Many of the bills I mentioned in are coming up for votes in the House of Representatives this week, among them House Bill 5362, which seeks to add municipal pounds or shelters to the state's shelter registration and inspection requirements. On March 28, the bill was "tabled for the calendar" which means the bill had its second reading and was reported out of committee (favorably with a vote of 25 to 4) and would be printed in the files and appear on the House calendar. As of April 3, the bill was listed on the House of Representatives Calendar and was ready for possible action.my column last week

The Committee on Environment, which "raised" the bill, meaning it wrote and introduced it through Representative Mike Demicco (D-21), chairperson of the Committee, told the House that the "substitute bill ought to pass." What's a substitute bill? It's when lawmakers amend or change an original bill before they move it forward out of committee. The only change from the original bill was to change the effective date from October 1, 2018 to October 1, 2020.

HB5362

Here's the bill. It's basically an addition to a subsection of an existing bill that requires private shelters to register with the state. It starts with, "(f) No person shall operate or maintain an animal shelter until he or she registers such animal shelter with the commissioner to operate and maintain such animal shelter under such regulations as the commissioner provides as to sanitation, disease and humane treatment of dogs or cats and the protection of the public safety."

It goes on to talk about the fee structure, $50 for a two-year registration, and that the "zoning enforcement official of the municipality wherein such animal shelter is to be operated or maintained has certified that the animal shelter conforms to the municipal zoning regulations." This is not an inspection for the care of animals, it's zoning compliance only. It ends with the new language: "For purposes of this subsection, 'animal shelter' means any: [private] (1) Private entity that operates a building or facility that is used solely to house homeless animals for the purpose of rescue or adoption and that is not operated within a private residence, or (2) municipal pound or shelter."

In a nutshell, town and city shelters would be required to register for $50, every two years. This is an unfunded state mandate, which means there are no funds to enforce this proposed law. And what it does is put an extra burden on each town, in the form of the fee and requiring the local zoning enforcement officer to go inspect the shelter on its first application to the state.

Existing law (CGS § 22-344(g)) already states that the Agriculture Commissioner "or his agent may inspect an animal shelter at any time. If, in his judgment, it is not being maintained in a sanitary and humane manner that protects public safety or if he finds that contagious, infectious, or communicable disease or other unsatisfactory conditions exist, he may (1) fine the shelter up to $500 for each affected animal, (2) order that the conditions be corrected, and (3) quarantine the premises and animals."

Now state officials will be authorized to come and inspect town shelters, although they are not required to do so under law. Since this private shelter registration requirement went into effect in 2017, has the Department of Agriculture done any regular inspections of private shelters? I wonder. Or is this law just on the books for when an animal cruelty or abuse complaint comes across their desk it allows for an "anytime" inspection. I can't imagine the state has the money to hire new inspectors to visit each of the 169 towns municipal shelters (if they have one) to check up on the care of the animals. The Office of Legislative Research found this bill is a revenue producer for the state, approximately $7,100 per year in registration fees, and maybe another $2,000 in fines for shelters found not to care properly for their animals. The state can also revoke said registrations, leaving a town without a shelter, if it so deems.

Is there a rampant need for registration of town shelters? Are there municipal shelters that require regular inspection because of inhumane conditions? Or is this just a revenue producer for the state giving extra work to municipal employees to inspect them at least once? I don't know the answer, but before this becomes law, it might be nice to see some of the reasoning behind this bill, other than it can make a few thousand dollars for the state.

Pros and Cons

During the public hearing for this bill on March 26, two organizations testified. In favor of the bill was the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) Board of Directors chairman who stated that his pet industry group was in favor of the bill because it added on to legislation from last year requiring registration of private shelter facilities. PIJAC is in favor of "animal well-being throughout the state" and also recommended that a provision be added to the bill to have annual numbers of animals coming through registered shelters be reported to the Department of Agriculture. This, they said, would be keeping in line with reporting guidelines for animal importers that was enacted several years ago.

Coming out against the bill was the Conference of Connecticut Municipalities (CCM), a statewide association of towns and cities, that stated the bill "takes local control away from municipalities and grants the Department of Agriculture (DOA) the authority to oversee municipal standards and to impose new unfunded and burdensome mandates on these communities without municipal input. Towns and cities are diverse and have different needs. A 'one size fits all' approach should not be applied to municipalities. This proposal is a solution looking for a problem."

Stay tuned to see where this bill ends up by the end of the 2018 legislative session.

Lisa Peterson writes about history, horses and hounds at lisaunleashed.com. You can reach her at lisa.peterson@barngirlmedia.com.