At its Wednesday, January 26, 2022 meeting, the Virginia House Agriculture, Conservation, and Natural Resources Committee’s Agriculture Subcommittee took action on two bills that had the potential to impact some dog owners. See previous alert.
The committee action was as follows:
House Bill 467 – This bill would amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 3.2-6540.05 that provides that the owner of a of a dog that bites a human being or otherwise attacks a human being causing bodily injury, may have civil liability regardless of whether the owner knew or should have known of the dog’s propensity for vicious, dangerous, or otherwise aggressive behavior. By a vote of 10-0 the Subcommittee recommended laying it on the table. This action essentially kills the bill and stops it from any other consideration.
House Bill 1074 – This bill directs the Board of Health to develop an exemption to the rabies vaccination requirement for animals if a licensed veterinarian certifies that the vaccine would endanger the animal based on an underlying medical factor and a titer test indicates a sufficient level of immunity to rabies. If issued, the certification is valid for a period of one year and serves as proof of vaccination. At the sponsor’s request, the Subcommittee recommended by a voice vote to continue the bill to 2023. The full ACNR Committee will have to take a formal vote on this recommendation at its next meeting schedule for 8:30a.m. on Wednesday, February 2, 2022.
AKC Government Relations continues to monitor legislation in Virginia impacting dog owners. For questions or more information, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.