Legislative Alerts

Legislation continues to advance in California that would make further clarifications and amendments to the law passed in 2019 that requires those who hire independent contractors to provide them the same benefits as full-time employees. Late last week, a Senate committee combined several bills into Assembly Bill 2257, including an important provision AKC worked on […]

Aiken County staff will host a meeting on August 12, 2020, at 6:00 p.m., to review revisions to the proposed animal ordinance and receive comments from the public. County staff has diligently worked to respond to residents’ concerns and has made numerous changes and clarifications to the previous proposal.  However, subsequent versions of the proposed […]

Georgia Senate Bill 359, which was amended as the “Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act,” provides certain immunities for COVID-19 related tort claims that are not the result of gross negligence, willful and wanton misconduct, reckless infliction of harm, or intentional infliction of harm. It further establishes assumption of risk presumptions and sets out provisions […]

A California Senate committee will be considering a bill on August 8 that seeks to further clarify the 2017 law that limited consumer choice in the state by banning the sales of dogs and cats at pet stores, unless they are sourced from a shelter or rescue. As introduced, Assembly Bill 2152 implemented a total […]

In June, staff of the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission recommended that the state’s Licensed Breeders Program should be eliminated due to fundamental flaws with the law that created it, the program’s ineffectiveness, and significant operational costs.  The Sunset Advisory Commission will meet on Thursday, August 20, to accept testimony on recommendations to eliminate 15 regulatory […]

The Virginia Attorney General’s Animal Law Unit has sent a letter to animal control officers around Virginia highlighting the new animal cruelty laws that went into effect on July 1 and providing guidelines for enforcement.   It emphasizes that “Compliance is what you should be striving for at every call and the welfare of the animal should always […]

A bill has been introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives that would ban ear cropping, tail docking, and "debarking." No individual may perform these procedures, and veterinarians may only do so if relieving an injury, illness, infection, etc. House Bill 6009 has been assigned to the House Agriculture Committee and is not currently scheduled […]

An executive order signed in June by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson extends certain liability protections to businesses that open or remain open during the COVID-19 health emergency.  Among other provisions, persons and their employees, agents, and officers shall be immune from civil liability for damages or injuries resulting from exposure to COVID-19 on the premises, […]

Last week, the Massachusetts House of Representatives debated and amended HB 4860, which seeks to enact law enforcement reforms.   Amendments to ensure continued utilization of police K-9 practices were not adopted as they were in the Senate version of the legislation.  Details of the bill and amendments can be viewed in AKC GR’s prior alert. […]

Today, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) announced the launch of a new website to assist licensees and stakeholders understand and implement recent changes to the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) Animal Care regulations. The new website includes information about the changes to the licensing process, watering […]