CFA Info

CFA Legislative ALERT

CFA LEGISLATIVE ALERT - CALIFORNIA AB 1634

July, 13, 2007

Cat and dog friends;  

As you know, mandatory spay/neuter of all cats and dogs will not be state law in California!!  We all deserve to celebrate and take pride in this accomplishment.   It took a huge cooperative effort to persuade lawmakers this was a misdirected, confusing and detrimental proposal.  The media now has a much better understanding of why we rejected this proposal that claimed to be a solution to the killing of animals in shelters.

Some form of AB 1634 will come back in January 2008 - a revised bill will be heard again in the Senate Local Government Committee.  AB 1634 has already been amended 7 times but it will be further watered down.  According to Senator Lloyd Levine in Wednesday’s hearing the new version will not “mandate spay/neuter” with an intact permit.  He wants to rewrite the bill so that possessing an unaltered cat/dog would be a “secondary” offense if someone is found in violation of another animal law.  He mentioned at the hearing if a cat/dog is at large or if there are too many animals in a household according to local ordinance then animal control could require sterilization.  Obviously one of the objections to AB 1634 has always been that “complaint driven” laws tend to encourage neighbor harassment or vigilantes filing complaints based on suspicion of some animal law violation. 

THANK YOU for being in Sacramento, for writing over 10,000 personal letters to the Senators, for visiting your Assembly Members and Senators and for your contributions of time and money to help defeat this bill.  This was an enormous cooperative effort unparalleled since CFA has been involved in legislative advocacy.  Many individuals were highly active in California, walked the corridors in Sacramento and contacted their own legislators.  We also had help from people all over the country who posted updates, signed petitions, donated to CFA’s Sy Howard Legislative Fund, produced YouTube videos and contributed to strategy.  I can’t begin to single out the numerous individuals who worked tirelessly on this bill since February but every effort counted.  Special appreciation goes to those who brought Lassie and Timmy to the Capitol!  This brought some fun into the Senators’ offices and good media coverage for our side. It made up for all their broken fax machines and used cartridges.  It was a real joy to see so many familiar cat fancier faces in the audience at the Capitol steps rally on Wednesday and to meet many dedicated dog owners we’ve come to know through emails.  There were about 30 dogs there and one cat.

Success was due to the ability of all the organizations to work together for our common goal.  The Cat Fanciers’ Association and American Kennel Club hosted several strategy conference calls that included professional lobbyists advising and working behind the scenes. CFA and AKC kept clubs and fanciers informed of what was needed every step of the way and AKC hosted two lobby day meetings in Sacramento.  We owe a great deal to many other organizations that played a big part – the National Animal Interest Alliance, SaveOurDogs, California Federation of Dog Clubs, the Concerned Dog Owners of California, The Animal Council, The National Pet Alliance, Sacramento Council of Dog Clubs, No On AB 1634, and the newly formed “Veterinarians Against AB 1634”.  There was considerable information on all the websites and each of the organizations contributed to media interviews. We appreciated the support of Alley Cat Allies, The International Cat Association and the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council.  The courage of numerous California veterinarians to speak out against the stance of the California Veterinary Medical Association on this bill and the work to get the CVMA to withdraw as a co-sponsor was an incredible accomplishment.

Very special kudos must go to PetPAC.  Their tireless work to reach the cat and dog clubs, fanciers, service dog and law enforcement canine groups was extremely valuable throughout these past 4 -1/2 months.  They consistently presented a message to the media that this bill was mischaracterized through incorrect, exaggerated data and would impact a large number of animal interest groups without solving shelter problems.  They lobbied all Assembly Members and Senators, organized the press conferences in the Capitol, did numerous radio and TV interviews and coordinated the Capitol rallies.  With CFA’s financial help they produced effective TV commercials that aired on the major morning shows before the hearing reinforcing the message that opposition to AB 1634 represented dog and cat pet owners, those with service dogs and law enforcement dogs.

Speakers at the Committee hearing included Dr. John Hamil, former President of the CVMA who spoke about general and veterinary issues, Bill Hemby of PetPAC on law enforcement, Joan Miller for CFA and the unowned cat issues, Angie Niles with the shelter data analysis, Douglas Surber of SaveOurDogs on the loss of breeding stock for working, sporting and herding dogs; Paul Mundell on service dog issues and Jeff Leacox on behalf of AKC and the punishment of responsible pet owners.  It was a well orchestrated presentation to cover all points. Lassie watched from the front row ready to bark if needed.

There will always be challenges when it comes to homeless animals in shelters.  Punitive legislation harmful to pet owners is not the answer.  AB 1634 has been extremely divisive and will make it more difficult to collaborate with the shelter community in the future. This is something we hope can be rectified in time.  The best thing about this bill is that it has brought the diverse dog and cat groups together.  We are now stronger and better prepared to take on whatever comes before us in local ordinances and on the state level in 2008. 

WHAT TO DO NOW

1. Call or send a note to the Chair, Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod, the Vice Chair, Senator Dave Cox, thanking them and every one of the Senators on the Local Government Committee for allowing a thorough hearing of the issues and for their understanding of our reasons for opposition.  Yes, we know that Senator Christine Kehoe (Dem. San Diego) helped Levine save the bill from total failure, but lots can change before January and we want her on our side by then. 
2. Watch for information on Assembly Member Levine’s run for the Senate.  With a primary in February this bill will bring attention to his campaign.  We may take a special interest in his opponent.
3. Be ready for resurrection of several local ordinances that were put on hold because of this bill.  Riverside County and Los Angeles City may suddenly hold hearings.

Many thanks to George Eigenhauser, CFA Legislative Information Liaison, and Sharon Coleman, CFA Legislative Legal Analyst; also to Jean Grimm who spoke before the Assembly Committee for CFA. 

On behalf of CFA – thank you all for your help and support.

Joan Miller
CFA Legislative Coordinator  

To correspond with the CFA Legislative Committee, please send email to legislation@cfa.org