BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 945
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 3, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 945
(Monning) - As Amended August 1, 2016
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|Policy |Business and Professions |Vote:|15 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill establishes standards for the operational requirements
of pet boarding facilities and facility operators, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Negligible state fiscal impact. Any local costs are not
reimbursable.
SB 945
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COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "This bill would establish
minimum standards for the care of pets while they are in
boarding facilities, as current law is silent on animal and
consumer protections relating specifically to pet boarding
facilities. Pet owners who board their pets may be unaware
that California law does not establish minimum standards of
care for conditions at pet boarding facilities such as
quantity of food and water, limitations on the time pets spend
in cages, veterinary care, or emergency evacuation plans.
This bill would provide operators of pet boarding facilities
with clear guidance, help ensure the safety and wellbeing of
pets, and provide protection to pet-owning consumers."
2)Background. Recent news articles and reports have highlighted
issues in pet boarding facilities which have led to animal
death or harm. Among the reports, in 2015, a fire at a pet
boarding facility killed 14 dogs in Monterey. In January of
2016, ABC reported that an injured dog found near the highway
in Brentwood was reunited with his family after escaping from
a boarding facility.
Unlike pet stores, pet boarding facilities are not uniformly
regulated throughout the state. California law does not
provide detail on the daily operating practices such as what
constitutes appropriate animal enclosures, feeding, watering,
general health veterinary treatment, record keeping, among
other related matters. Local jurisdictions are responsible
for enacting ordinances pertaining to the operation and
control of pet boarding facilities. For example, the City of
Newport Beach requires the operator of a kennel to obtain a
permit from the city. In California, because pet boarding
facilities are not licensed, and therefore not directly
regulated, enforcement is complaint driven and there is little
recourse for the consumer should something go wrong.
SB 945
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The Lockyer-Polanco-Farr Pet Protection Act (Pet Protection
Act) regulates of the retail sale of dogs and cats. As part
of the Pet Protection Act, pet dealers are required to
maintain facilities where dogs are kept in sanitary
conditions, provide dogs with adequate nutrition and water,
adequate space appropriate to the age, size and weight of the
dog, provide dogs with adequate socialization and exercise,
and requires a fire alarm system connected to a central
reporting station or a fire suppression sprinkler system,
among other requirements. A number of the requirements for
facilities in the Pet Protection Act are similar to the
provisions in this bill.
3)Prior Legislation.
a) AB 1810 (Maienschein), Chapter 86, Statutes of 2014,
permits a veterinarian or animal care facility to turn over
an abandoned animal to a public animal control agency or
shelter rather than euthanize it, as long as the shelter
has not refused to take the animal, and deletes the
requirement that an abandoned animal be euthanized 10 days
after abandonment.
b) SB 969 (Vargas) of 2012, would have established the
California Pet Grooming Council to administer a voluntary
pet groomer and pet bather and brusher certificate program,
until January 1, 2017. This bill was held on this
Committee's Suspense file.
c) AB 490 (Smyth), Chapter, 446, Statutes of 2009, revised
the guidelines by which a pet store operator or employee
may euthanize rodents and rabbits intended as food for
another animal, and modifies the definition of a pet store,
SB 945
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as specified.
d) AB 1347 (Caballero), Chapter 703, Statutes of 2007,
enacted the Pet Store Animal Care Act (Act) that
establishes procedures for the care and maintenance of
animals in the custody of a pet store and details the
responsibilities of the pet shop, the standards for
enclosures, animal care requirements, record keeping,
standards keeping the animals healthy including veterinary
care, euthanasia standards and disclosures that must be
made to a person who purchases a pet. Provides for a
"notice to correct" and monetary misdemeanor penalties for
specified violations of this Act.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081