FINANCE OPPOSES SB250

The California State Department of Finance report has finally been made public. For some reason, it was held back and was never seen by the Appropriations Committee in the Senate. But since Florez took pains to say all the costs will fall on local government rather than the state, it is clear that he was aware of the contents.

It says in part

"This bill would result in a substantial increase to the General Fund cost of the Animal Adoption mandate. The Animal Adoption mandate currently costs more than $24 million annually to reimburse local government shelters' cost to care for impounded animals. Given the current economic climate, requiring the owners of dogs and cats to pay for sterilization procedures would result in more animals being abandoned or surrendered because of the owners' inability to finance the sterilization procedure and pay additional fines."

"Mandatory spay and neuter provisions have failed throughout California at the local government level. According to the National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA), Los Angeles City experienced a 20 percent increase in shelter impounds and a 30 percent increase in shelter euthanasias after passage of a mandatory spay and neuter ordinance. NAIA also indicates that in Santa Cruz County, animal control costs doubled after mandatory spay and neuter ordinances were passed."

The entire report can be seen here on the

links page.

Whatever Florez says, a precedent has been set with the Hayden Bill. All it will take is another lawsuit (probably from the City of Los Angeles which already receives more than $4 million in reimbursements already) and these will, as the Department of Finance says, become state costs.

HSUS, ASPCA PROTEST GOVS PROPOSED TEMP RECISSION OF THE HAYDEN ACT

On behalf of its nearly 1.3 million California constituents, The Humane Society of the United States appeared before the state legislative Budget Conference Committee to urge consideration of the serious and adverse implications of the Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to suspend the "animal adoption mandate," which would have the effect of reducing by three days the holding period for stray dogs and cats in the state's municipal animal shelters.
The Governor is advancing this proposal as a means of generating savings during the state's budget crisis.
The holding period is the period of time that a shelter must hold stray dogs or cats before they can be adopted to new families or euthanized. The current requirement that stray dogs and cats be held for at least four or six days (depending on hours of operation) was established by the 1997 passage of the Hayden bill, a body of law that includes other provisions aimed at increasing the number of animals adopted from the state's shelters.
The intent of the Hayden law's provision that stray animals be held an additional three days is two-fold: (1) to give pet owners more time to locate lost animals and (2) to give unclaimed animals more time to either be adopted or transferred to an animal rescue group.
Of course, none of this keeps the shelters from keeping the dogs and cats as long as they want. But currently the Hayden Act reimburses them for the dogs they keep and then euthanize. This would eliminate that reimbursement. There is no reimbursement for dogs and cats that are adopted. The Commission on Animal Mandates has pointed that out as an unintended consequence of the Act. It rewards the shelters that do not find homes for their animals and penalizes those that do.

RAIDS IN LA CITY PARKS?

Recently the Department of Animal Control conducted what has to be called a RAID on a park in West Los Angeles where the West Valley Dog Obedience Club regularly holds classes and matches. When it takes 3 vans and 4 police officers to check the license of the one dog person who was in the park, it's hard to know what else to call it.

During the raid, the person in the park (who was working a licensed and on-leash dog at the time) was told they could ticket her for not having the tag on the dog. They further told her that

anyone coming to Los Angeles Parks with dogs from surrounding communities need LA City licenses

. That should have a chilling effect on all the events that are held (and which contribute money) to City coffers.

ALL DOCUMENTS FILED IN CITY OF LOS ANGELES LAWSUIT

The final brief has been filed in the case of Concerned Dog Owners of California versus The City of Los Angeles. At issue is the City's law making it illegal to own a puppy or kitten over the age of four months unless it is altered; unless you belong to a Registry approved by the City and show the animal or unless you want to pay $200 and declare yourself a breeder, even though you are not and have no intention of breeding dogs or cats.

In bringing this lawsuit, the Plaintiff's asserted that causing someone to pay money to join a registry which may or may not assert their beliefs is a violation of the Constitution guarantees of right of association. If, for example, you do not choose to be associated with the American Kennel Club and attend American Kennel Club shows, then your dog must be sterilized. No matter that two littermates, owned by the same person, would be treated differently. And going further, a pet owner whose dog is not eligible to join a registry (or which belongs to a registry the City doesn't like) must state that he or she is a breeder of dogs. As we know that term has become very politicized. And in dealing with the City, it is possible to find out who is and is not listed as a breeder.

The Plaintiff's also asserted that there was no rational basis for this law. The City confirmed, in depositions, that in the year before passing the law, they euthanized only 560 cats because they ran out of time and space - and that was in three of the six shelters. The other three euthanized no healthy adoptable animals. Presumably they could have transferred animals and solved the problem.

In the City's response they did not dispute the numbers. The City says it relies on its police powers which are broad and essentially allow it to do anything it wants. They claim there was no responsibility on their part to prove that intactness causes pet overpopulation or mass euthanasia.

CDOC's answering brief was filed on June 22nd and the judge will announce his decision on July 14th. CDOC will appeal this case if the judge rules in favor of the City of Los Angeles.

LEGAL ASPECTS OF MSN FINALLY GET EXPOSURE

The Legal Broadcasting Network has put together a series on mandatory spay and neuter and the implication of such laws. The videos can be watched at www.legalbroadcastnetwork.com or at www.speakingofjustice.com. There are three videos in the series. Cathie Turner of CDOC, David Frei of Westminster Kennel Club and John Jensen, lead attorney i the suit against the City of Los Angeles over the MSN at 4 months law.

These are not just for dog people. This is the chance to take the message to the public. We have often said we didn't have those resources; now we do. Please see that this information is broadly distributed.