Oklahoma HB 1332 will go to the house tomorrow

[soda]

Tomorrow is the deadline for bills to be heard by the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

HB 1332 the Pet Quality Assurance Act either will die or the author, Rep Lee Denney (R) from Cushing OK will submit a substitute.

We're sure that we'll see a subsitute and this will be heard tomorrow.

For details about this bill, a link to the full text and alerts click

http://capwiz.com/naiatrust/issues/alert/?alertid=12731281&type=ST&show_alert=1

Since the substitute has not been made public the focus is to remind your representatives of the items which are damaging to responsible breeders and ask them to consider this bill very carefully.

Think of it like a blind....you know there bird is there and just need to give good casts.

Shelly Kuhn
Feel free to email me privately if any questions.

[soda]

An update here. Sorry for the delay but the bill is ever changing but there are specifci areas which are consistent and we don't think we will see significant change in these areas. Due to the changes the vote we expected has been delayed. We are assured it will go for a vote in the next couple of days. Several reps that want to see this killed are sending us amended versions they are personally receiving so the legislative website does not have the most recent information. If you want a copy of the most recent amended version pm me and I'll give you what I have

Here are the points of the bill.

HB1332 Floor Substitute with Amendments 3/2/2009

OAIA would like to applaud Representative Lee Denney’s efforts to provide consumers with healthy, well-socialized puppies & kittens. The aim of HB 1332 to define a quality assurance standard is an honorable one; each succeeding floor substitute has made significant improvements. However, each version while improved maintains the same basic principles which will allow substandard breeders to avoid the law and will negatively impact Oklahoma’s law abiding ethical breeders, rescue organizations and consumers.

The law should not abrogate constitutional protections in federal or state law. In other words, the law allows for warrantless searches of the premises and facilities of “persons”, not just licensees or applicants. This is a direct violation of the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Oklahoma Constitution Article 2, Section 30.

• The law is overly broad and vague – it doesn’t differentiate among the various sources that are available to the public in choosing their pets. In this law, commercial kennel operators, hobby breeders, small rescue organizations are judged by the same standards. Legislation should be based on these differences and incorporated into the law. Reasonable animal husbandry practices should be the basis for establishing these laws and by setting desirable outcomes and performance standards.
• By allowing donations to be part of the “Pet Quality Assurance Fund”, the question is raised as to the type of influence potential donors will have in the implementation and enforcement of this law.
• Within this bill there is the opportunity for the state to contract with local humane societies, sheriff’s departments or animal control agencies to implement and enforce this law. In other states humane societies have contracted to perform these very duties and have illegally searched, caused illegal seizures of animals and put breeders out of business under the color of law.
• The 25 dog designation puts small hobby breeders who breed large dogs in the same category as commercial kennel operators and subject to the same standards and inspections– Two to three litters may easily add up to over 25 dogs.

• As defined by this bill shelters meet the same qualifications as commercial kennel operations however they are excluded under this law. Shelters are a ready source of pets for Oklahoma’s consumers and shelters should be held accountable to provide the public with healthy pets.
• USDA licensed breeders are regulated and undergo annual inspections and follow up; they shouldn’t have undue hardships placed on them by having additional inspections. They should be able to supply proof of federal inspection/licensure and be automatically licensed by the state.
• This version lists the minimal reasons someone would be denied a license but there is no time limit restriction for due process. Someone that was denied a USDA license 5 years ago for any reason and has since obtained a license and is in compliance with federal regulations will never obtain an Oklahoma license
• The Advisory Committee as defined in this bill leaves out representation from a consumer. This committee continues to leave out important stakeholders.

