Legislative Alerts

Today, the California Senate Local Government Committee passed, by a 3-2 vote, California Assembly Bill 1634 with amendments taken by the author.  Senators Gloria Negrete McLeod, Christine Kehoe, and Michael Machado voted in favor, while Senators Dave Cox and Tom Harman voted against the measure.  The bill will now go to the Senate Appropriations Committee […]

The Dallas City Council will vote on the proposed changes to Dallas' animal control ordinance on Wednesday, June 25th, 9:00 A.M., at Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street, Dallas. These changes include mandatory spay/neuter, breeder permitting, and limits on the number of pets that can be owned. It is vitally important that Dallas-area responsible dog […]

The American Kennel Club Government Relations Department is pleased to report that California Assembly Bill 1634, which formerly attempted to impose the mandatory spay/neuter of all dogs six months of age or older with little exception, has been vastly amended.  Now entitled "Dog and cats: nonspayed or unneutered: civil penalties.", this is an entirely new […]

New York State Senator Andrew J. Lanza of Staten Island has introduced Senate Bill 8546, which seeks to dramatically change the state's "pet dealer" laws by: Changing the definition of "pet dealer" to include anyone who engages in the sale or offering for sale of animals for profit to the public and keeps on their […]

AKC's Government Relations Department is pleased to report that New York Assembly Bill 11509 will not be considered by the Assembly Agriculture Committee for the remainder of the 2008 legislative session. This was confirmed today by the office of Assemblyman William Magee, chairman of the Assembly Agriculture Committee. The Government Relations Department would like to […]

The Dallas City Council will consider proposed changes to the Dallas animal control ordinance on Wednesday, June 18th, at 9:00 AM, at Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street, Dallas. These changes include mandatory spay/neuter, breeder permitting, and limits on the number of pets that can be owned. It is vitally important that Dallas-area responsible dog […]

Yesterday, Congress enacted the federal Farm Bill, including provisions prohibiting animal fighting ventures and limiting the importation of live dogs into the United States if the dogs are younger than six months old and imported for the purpose of resale.  President Bush's earlier veto of the bill was overridden when the House of Representatives voted […]

Pennsylvania House Bill 2553 will remove the state's prohibition on breed specific local ordinances, thereby allowing municipalities to adopt any type of law applicable to dangerous dogs, including breed-specific ordinances.  It is imperative that concerned dog owners in Pennsylvania contact their legislators and express their strong opposition to this bill.  The American Kennel Club supports […]

Ohio House Bill 568, introduced by Representative Tyrone Yates of Cincinnati, seeks to prohibit the ownership, keeping, or harboring of a dog that "belongs to a breed that is commonly known as a pit bull dog."  Furthermore, if this bill is passed and adopted into law, all such dogs will be seized and euthanized.  It […]