BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 147
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
147 (Dababneh)
As Amended March 16, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+--------------------|
|Higher |11-1 |Baker, Bloom, |Harper |
|Education | |Chávez, Irwin, | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, | |
| | |Levine, Linder, | |
| | |Low, Santiago, | |
| | |Weber, Williams | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |16-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bonilla, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Daly, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Holden, | |
| | |Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Requires any public postsecondary educational
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institution, or independent institution of higher education as
defined, that confines dogs or cats for science or research
purposes and intends to destroy the dog or cat used for those
purposes, to first offer the dog or cat to an animal adoption or
rescue organization, as defined. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires any public postsecondary educational institution or
independent institution of higher education (institution) that
confines dogs or cats for the purposes of research, if the
institution determines, after the completion of any testing or
research, that an animal's destruction is not required and the
animal is no longer needed, and if the institution's existing
procedures for adopting the animal do not result in adoption, to
offer the animal to an animal adoption organization or animal
rescue organization prior to euthanasia.
2)Authorizes an institution that is required to offer dogs or cats
to an animal adoption organization or animal rescue organization
to enter into an agreement with these entities, as specified.
3)Specifies that the requirements in 1) above do not apply to
animals irremediably suffering from a serious illness or severe
injury and newborn animals that need maternal care and have been
impounded without their mothers.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Specifies that public health and welfare depend on the humane
use of animals for scientific advancement in the diagnosis and
treatment of human and animal diseases, for education, for
research in the advancement of veterinary, dental, medical and
biologic sciences, for research in animal and human nutrition,
and improvement and standardization of laboratory procedures of
biologic products, pharmaceuticals, and drugs (Health and Safety
Code Section 1650).
2)Declares the following policies of the state:
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a) No adoptable animal should be euthanized if it can be
adopted into a suitable home. Adoptable animals include only
those animals eight weeks of age or older that, at or
subsequent to the time the animal is impounded or otherwise
taken into possession, have manifested no sign of a
behavioral or temperamental defect that could pose a health
or safety risk or otherwise make the animal unsuitable for
placement as a pet, and have manifested no sign of disease,
injury, or congenital or hereditary condition that adversely
affects the health of the animal or that is likely to
adversely affect the animal's health in the future; and,
b) No treatable animal should be euthanized. A treatable
animal shall include any animal that is not adoptable but
that could become adoptable with reasonable efforts (Civil
Code Section 1834.4 and Food and Agricultural Code (FAC)
Section 17005).
3)Specifies that animals that are irremediably suffering from a
serious illness or severe injury shall not be held for owner
redemption or adoption (FAC Section 17006).
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, since all universities affected by the bill appear to
have existing policies and procedures in place for adoption of
research animals, costs to offer animals to an adoption or rescue
organization are likely minor.
COMMENTS: Background. The Animal Welfare Act ((AWA); 7 United
States Code 2131 et seq.) is intended to ensure the humane
treatment of animals that are intended for research, bred for
commercial sale, exhibited to the public, or commercially
transported. Under the AWA, businesses and others with animals
covered by the law must be licensed or registered, and they must
adhere to minimum standards of care. The United States Department
of Agriculture's (USDA's) Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) administers the AWA.
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The AWA applies to any live or dead dog, cat, nonhuman primate,
guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, or other warm-blooded animal
determined by the Secretary of Agriculture to be for research or
exhibition, or used as a pet. Additionally, the AWA mandates that
all research facilities must be registered with the USDA's APHIS.
To note, research facilities include state and local
government-run research institutions, drug firms, universities,
diagnostic laboratories, and facilities that study marine mammals.
Lastly, all research universities in the state, (public and
private), are accredited by the Association for Assessment and
Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC) and
are subject to additional standards that go above the regulatory
requirements.
Purpose of this bill. According to the author, this measure seeks
to provide an opportunity for Californians to adopt dogs and cats
from tax-payer funded research, teaching, and veterinary research
laboratories in California's postsecondary institutions of higher
learning. The author contends that, "Current federal, state, and
most educational-institutional policies and regulations covering
animals in research provide for every aspect of the animals life
from bedding, water access, enrichment, food, pain management, and
method of euthanasia, but there exists no guidelines on what to do
with the animals once the research has ended. When the research
test, procedure, or teaching exercise is over it is up to the
discretion of the individual laboratory as to whether they will
attempt to place the animal up for public adoption. Current law
provides for no standard in identifying opportunities to provide
for a humane post-research life and the mechanism to do so."
Research institutions' adoption policies. University of
California (UC). On August 21, 2014, the UC issued systemwide
guidance on the adoption of research dogs and cats that each UC
campus has adopted as their individual campus policy for animal
adoption. The UC Guidance Memo, found here,
http://www.ucop.edu/raohome/cgmemos/14-06.pdf specifies, among
others, that each UC campus should adopt locally appropriate
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procedures under which research dogs and cats that are property of
the UC Regents may be transferred from the campus to individuals
or organizations for non-research purposes.
California State University (CSU). To note, the CSU does not
currently have any research activities involving dogs and cats
on any of its campuses, but several of its campuses have
adoption policies in place.
California Community Colleges (CCC). Most of the 112 CCCs that
have animals on its campuses are used for teaching, not
researching purposes and have adoption policies in place. The
few CCCs that are involved in animal research also have adoption
policies in place and adhere to the strict USDA guidelines.
Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities.
The independent California institutions of higher learning that
have research dogs and cats (e.g., Loma Linda University and
University of Southern California, etc.) have individual
adoption policies in place and have been successful in their
adoptions of approved dogs and cats. To note, though Stanford
University has no research projects that use cats, and over the
last decade, has had very few dogs, it also has a very specific
and followed adoption protocol.
Efforts by other states. House File 3172 (Carlson), Chapter 312,
Statutes of 2014, is similar in nature to this measure.
Additionally, the States of Nevada and Connecticut introduced
legislation similar to this measure during their 2014 legislative
sessions and the State of New York may potentially introduce
similar legislation this year.
Previous legislation. AB 2431 (Dababneh) of 2014, which died in
the Assembly Appropriations Committee, was very similar to this
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measure.
Analysis Prepared by:
Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN:
0000085