Bill Text: HI SB1522 | 2012 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Dogs; Large-scale Dog Breeding; Regulation
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-04-13 - (H) Received notice of all Senate conferees being discharged (Sen. Com. No. 747). [SB1522 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2012-SB1522-Amended.html
STAND. COM. REP. NO. 283
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 1522
S.D. 1
Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui
President of the Senate
Twenty-Sixth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2011
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 1522 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DOGS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish licensure and regulatory requirements for large-scale dog breeding operations.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, The Humane Society of the United States, Hawaiian Humane Society, West Hawaii Humane Society, Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, Molokai Advertiser-News, Poi Dogs and Popoki, Boxer Club of Hawaii, and one thousand thirty-two private individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the American Kennel Club and twenty-five private individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
Your Committee finds that dog breeding is currently unregulated in Hawaii. Further, while animal cruelty laws do exist, they are insufficient to allow for effective enforcement, particularly since current law does not allow entry onto property for investigation of suspected violations. Your Committee finds that unscrupulous breeding programs not only harm breeding animals that are kept under inhumane conditions, but also produce puppies that are sold to unsuspecting consumers despite their unsuitability as pets due to health problems.
Your Committee notes that, since dog breeding is currently an unregulated industry, any measure to create a regulatory system for this activity is subject to a sunrise review by the State Auditor pursuant to section 26H-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Your Committee is mindful of this requirement, but nevertheless urges thoughtful consideration of this measure in order to present the Auditor with the opportunity for meaningful review of this important issue. Your Committee further notes that proponents of this measure have cited the law of the State of Wisconsin as a useful model for Hawaii to follow in regulating dog breeders. Your Committee respectfully requests that a sunrise review based on this measure also include consideration of the Wisconsin law and its potential applicability to Hawaii.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Inserting a provision to limit the total number of intact dogs owned or harbored by a licensee to fifty; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1522, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1522, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection,
|
|
|
____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair |
