BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1809
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1809 (Maienschein)
As Amended August 5, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |73-0 |(May 23, 2014) |SENATE: |35-0 |(August 11, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: B., P. & C. P.
SUMMARY : Requires a person seeking to bring a dog into
California for resale or change of ownership to obtain a health
certificate from a licensed veterinarian, dated within ten days
prior to the dog's arrival, and submit the certificate to the
county health department, and establishes a penalty for
violating the requirement to obtain and submit a health
certificate. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a person bringing or importing a dog into California
for the purpose of resale or change of ownership, to obtain a
health certificate with respect to that dog, which has been
completed by a licensed veterinarian and is dated within ten
days prior to the date on which the dog is brought into the
state.
2)Requires the person responsible for providing the health
certificate to submit it to the county health department by
electronic transmission, facsimile, or any other method
accepted by the receiving agency, including electronic
transmission and facsimile.
3)Accepts a completed United States Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Inspection Service Form 7001 (APHIS Form
7001), known as the United States Interstate and International
Certificate of Health Examination for Small Animals, as an
acceptable health certificate or a different canine health
certificate form determined by the receiving agency.
4)States that it is the responsibility of the person importing
the dog into California to send the health certificate to the
county health department where the dog is offered for sale, or
to the county of residence of the individual purchasing a dog
directly from a source outside of California.
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5)Specifies that the receiving agency may use the information on
the health certificate as it deems appropriate.
6)States that these provisions shall not apply to a person who
brings a dog into the state that will not be offered for
resale or if the ownership of the dog will not change.
7)Provides that the agency that receives the form, as specified,
may charge a fee in a reasonable amount sufficient to cover
the costs associated with receiving and processing a health
certificate.
8)Specifies that a person who violates the requirement to
provide a health certificate, as specified, is guilty of an
infraction, punishable by a fine not to exceed $250 for each
dog for which a violation has occurred.
9)Authorizes enforcement personnel, in lieu of a fine, to issue
an administrative fine in the same amount or a correction
warning to a person who violates the health certificate filing
requirement unless the violation endangers the health or
safety of the animal, the animal has been wounded as a result
of the violation, or an administrative fine or a correction
warning has previously been issued to the individual. The
administrative fine or correction warning requires the person
to correct the violation.
10)States that no reimbursement is required by this bill
pursuant to the California Constitution because of both of the
following:
a) A local agency or a school district has the authority to
levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to
pay for the program or level of service mandated by this
act, or changes the definition of a crime; and,
b) This act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a
crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or
infraction, or changes the definition of crime.
The Senate amendments add an enforcement provision for the
requirement that a person seeking to bring a dog into this state
for resale or change of ownership obtain and file the health
AB 1809
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certificate as specified, and make other minor and technical
amendments.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill. This bill requires individuals
importing dogs into California for resale or change of
ownership to complete and file a health certificate with the
county health department, dated within ten days prior to the
dog's arrival, in order to provide local governments, animal
control agencies, and consumers with pertinent information
regarding the animal's health. The author's aim is to protect
consumers from purchasing or adopting sick animals and help
prevent dogs from being imported into the state which may
unknowingly be carrying contagious diseases. This bill is
sponsored by the American Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (ASCPA).
2)Author's statement. According to the author, "California is
currently one of only [two] states that do not require dogs to
be inspected and issued a Certificate of Veterinarian
Inspection (CVI) or equivalent, prior to, or upon, entry into
the state. CVIs are legal documents signed by veterinarians
who have evaluated the health of dogs and can attest to the
accuracy of the information. These important documents help
protect consumers from purchasing sick dogs, and reduce the
likelihood that imported dogs bring contagious diseases into
California.
"With the increase of online sales of puppies direct to
consumers in California, there is no official document that
notifies local governments to the number of dogs entering
their jurisdiction from out of state. This makes the job of
California's animal care and control agencies even more
challenging as they do not have a complete picture of the
number of dogs entering their municipality from outside
California. Existing law merely requires that imported dogs
be healthy and have a current rabies vaccination."
3)Animal importation. According to the American Veterinary
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Medical Association, the majority of states require some type
of "health certificate" be provided for companion animals
imported into the state, but some exceptions are made for
animals: passing through the state for short periods of time;
being transferred to educational, scientific, or research
facilities; being transferred to veterinary care facilities;
or, entering the state for exhibitions, shows, or fairs.
California only requires that all domestic dogs be healthy,
and those over four months of age must have a certificate of
current rabies vaccination.
While there are no exact numbers on the amount of dogs purchased
over the internet or between states, according to the Humane
Society of the United States, tens of thousands of dogs are
shipped into the United States from "puppy mills" in foreign
countries, purchased by people over Internet sites, and many
people who have purchased puppies and kittens online find that
these pets are sick and often die from their health problems.
Some never even knew they were dealing with someone outside of
the United States or that their puppy was born overseas before
being sold to a United States broker.
When dogs or other animals are exported outside of the state,
veterinarians in California typically complete the APHIS Form
7001. Under this bill, California consumers receiving a copy
of the certificate will be provided with more accurate
information about the health of animals acquired from
out-of-state breeders, private sale individuals, or animal
re-homers. This bill will also provide county health agencies
with important animal-related health data including a more
accurate count of the number of animals imported from other
states. This bill further allows local agencies to charge a
reasonable fee to cover the costs associated with receiving
the documentation.
4)Regulation of animal sales. This bill does not impact
California's current law with respect to selling, breeding or
rehoming dogs inside of California. This bill only requires
that persons importing a dog into California for purchase or
change of ownership file a health certificate prior to the
dog's arrival to California. There is no requirement that
county health departments do anything with the information,
other than collect it.
AB 1809
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Additionally, this bill does not require individuals who are
bringing dogs into California for an extended period or moving
into California to file a certificate as long as the dog is
not changing ownership.
Analysis Prepared by : Elissa Silva / B., P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
FN: 0004511