Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Date:01/24/2006
ATTENDANCE
Time:01:41 PM to 03:14 PM
Bacon
X
Entz
X
Place:SCR 356
Jones
X
Kester
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Tochtrop
X
Senator Hanna
Groff
X
Hanna
X
This Report was prepared by
Raegan Robb
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
SB06-025
SB06-054		Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Postponed Indefinitely


01:41 PM -- Senate Bill 06-025

Senator Owen, the prime sponsor of SB06-025 presented his bill. This bill modifies the dangerous dog statutes, Section 18-9-204.5 C.R.S., in several ways.
The bill extends the provisions of the dangerous dog act to include kennel workers, dog groomers, trainers, handlers, etc. from attacks by dangerous dogs. Also, the bill allows the prosecution of a dog following a first incident and how to handle cases where a dog is involved in a second offense with a different owner. Additionally, the bill increases the requirements on owners of dogs that are defined as dangerous to do the following:

post a conspicuous warning sign on the building on enclosure notifying others that a dangerous dog is housed there;
notify the Bureau of Animal Protection within the Department of Agriculture, in writing, when there is a change, transfer, or termination of ownership;
notify any canine service or treatment provider such as; veterinarians, pet groomers, trainers, humane agency staff, etc.;
notify any prospective owner, in writing, that the dog was found to be dangerous.


01:46 PM

Senator Owen responded to questions from the committee on a number of issues relating to changes to the dangerous dog statues addressed in his bill including; warning signs when a dog is classified as 'dangerous', court costs, and the court proceedings of adjudication, appeals and destruction order.








01:52 PM

Dr. Anita Knudson, from Coal Ridge Animal Hospital. Testified in favor of the bill and presented graphic pictures of a past dog attack on one of her employees, who was a kennel worker. Dr. Knudson informed the committee of problems in Article 18, which does not protect kennel workers, dog groomers, handlers, trainers from dog attacks. She also spoke to problems of Article 18 including dog owners having choice where to transport dogs prior to attacks and "same dog, same owner" provision, which nullifies the records of dangerous dogs upon transfer of ownership.


01:58 PM

Senator Groff addressed Dr. Knudson's concerns with transfer or termination of ownership. Senator Owen and Dr. Knudson ensured the committee that this bill did address this concern.


01:59 PM

Dr. Todd Towell, current President of the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association testified in support of the bill. Stating that veterinarians should be warned prior to handling dogs classified as "dangerous" and voiced support for a written notice by owners of dangerous dogs prior to receiving services or treatments from professionals. She also voiced support for the tracking of dangerous dogs, the first bite rule, the transfer of ownerships of dangerous dogs and the mandatory impoundment and destruction order of a dangerous dog upon a second biting. Dr. Towell submitted copies of her testimony to the committee (Attachment A).


02:04 PM

Jan McHugh-Smith, President of Colorado Federation of Animal Welfare Agencies, testified in support of the bill, specifically the disclosure portion of the bill that will require that dog workers, throughout the state, will be protected by the disclosure section of the bill.


02:06 PM

Janet Stephens, from the Colorado Federation of Dog Clubs, testified in support of the bill and also entered testimony in support of the prepared amendments to the bill (see Attachments B and C).


02:08 PM

Dr. Keith Roehr, Assistant State Veterinarian for Colorado Department of Agriculture and explained that the Department of Agriculture played a role in developing the language in the bill. Explained that the bill clarifies confusing statutory language which regarding the definition of a "dangerous dog". Dr. Roehr informed the committee that clarifying this language will allow District Attorneys, throughout the state, to prosecute dogs upon an initial bite. Dr. Roehr also addressed the change of ownership provision was a second key component of this bill and requested the support of the committee.








Senator Owen provided closing comments on the bill, requested the support of the committee and introduced prepared amendments L.001 (Attachment B) and L.002 (Attachment C).
BILL:SB06-025
TIME: 02:11:32 PM
MOVED:Tochtrop
MOTION:Moved to adopt prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment B). Motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Entz
Jones
Kester
Tochtrop
Groff
Hanna
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:SB06-025
TIME: 02:12:29 PM
MOVED:Tochtrop
MOTION:Moved to adopt prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment C). Motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Entz
Jones
Kester
Tochtrop
Groff
Hanna
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:SB06-025
TIME: 02:12:59 PM
MOVED:Hanna
MOTION:Moved bill to the Committee of the Whole. Motion passed on a 7-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Yes
Entz
Yes
Jones
Yes
Kester
Yes
Tochtrop
Yes
Groff
Yes
Hanna
Yes
Not Final YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


02:15 PM -- Senate Bill 06-054

Senator Entz, the prime sponsor of the bill, testified that House Bill 04-1279 determined that dangerous dog regulations are a matter of statewide concern instead of a matter of local control. SB-054 gives more control of dangerous dog on the local level, especially statutory cities and counties. This bill would provide municipalities and counties with the ability to make breed specific rules and laws by the removal of any language prohibiting such regulations.


02:15 PM

A letter from the American Kennel Club was distributed to each member of the committee during the introduction of the bill. The letter spoke in opposition of the bill and urged the committee to vote against the bill (Attachment D).