·The bill proposes to assess fees and fines as the revenue source to implement and sustain the activities of this law. Even if these were assessed based on the questionable estimation given as to the number of breeders in the state the funding would still not meet the estimated half a million dollars to develop and implement this new program. The state bares the fiscal responsibility to ensure that funds are available to support this program and the state’s fundraising method is to increase and collect taxes. Oklahoma’s revenue in January 2009 has been reported at $50 million below the expected revenue. State agencies are cutting costs and with the probability of continued revenue short falls this is not the time to impose additional tax burdens on Oklahomans.
·The bill does not list an element for consumer protection and attaches all the responsibility to breeders. There is nothing that encourages consumers to purchase from responsible sources and provides education in finding healthy pets.
·Breeders will be forced to pass on the increased costs to the consumer. In these economic times consumers who are not willing to absorb the increased costs will create even more demand for dogs and cats from breeders who do not follow ethical breeding protocol. This will increase the number of animals sold on street corners, flea markets and backyards.[/font]
OAIA realizes that the task to ensure that consumers are able to choose healthy pets is complicated and cannot be solved with a “one size fits all” law. Laws such as HB 1332 allows law breakers to avoid detection and Oklahoma’s ethical responsible breeders who follow state and federal laws are subjected to unreasonable standards.

[frontier]

I just received an 2nd email today from Rep Leslie Osborn in response to my letter. She stated there is an amendment to the bill today raising the number of dogs from "24" to "35".

Will post if I receive any other updates. She also stated that the bill has been amended to remove everything about dog shows, crossing state lines, and rescue operations.

Please voice your opinion to our state reps if you haven't done so already.

[soda]

Yes, I heard that someone submitted an amendment in response to the "bird dog" folks.

25....35....42....202... The number is arbitrary. The crux of the bill that is not changing is the unconstituional searches and developing a law that does not solve the problem. I can't imagine having an inspection in my home. We've been told the regs will make this better. We can't rely on the regs especially since the department of ag will probably farm the enforcement and implementation of this law to a private organizations.....I see the HSUS swooping down to donate money to the fund that will be established and/or offering to provide support. I'm not willing to take that chance. He who holds the purse....makes the rules.

Shelly Kuhn

[soda]

The National Animal Interest Alliance has issued a national alert for HB 1332. It is on the schedule for a third reading today. Session starts at 9:00 am.

If you haven't let your representative know how you feel about this bill now is the time. If you've already written them, use the alert and write again.

We've heard that Denney was canvasing reps individually yesterday trying to get up more support for this bill. That indicates she may not have the votes to get this through. Now is not the time to sit by and wait.....use the alert link below and keep the pressure on, there is too much wrong with this bill to be effective and it will certainly have a negative impact on Oklahoma's responsible dog breeders.


http://capwiz.com/naiatrust/state/ma...ew=myofficials

Shelly Kuhn
Edmond

[Eric Johnson]

I've heard it passed the House 74-26 with 1 abstention.

Eric

[Rodney Crim]

You have to be kidding!

[Rodney Crim]

My Rep voted for the bill. Theres my vote at work. i wonder if he'll get it next time. I even called him this morning.

[frontier]

http://www.news9.com/Global/story.as...&nav=menu681_2

[soda]

http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/CF/2009-10%20SUPPORT%20DOCUMENTS/VOTES/House/hb1332%20third%20reading%20%20%20%20%20%20%20passe d%20vote%20okh00399.txt

Yes it's true the bill passed the house with a vote of 74-26 (above is the link to see how your rep voted) but lets put this perspective here.

Last night Lee Denney did not have the 2/3 votes needed to pass this bill and as late as today at 10 am she still didn't have the vote. This is politics...deals are made and with over 1500 bills flowing through the system it's not suprising that this passed the first chamber. Several reps that switched their vote stated they felt it would die in the senate and felt like they needed to garner support for their cause. That's how it works sometimes. We're disappointed because we'd sure like to be spending all this time training dogs but until this is over we will keep working.

My grandma would say "Quit whinin' girl, get your big girl panties on and git to work". She always had such a way with words!

Anyway that's how it goes and the fight goes on. The next stop for this bill is the Senate Appropriations committee. It has a huge price tag attached so there will be some work there and it's all about economics.

As soon as it's scheduled I'll post the date and time.

Until then...if your rep opposed this bill then contact him/her and thank them for their vote.

Shelly