As mentioned in a previous alert, the Virginia House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (ACNR) Agriculture Sub-Committee was considering a substitute version of HB 2109 which originally sought to expand the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services by adding an at-large member who is expert in companion animal welfare who is employed by a releasing agency in the Commonwealth.
The substitute bill sponsored by Del. C. Matthew Farris eliminates both the appointment of an expert in companion animal welfare as an at-large member and further expansion of the board. Instead, the new amendment would require that at least one of the congressional district appointees to be a veterinarian licensed and currently practicing in the Commonwealth.
At a previous ACNR Agriculture Sub-Committee meeting, the substitute was approved and sent to the full Committee. However, it was referred back to the Agriculture Sub-Committee for reconsideration. After taking public testimony and after much discussion, the bill failed to gain the necessary votes to be sent to the full Committee at the January 27, Sub-Committee meeting.
Since 2021 is a brief 30-day session in Virginia, the bill is now dead, as there is not enough time for it to be reconsidered and voted on by both Chambers of the General Assembly.
AKC Government Relations thanks those who contacted the members of the Sub-Committee regarding both the original bill and the substitute. For questions or more information, email doglaw@akc.org.