AB250: Bill Text

LRB-2448/2

RCT:cjs:ph

2009 - 2010 LEGISLATURE

2009 Assembly BILL 250

April 30, 2009 - Introduced by Representatives Smith, Sinicki, Richards, Jorgensen, Dexter, Wood, Bernard Schaber, Pope-Roberts, Berceau, Barca, Pocan, Colon, Mason, Shilling, Sherman, Grigsby, Cullen, Seidel, Staskunas, Molepske Jr., Soletski, Honadel, Steinbrink, Van Roy, Van Akkeren, Pasch, Benedict, Turner, Black, Spanbauer, Zepnick, Schneider, Fields, J. Ott, A. Ott, Hilgenberg, Zigmunt, Young, Parisi, Gottlieb, Hebl, Roys, A. Williams, Montgomery, Hixson, Stone, Bies, Zipperer, Kestell, Davis and Pridemore, cosponsored by Senators Kreitlow, Darling, Taylor, Plale, Carpenter, Sullivan, Holperin, S. Fitzgerald, Risser, Lehman, Cowles, Olsen, A. Lasee, Kanavas, Lassa, Hansen, Wirch, Kapanke, Coggs and Leibham. Referred to Committee on Consumer Protection.

AB250,1,4 An Act to amend 20.115 (2) (j); and to create 173.41 and 778.25 (1) (a) 8. of the statutes; relating to: regulation of persons who sell dogs or operate animal shelters or animal control facilities, granting rule-making authority, making an appropriation, and providing a penalty.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Licensing of dog sellers, animal shelters, and animal control facilities

This bill requires certain persons who sell dogs or operate animal shelters or animal control facilities to be licensed by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), beginning 18 months after the bill is enacted into law.

The bill requires all of the following to obtain licenses, with limited exceptions:

1. A person who sells 25 or more dogs in a year (including a nonresident who brings dogs into this state for sale).

2. A person who operates a dog breeding facility (a place at which dogs are bred and raised) from which 25 or more dogs are sold in a year.

3. A person who operates an auction at which 50 or more dogs are sold or offered for sale in a year.

4. A person who operates an animal shelter that is used to shelter at least 25 dogs in a year.

5. A person who operates an animal control facility under a contract with a city, village, town, or county.

The bill requires DATCP to inspect each location in this state at which a person who applies for a license operates before issuing an initial license and at least once every two years thereafter, except that during the first 12 months in which licenses are required DATCP may issue a temporary initial license before conducting the required inspection. The bill allows DATCP to make additional inspections during regular business hours to ensure compliance with requirements established in the bill.

The bill specifies fees for licenses, generally based on the number of dogs sold, and authorizes DATCP to set higher fees by rule if necessary to cover the costs of administering the program.

Sale of dogs

This bill prohibits a licensee from transferring a dog to a buyer before the dog is seven weeks old. The bill requires a licensee to provide the purchaser of a dog with a copy of the dog's vaccination records and with a statement from a veterinarian who examined the dog stating that the dog had no infectious or contagious diseases at the time of examination.

The bill prohibits any person from selling at auction a dog that is not spayed or neutered unless the dog has tested negative for brucellosis.

The bill also requires a person who sells or offers to sell a dog at a temporary dog market, such as a flea market, to provide information about the dog to the operator of the temporary dog market. It requires the operator of a temporary dog market to register with DATCP, review and keep the information provided by sellers, and, if dogs are sold or offered for sale on two or more consecutive days, have a veterinarian examine the dogs.

Standards of care

The bill requires licensees to provide dogs with adequate food, water, veterinary care, shelter, and opportunity for exercise. The bill requires enclosures for dogs to be of appropriate size and structurally sound. It requires licensees to keep enclosures clean and to follow restrictions on the use of wire flooring. Under the bill, a licensee must ensure that each dog is observed every day in order to monitor the health and temperament of the dog and provide care as needed.

Enforcement and administration

A person who fails to obtain a license required under this bill may be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than nine months or both. Violations of other requirements in the bill are punishable by forfeitures (civil monetary penalties). The bill authorizes the use of a citation, which is similar to a traffic ticket, in case of a violation that is punishable by a forfeiture.

The bill provides DATCP with authority to deny, revoke, or refuse to renew a license for cause. It also authorizes DATCP to summarily suspend a license if an inspection reveals a condition that imminently threatens an animal or there is evidence that an animal has been criminally mistreated.

The bill authorizes DATCP to seize a dog from a person required to be licensed if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the dog is being criminally mistreated.

The bill requires DATCP to promulgate rules for the administration of the program. It also requires DATCP to appoint an advisory committee for the rule making.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report concerning the proposed penalty and the costs or savings that are likely to result if the bill is enacted.

For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB250, s. 1 Section 1. 20.115 (2) (j) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB250,3,7 20.115 (2) (j) Dog licenses, rabies control, and related services. All moneys received under ss. 95.21 (9) (c), 173.27, 173.41, and 174.09 (1) and (3), to provide dog license tags and forms under s. 174.07 (2), to perform other program responsibilities under ch. 174, to administer the rabies control program under s. 95.21, to help administer the rabies control media campaign, and to carry out activities under s. 93.07 (11) and ch. 173.

AB250, s. 2 Section 2. 173.41 of the statutes is created to read:

AB250,3,10 173.41 Regulation of persons who sell dogs or operate animal shelters. (1) Definitions. In this section:

AB250,3,12 (a) "Animal control facility" means a facility for the care of animals operated under a contract with a political subdivision under s. 173.15 (1).

AB250,3,17 (b) "Animal shelter" means a facility that is operated for the purpose of providing for and promoting the welfare, protection, and humane treatment of animals, that is used to shelter at least 25 dogs in a year, and that is operated by a humane society, animal welfare society, animal rescue group, or other nonprofit group.

AB250,4,2 (c) "Dog breeder" means a person who sells 25 or more dogs in a year that the person has bred and raised.

AB250,4,4 (d) "Dog breeding facility" means a place at which dogs are bred and raised and from which 25 or more dogs are sold in a year.

AB250,4,8 (e) "Dog dealer" means a person, other than an out-of-state dog dealer, who sells, distributes, or trades, or offers for sale, distribution, or trade, 25 or more dogs in a year that the person has not bred and raised or who operates an auction at which 50 or more dogs are sold or offered for sale in a year.

AB250,4,10 (f) "Out-of-state dog dealer" means a person who is not a resident of this state who brings 25 or more dogs into this state for sale in this state in a year.

AB250,4,13 (g) "Temporary dog market" means a place at which persons sell dogs, and may sell other items, from booths or other spaces that are rented from or provided at no cost by the person operating the place.

AB250,4,14 (h) "Transfer" means to grant physical possession to another.

AB250,4,18 (2) License Required. (a) Except as provided in par. (e), (f), or (g), beginning on the first day of the 18th month beginning after the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date], no person may do any of the following without an annual license from the department:

AB250,4,19 1. Operate an animal shelter.

AB250,4,20 2. Operate an animal control facility.

AB250,4,21 3. Operate as a dog breeder.

AB250,4,22 4. Operate a dog breeding facility.