BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1809 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 14, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair AB 1809 (Maienschein) - As Amended: April 23, 2014 Policy Committee: Business and Professions Vote: 14-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill requires a person seeking to bring a dog into California for resale or change of ownership to obtain a standardized health certificate from a licensed veterinarian, dated within 10 days prior to the dog's arrival, and submit the certificate to the county health department. It also allows local agencies to charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs associated with receiving and processing the documentation. FISCAL EFFECT Negligible state fiscal effect. The bill does not require local agencies to do anything with the received documents. To the extent local agencies occur additional costs to analyze or further investigate the documents, costs would not be reimbursable. If costs were incurred, the bill allows local agencies to charge a fee to cover their costs of receiving and processing documentation. COMMENTS 1)Purpose . This bill intends to protect consumers from purchasing or adopting sick animals and help prevent dogs being imported into the state who may unknowingly be carrying contagious diseases. This bill is sponsored by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASCPA). According to the author, California is currently one of only two states that do not require dogs to be inspected and issued AB 1809 Page 2 a Certificate of Veterinarian Inspection (CVI) or equivalent, prior to, or upon, entry into the state. Existing law requires that imported dogs be healthy and have a current rabies vaccination, but does not require documentation of a dog's health status. Supporters of this bill point out California consumers are receiving tens of thousands of dogs shipped into the U.S. from foreign countries, that these dogs are often sickly, and that local animal control agencies have no practical ability to track such importations. 2)Opposition . The Animal Council, an organization founded to combat San Mateo County's spay-and-neuter laws, opposes this bill, noting that in a state as large as California, dogs moving intrastate are very similar to dogs coming from outside as to public health risks, yet their movements would not be tracked or recorded. 3)Staff Comments . As stated, this bill authorizes local agencies to charge a fee to cover costs incurred for receiving and processing documents. However, staff notes from a practical perspective, charging a fee may deter compliance with the reporting requirement. Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081