AB 1634 Passes State Assembly

Max, Lady, Buddy, Duke, Tiger and Boots: No Longer Government Approved

SACRAMENTO, CA (June 6, 2007) – “Unbelievable” was the reaction from PetPAC today after Members of the California State Assembly voted 41-38 to outlaw the existence of mixed-breed dogs and cats in the Golden State.

Assembly Bill 1634, authored by Los Angeles Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, will allow only select purebred dogs and cats to breed. Pet owners who don’t sterilize their mixed breed pets by four months of age will face a $500 fine and possible criminal penalties.

“This crazy measure will end up costing families heartache and taxpayers billions,” said Bill Hemby, Chairman of PetPAC, an organization dedicated to the rights of pets and owners. “California will be the poster child for an invasive and overreaching government mandate that is impossible to fund, administer or enforce.”

AB 1634 will blanket all 58 counties in California with an expensive forced spay/neuter law that not all shelters want – or need. According to the State of California, dog impounds have fallen 86% over last 30 years. Puppies and kittens are already being transferred between counties to alleviate a shortage of adoptable pets: San Francisco and Marin Counties need to bring pets in from other areas to be adopted locally. In San Diego County – which has no mandatory spay/neuter law – only one adoptable animal was euthanized in 2004-05.

Not only family pets, but police dogs, search and rescue dogs, service dogs for the blind and disabled, and working stock dogs serving California’s $6 billion livestock industry will be decimated under AB 1634.

“The methods proposed by AB 1634 will lead to unintended consequences that will have a serious negative effect on animal health, the public, and the economy,” wrote 125 licensed veterinarians in opposition to the measure. “AB 1634 may actually lead to an increase in the number of animals impounded and euthanized.”

Experience has shown that local jurisdictions cannot recoup the costs to administer and enforce mandated sterilization laws from penalties and fees alone. As a result, funds will need to be taken from vital city and county services, including law enforcement and public safety.

The bill now moves on to the State Senate.

How YOUR Assemblymember Voted:

Voting YES

• Arambula, Juan (D-Fresno) AD 31
• Bass, Karen (D-Los Angeles) AD 47
• Beall, Jim (D-San Jose) AD 24
• Berg, Patty (D-Eureka) AD 1
• Brownley, Julia (D-Santa Monica) AD 41
• Carter, Wilmer (D-Rialto) AD 62
• Coto, Joe (D-San Jose) AD 23
• Davis, Mike (D-Los Angeles) AD 48
• De La Torre, Hector (D-South Gate) AD 50
• de León, Kevin (D-Los Angeles) AD 45
• De Saulnier, Mark (D-Martinez) AD 11
• Dymally, Mervyn (D-Los Angeles) AD 52
• Eng, Mike (D-Monterey Park) AD 49
• Evans, Noreen (D-Santa Rosa) AD 7
• Feuer, Mike (D-Los Angeles) AD 42
• Fuentes, Filipe (D-Sylmar) AD 39
• Galgiani, Cathleen (D-Tracy) AD 17
• Hancock, Loni (D-Berkeley) AD 14
• Hayashi, Mary (D-Hayward) AD 18
• Hernandez, Ed (D-Baldwin Park) AD 57
• Huffman, Jared (D-San Rafael) AD 6
• Jones, Dave (D-Sacramento) AD 9
• Karnette, Betty (D-Long Beach) AD 54
• Krekorian, Paul (D-Burbank) AD 43
• Laird, John (D-Santa Cruz) AD 27
• Leno, Mark (D-San Francisco) AD 13
• Levine, Lloyd (D-Van Nuys) AD 40
• Lieber, Sally (D-Mountain View) AD 22
• Lieu, Ted (D-Torrance) AD 53
• Mullin, Gene (D-South San Francisco) AD 19
• Nava, Pedro (D-Santa Barbara) AD 35
• Núñez, Fabian (D-Los Angeles) AD 46
• Portantino, Anthony (D-Pasadena) AD 44
• Price, Jr., Curren (D-Inglewood) AD 51
• Richardson, Laura (D-Long Beach) AD 55
• Ruskin, Ira (D-Redwood City) AD 21
• Salas, Mary (D-Chula Vista) AD 79
• Saldaña, Lori (D-San Diego) AD 76
• Solorio, Jose (D-Anaheim) AD 69
• Torrico, Alberto (D-Fremont) AD 20
• Wolk, Lois (D-Davis ) AB 8

Voting NO

• Adams, Anthony (R-Monrovia) AD 59
• Aghazarian, Greg (R-Stockton) AD 26
• Anderson, Joel (R-La Mesa) AD 77
• Benoit, John J. (R-Palm Desert) AD 64
• Berryhill, Tom (R-Modesto) AD 25
• Blakeslee, Sam (R-San Luis Obispo) AD 33
• Caballero, Anna (D-Salinas) AD 28
• Calderon, Charles (D-Whittier) AD 58
• Cook, Paul J. (R-Yuciapa) AD 65
• DeVore, Chuck (R-Irvine) AD 70
• Duvall, Michael D. (R-Yorba Linda) AD 72
• Emmerson, Bill (R-Redlands) AD 63
• Fuller, Jean (R-Bakersfield) AD 32
• Gaines, Ted (R-Roseville) AD 4
• Garcia, Bonnie (R-Cathedral City) AD 80
• Garrick, Martin (R-Carlsbad) AD 74
• Horton, Shirley (R-San Diego) AD 78
• Houston, Guy (R-San Ramon) AD 15
• Huff, Bob (R-Diamond Bar) AD 60
• Jeffries, Kevin (R- Riverside) AD 66
• Keene, Rick (R-Chico) AD 3
• LaMalfa, Doug (R-Biggs) AD 2
• Ma, Fiona (D-San Francisco) AD 12
• Maze, Bill (R-Visalia) AD 34
• Mendoza, Tony (D-Artesia) AD 56
• Nakanishi, Alan (R-Lodi) AD 10
• Niello, Roger (R-Sacramento) AD 5
• Parra, Nicole (D-Hanford) AD 30
• Plescia, George (R-San Diego) AD 75
• Runner, Sharon (R-Lancaster) AD 36
• Silva, Jim (R-Huntington Beach) AD 67
• Smyth, Cameron (R-Santa Clarita) AD 38
• Spitzer, Todd (R-Orange) AD 71
• Strickland, Audra (R-Camarillo) AD 37
• Swanson, Sandré (D-Oakland) AD 16
• Tran, Van (R-Costa Mesa) AD 68
• Villines, Michael (R-Clovis) AD 29
• Walters, Mimi (R-Laguna Niguel) AD 73

Absent

• Soto, Nell (D-Ponoma) AD 61