Date: 02/18/2013

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB13-1125

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK, & NATURAL RESOURCES

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment G). The motion f
Postpone House Bill 13-1125 indefinitely. The moti
Refer House Bill 13-1125 to the Committee of the W		FAIL
PASS
FAIL



03:11 PM -- House Bill 13-1125

Representative Sonnenberg, sponsor, presented House Bill 13-1125. This bill changes animal cruelty statutes to require that livestock be inspected by a licensed veterinarian who certifies in writing that impoundment is necessary to preserve the life of an animal prior to a peace officer taking possession of the animal. If an animal is impounded and found by a licensed veterinarian to be near death, or if the owner consents, the animal may be euthanized without a court order. Staff distributed a fact sheet about the bill (Attachment C) prepared by Representative Sonnenberg.

130218 AttachC.pdf130218 AttachC.pdf

03:14 PM -- Lisa Pedersen, Colorado Federation of Animal Welfare Agencies (COFAWA), testified in opposition to the bill. Ms. Pedersen identified the three main reasons why COFAWA opposes the bill. She answered questions from the committee regarding animal cruelty that may not endanger the life of the animal, her background and the backgrounds of members of COFAWA, and the definition of abuse including what level of expertise is needed to recognize animal abuse.

03:24 PM -- Dr. Curtis Crawford, Colorado Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), spoke in opposition to the bill. Dr. Crawford discussed the potential impacts that this bill could have on both animals and people, including veterinarians. Committee discussion ensued regarding the frequency of instances that might fall under the provisions of the bill. Dr. Crawford answered questions from the committee regarding the how the phrase "preserving the life of the animal" may be interpreted and committee discussion on this topic ensued. Dr. Crawford answered questions from the committee regarding the types of veterinary medicine that the CVMA members practice and how compensation for veterinarians is handled.

03:41 PM -- Joe Stafford, Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region and Colorado Association of Animal Control Officers, spoke in opposition to the bill. Staff distributed a handout from the CVMA (Attachment D) and a letter from American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Attachment E). Mr. Stafford discussed his concerns about the bill and offered some examples of animals that were impounded under the charge of cruelty. Mr. Stafford also talked about the cost of care statute that was recently passed and showed the committee various pictures of animals that were impounded for the sake of their own welfare. Mr. Stafford answered questions from the committee regarding the frequency of cases that are investigated and the outcome of the horses in the pictures that were shown during Mr. Stafford's testimony.

130218 AttachD.pdf130218 AttachD.pdf130218 AttachE.pdf130218 AttachE.pdf

04:05 PM -- Duane Adams, Dumb Friends League, spoke in opposition to the bill. Staff distributed testimony from Mr. Adams (Attachment F) to the committee. Mr. Adams discussed his concerns about the bill including, but not limited to, how this bill would change existing law, that it would hinder law enforcement's ability to enforce animal cruelty law, and the usage of the phrase "preserve the life" in the language of the bill. Mr. Adams discussed specific cases as depicted in Attachment F and answered questions regarding why the Dumb Friends League opposed the bill.

130218 AttachF.pdf130218 AttachF.pdf

04:19 PM

Staff distributed L.001 (Attachment G) and L.002 (Attachment H) to the committee.

130218 AttachG.pdf130218 AttachG.pdf130218 AttachH.pdf130218 AttachH.pdf

04:20 PM -- Diane Balkin, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill. She talked about her concerns with some of the language and provisions of the bill including her belief that, under this bill, owners may choose to eliminate evidence of animal cruelty by euthanizing the animal.

04:30 PM -- Andy Karsian, Colorado Counties Incorporated (CC), spoke in opposition to the bill. He stated that many of CCI's issues with the bill had already been addressed by other witnesses, but that in addition to topics that had previously been discussed CCI also had concerns about the availability of veterinarians to examine animals in question, took issue with assumptions made in the bill regarding the qualifications of animal control officers, were worried about the possible implications that this bill could cause to local governments, and said that the CCI believes that the cost of care legislation that was recently passed is sufficient. Mr. Karsian answered questions from the committee regarding who is qualified to make determinations of an animal's state of health.

04:34 PM -- Roland Halpren, Unitarian Universalist Church, spoke in opposition to the bill. He described some of the beliefs of the Unitarian Universalist church and how they relate to this bill.

04:37 PM -- Larry Weiss, Vegan Life Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Weiss said that the passage of this bill will increase the suffering of animals and expressed concerns with compensation. Mr. Weiss also said that he felt that the process as outlined in current statue was sufficient.

04:41 PM -- Jennifer Edwards, Animal Law Center, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Edwards talked about a lack of checks and balances in the current system and said that the current cost of care legislation is not sufficient. She answered questions about wrongful seizures and her experiences practicing animal law.

04:49 PM -- Brad Wann, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Wann talked about his experiences owning animals and some of the complex issues that may arise if an animal owner is accused of animal cruelty. Mr. Wann answered questions from the committee about how this bill treats accountability of an animal owner, how an improper seizure of an animal might impact the animal, and his experiences when his some of his animals were seized. Committee discussion ensued regarding the seizure of animals.

05:24 PM -- William Lee, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Lee spoke about his experiences as an animal owner and with some of his animals being seized. Mr. Lee answered questions from the committee regarding what happened when his animals were seized.

 05:39 PM -- Jay Swearingen, Animal Law Center, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Swearingen discussed how this bill would change the standard of impound, the training received by animal control officers, the need for a veterinarian to evaluate animals before they are seized, and the frequency that livestock and other animals are impounded. He also noted how this bill would affect people in similar situations to Mr. Lee's, and the standard of animal cruelty. Mr. Swearingen answered questions from the committee about the veterinarian's role per the provisions of the bill.

05:55 PM

Committee discussion ensued regarding L.001.

BILL:HB13-1125
TIME: 06:08:30 PM
MOVED:Sonnenberg
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment G). The motion failed on a vote of 6-7.
SECONDED:McNulty
VOTE
Buck
Yes
Coram
Yes
Garcia
No
Lebsock
No
McLachlan
No
McNulty
Yes
Mitsch Bush
No
Rankin
Yes
Rosenthal
No
Saine
Yes
Sonnenberg
Yes
Vigil
No
Fischer
No
YES: 6 NO: 7 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:HB13-1125
TIME: 06:28:18 PM
MOVED:Sonnenberg
MOTION:Refer House Bill 13-1125 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion failed on a vote of 6-7.
SECONDED:Coram
VOTE
Buck
Yes
Coram
Yes
Garcia
No
Lebsock
No
McLachlan
No
McNulty
Yes
Mitsch Bush
No
Rankin
Yes
Rosenthal
No
Saine
Yes
Sonnenberg
Yes
Vigil
No
Fischer
No
YES: 6 NO: 7 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:HB13-1125
TIME: 06:30:47 PM
MOVED:Vigil
MOTION:Postpone House Bill 13-1125 indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 8-5.
SECONDED:Lebsock
VOTE
Buck
Yes
Coram
No
Garcia
Yes
Lebsock
Yes
McLachlan
Yes
McNulty
No
Mitsch Bush
Yes
Rankin
No
Rosenthal
Yes
Saine
No
Sonnenberg
No
Vigil
Yes
Fischer
Yes
Final YES: 8 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS




06:31 PM

The committee adjourned.