Brooks Law Digest: Legislation

Senate Bill 4848, the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Reauthorization and Improvements Act of 2020, would reauthorize the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking and expanding other programs to address wildlife crimes.

H.R. 8633 proposes to amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a national center to examine alternatives to using animals in research and testing.

New Jersey Senate Bill 3028 proposes to allow dogs as service and emotional support animals within a state veterans’ residential facility.

California Assembly Bill 2059 proposes to limit the use of dogs in toxicological experimentation in the state to tests that are a part of medical research, required in order to comply with the Toxic Substances Control Act, or required in order to comply with federal requirements to achieve approval of a medical device, drug, or pesticide.

Kentucky Senate Bill 142 proposes to amend the state’s anti-cruelty statute. The legislation would change the required mental state to be convicted of cruelty and would remove the exception for “agricultural” practices.

Maryland Senate Bill 188 proposes to declare a food that contains animal tissue cultivated outside the animal from which the culture is derived, is made from plants, or is made from insects to be misbranded if it is labeled as “meat” or a “meat product.”

Illinois Senate Bill 2995 would increase the charges of some cruelty to a domestic animal to a class 2 felony (if the animal died), class 3 felony (for subsequent violations of the statute), or class 1 felony (if a second violation results in the death of a subsequent companion animal); rather than a class 4 felony.

Illinois Senate Bill 2973 would amend state law to prohibit the Illinois Housing Authority from restricting rentals of affordable housing to those with common companion animals, such as a dog or a cat, regardless of breed or size of the animal.

Arizona House Bill 2724 would ban the sale of eggs laid by confined or caged hens, whether the eggs originated in or out of the state. The bill would require more space for hens (at least one square foot per bird) by the end of 2020, and the full ban would go into effect at the end of 2024.

Maryland Senate Bill 626 proposes to prohibit retail pet stores from transporting into or within the state dogs and cats for sale or transfer within the state. The bill contains an exception for rescued dogs and cats to be displayed for adoption.