BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1809
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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
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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