The North Carolina House of Representatives is currently considering the state budget. Thanks to your efforts, the budget does not currently include the significant expansion of dog owner regulations.
However, AKC understands that amendments will likely be offered in a House Appropriations Committee meeting tomorrow, June 11, to add language in the budget to define a “pet dealer” as anyone who OWNS or CO-OWNS more than 9 intact female animals. This could impact those who co-own, but do not actually keep that many intact dogs in their homes – including hunters, hobbyists, exhibitors, and those who may have older dogs and rescued females who are not able to be spayed for medical reasons.
The budget also contains a problematic and potentially dangerous transfer of authority for all animal regulations from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Public Safety.
Read AKC’s previous Legislative Alert for more details on these two budget items and why they are not in the best interest of dogs, North Carolina responsible dog owners, and taxpayers.
What You Can Do:
The House Appropriations Committee will meet tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, and the House will likely vote on the bill before the end of this week. It is essential that North Carolina residents contact the North Carolina House TODAY.Respectfully ask them to OPPOSE the transfer of the AWA and new pet dealer definitions and to keep those provisions OUT of the House version of the budget.
Contact Your State Representative: To find the name and contact information for your State Representative, visit www.ncga.state.nc.us and then click on the “Who Represents Me?” link. We encourage you to e-mail and to call and leave a message.
Contact the House Appropriations Committee leadership:
Rep. Nelson Dollar, Senior Chairman
919-715-0795
nelson.dollar@ncleg.net
Rep. Justin Burr, Chair
919-733-5908
Justin.Burr@ncleg.net
Rep. Bryan Holloway, Chair
919-733-5609
Bryan.Holloway@ncleg.net
Rep. Linda Johnson, Chair
919-733-5861
Linda.Johnson2@ncleg.net
Rep. Pat McElraft, Chair
919-733-6275
Pat.McElraft@ncleg.net
Rep. James Boles, Jr., Chair, Appropriations Subcommittee on Justice and Public Safety
919-733-5903
Jamie.Boles@ncleg.net
Rep. Leo Daughtry, Chair, Appropriations Subcommittee on Justice and Public Safety
919-733-5605
Leo.Daughtry@ncleg.net
Rep. John Faircloth, Chair, Appropriations Subcommittee on Justice and Public Safety
919-733-5877
John.Faircloth@ncleg.net
Rep. Pat Hurley, Chair, Appropriations Subcommittee on Justice and Public Safety
919-733-5865
Pat.Hurley@ncleg.net
Rep. Darren Jackson, Vice Chair, Appropriations Subcommittee on Justice and Public Safety
919-733-5974
Darren.Jackson@ncleg.net
Rep. Allen McNeill, Vice Chair, Appropriations Subcommittee on Justice and Public Safety
919-715-4946
Allen.McNeill@ncleg.net
Rep. Annie Mobley, Vice Chair, Appropriations Subcommittee on Justice and Public Safety
919-733-5780
Annie.Mobley@ncleg.net
Rep. Sarah Stevens, Vice Chair, Appropriations Subcommittee on Justice and Public Safety
919-715-1883
Sarah.Stevens@ncleg.net
Rep. Marilyn Avila, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-733-5530
Marilyn.Avila@ncleg.net
Rep. Hugh Blackwell, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-733-5805
Hugh.Blackwell@ncleg.net
Rep. William Brisson, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-733-5772
William.Brisson@ncleg.net
Rep. Rayne Brown, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-715-0873
Rayne.Brown@ncleg.net
Rep. George Cleveland, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-715-6707
George.Cleveland@ncleg.net
Rep. Mark Hollo, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-715-8361
Mark.Hollo@ncleg.net
Rep. D. Craig Horn, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-733-2406
Craig.Horn@ncleg.net
Rep. Julia Howard, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-733-5904
Julia.Howard@ncleg.net
Rep. Donny Lambeth, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-733-5747
Donny.Lambeth@ncleg.net
Rep. Chuck McGrady, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-733-5956
Chuck.McGrady@ncleg.net
Rep. Tom Murry, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-733-5602
Tom.Murry@ncleg.net
Rep. Jason Saine, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-733-5782
Jason.Saine@ncleg.net
Rep. Phil Shepard, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-715-9644
Phil.Shepard@ncleg.net
Rep. Edgar Starnes, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-733-5931
Edgar.Starnes@ncleg.net
Rep. John Torbett, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-733-5868
John.Torbett@ncleg.net
Rep. Roger West, Appropriations Committee Vice Chair
919-733-5859
Roger.West@ncleg.net
The North Carolina House of Representatives is currently considering the…