Legislating against Dogs is usually not a winner for politicians. However, we have all had that one dog in the neighborhood whose owner, through ignorance or neglect, just lets it bark outside nonstop.
House Bill 124 does some internal housekeeping with respect to which state agency is responsible for barking dogs, and determines that it will be the Office of Animal Welfare that will be responsible for the enforcement of all state laws relating to the protection and control of animals with, as occasion requires, the assistance of police officers.
This bill prohibits the owner or person in possession or control of a dog from allowing the dog to bark for an extended period, defined as continuously for 15 minutes or more, or intermittently for 30 minutes or more.
Exemptions from this rule are if 1) a person is trespassing on private property; (2) an animal is intruding on private property; (3) the dog is being teased or provoked.
Further, also exempted from this rule are dogs located in:(1)animal shelters; (2) pet stores; (3) dog grooming facilities; (4) veterinarian offices; and (5) animal clinics.
Still further, this bill exempts dogs engaged in (1) dog training; (2) dog exhibition; (3) lawful performance competitions; (4) hunting; and (5) herding.
Civil penalties are a written warning for the first violation, $50 for a second violation, if it occurs more than 7 days after the first violation, $100 for a third violation and $150 for all subsequent violations. This Act is effective 1 year after enactment.
| HOUSE BILL 124 – THE ANTI-DOG BARKING LAW | Currrent Status – House Appropriations 5/9/2 |
| House Sponsors – Morrison, Minor-Brown, Baumbach, Wilson-Anton // Gray, Ramone | Senate Sponsors – Gay // Hocker |
| House Yes Votes – | Senate Yes Votes – |
| House No Votes – | Senate No Votes – |
| House Absents or Not Voting – | Senate Absent or Not Voting – |
This is by far one of the most disappointing bills this session, if only because it came from people who should know better. Thousands of pets are killed every year by the police, not to mention the innocent people who are gunned down when police get involved, so why are progressives backing a bill that we potentially increase the interactions civilians have with the police? We should be reducing the amount that we have state agencies, and especially the police, get involved in our quotidian domestic squabbles, not increasing them.
I thin that the challenge here is getting LE to respond to these kind of calls. PDs tend to be busy and I can’t imagine this will be a high priority for PDs.
Will do little ..my ignorant neighbor puts dog out and 30 minutes of I want in bark..like clock work..rude!!