The California Legislature is considering two bills impacting dog owners as the session nears its end.
To see the complete list visit, the AKC legislative tracker in the AKC Legislative Action Center at www.akcgr.org. AKC Government Relations (AKC GR) will continue to provide updates and alerts on these and other bills that could impact you.
Supported by AKC:
- Assembly Bill 1215 – Pets Assistance With Support Grant Program: homeless shelters: domestic violence shelters: pets.
Status: Passed state Assembly; set for final floor vote in state Senate by September 14, 2023.
Summary: This proposal would set up a program for state administered grants to assist pets of individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness and for domestic violence survivors and their pets when accessing the shelter system. All too often, many people in these at-risk demographics are forced to forgo shelter and remain in dangerous situations simply for owning a pet. AKC looks forward to this bill becoming law.
Assembly Bill 781 – Accessibility to emergency information and services: emergency shelters: persons with pets.
Status: Passed state Assembly; set for final floor vote in state Senate by September 14, 2023.
Summary: This bill would require a county to update its emergency plan to designate emergency shelters able to accommodate persons with pets by July 1, 2024. As extreme weather continues to threaten many Californians, it is important that people have a place to go for both themselves, their families, AND their pets when emergencies strike.
What You Can Do: Both bills await action as the legislative session nears its end on September 14. Please register your support on both bills to Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins at 916-651-4039 or senator.atkins@sen.ca.gov. In your message, simply state that many Californians have pets, and they should not be a barrier to people trying to protect themselves and their families during hard times or an emergency.
AKC Government Relations continues to monitor bills in California impacting dog owners and will provide updates. For questions or more information, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.