetoed. This is one of many measures that the Governor
vetoed with the message that, due to the delay in passing
the 2008-09 State Budget, he would only sign bills that
were "the highest priority for California." SB 986 was
vetoed for this reason.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/17/09)
Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (source)
Born Free USA (if amended)
California Animal Control Directors Association
California Veterinary Medical Association
City of West Hollywood
Paw Project
PetSmart
AB 490
Page
5
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the bill's sponsor,
the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, this bill provides
for the minor cleanup of two issues in the PAC Act which
will go into effect on January 1, 2009, pursuant to AB 1347
(Caballero), Chapter 703, Statutes of 2007.
The first area of clarification is made at the request of
the Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). They want
to ensure that agricultural establishments are not
considered pet stores for purposes of the PAC Act. As the
bill's sponsor indicates, the PAC Act included this
exemption in intent language, but it did not include the
agricultural exclusion in the text of the law itself. As a
condition of CDFA's support for AB 1347, it was agreed that
the agricultural exclusion language be placed in the
substantive text of the law itself. This bill takes care
of that issue by providing for an agricultural
establishment exclusion into the text of the law itself (as
opposed to simply the intent language) by exempting
agricultural establishments from the definition of a "pet
store" and clarifies that agricultural establishments were
not intended to be considered pet stores under the PAC Act.
The second cleanup issue is to clarify accepted euthanasia
practices for certain animals in pet stores. There has
been some confusion over the appropriate guidelines to be
followed in providing euthanasia, in particular those
specified by the AVMA, and also the need to clarify the
training provided to those who may perform euthanasia
within the pet stores. Animal protection groups, pet
stores and the California Veterinary Association, according
to the sponsor, are in agreement over the changes made in
this bill to those requirements.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,
Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue,
AB 490
Page
6
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava,
Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson,
Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Buchanan, Duvall, Saldana
JJA:mw 8/17/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****