02:17 PM

Senator Entz addressed initial questions from the committee regarding breed specific regulations against dogs, if this bill was intended to address a specific breed of dog (i.e. pit bulls), and the migration of dangerous dogs between municipalities with different dog laws. Senator Entz clarified that this bill was intended to let local governments decide on dog regulations according to individual municipalities or counties.

02:21 PM

Tina Villani, Representative from American Canine Foundation, testified against the bill and spoke to the recent court case between the State of Colorado and the City/County of Denver concerning breed specific laws. Mrs. Villani had concerns that the previous City/County of Denver case remains unresolved and will be challenged in the future. She also addressed her concerns regarding breed specific legislation and reported on other dog attacks in Colorado and multiple cases falsely reported as "pit bull" attacks.







02:27 PM

R.J. O'Connor, citizen of Parker, Colorado. Reported recent decision from the town of Parker's town council decided against pit bull ban. Mr. O'Connor testified against the bill and breed specific legislation, commenting that dog laws should target irresponsible owners and not specific breeds of dogs and also that the patchwork of breed specific legislation, on the municipal level, is unreasonable and demands uniformity.


02:31 PM

Dr. Todd Towell, from Colorado Veterinary Medical Association, testified in opposition of the bill. Informed committee regarding environmental factors that create high risk dogs, regardless of breed types, but not addressed in breed specific legislation. Voiced support for state control over dangerous dogs and spoke to the need for more funding of animal care and control facilities at the local level. Dr. Towell submitted her testimony for the record (Attachment E).


02:33 PM

Dr. Towell addressed questions from the committee regarding: whether or not specific dogs are found to be aggressive, why pit bulls have been assumed to be more dangerous than other breeds of dogs and the ability of a professional to identify pit bulls or mixed breeds of pit bulls.


02:37 PM

David Gies, from the Coalition for Living Safely with Dogs, testifies in opposition of the bill. Presented comments and spoke to certain techniques that can be followed by dog owners to reduce aggressive behavior in dogs. Mr. Gies submitted his testimony for the record (Attachment F).


02:41 PM

Jan McHugh-Smith, President of Colorado Federal Animal Welfare Agencies, spoke in opposition to the bill and breed bans in Colorado. Spoke to the point that dangerous dogs are a state wide problem and breed specific laws are shifting between communities and straining community animal shelters. She also stated concerns with breed specific legislation, which creates a confusing patchwork of local legislation and do not create safe communities


02:44 PM

Martha Smith, from All Breed Rescue Network, spoke in strong opposition to the bill, voicing that breed specific legislation is not a solution to the larger community problems concerning dangerous dog.











02:45 PM

Lisa Wentzel, from Colorado Federation of Dog Clubs, spoke in opposition of the bill. Ms. Wentzel spoke to problems in Colorado municipalities where breed specific laws have been introduced on the local level concerning the complexities and confusion that this has created. (i.e. Aurora, Lonetree, Commerce City, Denver). Ms. Wentzel spoke to the amount of resources that are being re-prioritized on local levels to address dangerous dog ordinances. And acknowledged the Town Council of Parker, which already has laws in place to protect citizens without enacting breed specific laws. Discussion between Ms. Wentzel and Senator Entz ensued.


02:51 PM

Dr. Anita Knudson, from Coal Ridge Animal Hospital clarified the breeds of dogs in the attack on her employee (in her testimony for SB06-025) were mixed boxer breeds and not pit bulls or mixed pit bull breeds.


02:52 PM

Senator Groff, asked Dr. Knudson on whether certain breeds have more aggressive tendencies than other breeds. Dr. Knudson spoke to some inconsistencies in specific breeds with aggressive tendencies.


02:53 PM

Sam Mamet, from the Colorado Municipal League, testified in support of the bill and urged the favorable adoption of the bill by the committee. Mr. Mamet addressed concerns that the control of dog laws should be decided at the local level and not at the state level. Mr. Mamet cited municipal dog control ordinances, from throughout the state, that were specific to the needs of local communities--some of which were breed specific and some of which were not. Mr. Mamet requested the support of the bill and urged the committee to show support and respect for the ability of local communities to decide their individual dog regulations. Discussion between Mr. Mamet and the committee members ensued. Prior to testifying, Mr. Mamet submitted a pamphlet to the committee members. This pamphlet is a Colorado Municipal League publication, titled CML 2006 Policy Statement for State Lawmakers: Keeping Local Control Local and Home Rule At Home (Attachment G).























03:05 PM

Senator Entz provided closing comments on the bill.
BILL:SB06-054
TIME: 03:06:36 PM
MOVED:Entz
MOTION:Move to send SB06-054 to Committee of the Whole. The motion failed on a 2-5 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
No
Entz
Yes
Jones
No
Kester
Yes
Tochtrop
No
Groff
No
Hanna
No
Not Final YES: 2 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL
BILL:SB06-054
TIME: 03:07:42 PM
MOVED:Tochtrop
MOTION:Moved to postpone the bill indefinitely. The motion passed on a 4-3 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Yes
Entz
No
Jones
Yes
Kester
No
Tochtrop
Yes
Groff
No
Hanna
Yes
Final YES: 4 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

The motion was made to reverse the prior roll call vote, but there was objection from committee members therefore a second roll call vote was taken to postpone the bill indefinitely.


03:14 PM

The meeting adjourned.