August 2024 Legislative Update

After many legislative hearings and much advocating, many bills have advanced through the session:

In January, the bill to end the practice of declawing passed the Senate. It did not pass the House at the end of formal legislative sessions (July 31) but may be a bill that can move in informal sessions (through December 31).

On Thursday, July 25, the House of Representatives passed 3 bills:

S. 2731/H. 4919: An Act relative to Kennel Safety — Ollie’s Law
Massachusetts currently has no state oversight of doggie daycare or boarding kennels. This legislation would require reasonable rules and regulations of these facilities. Many families in Massachusetts have suffered the loss or injury of a companion animal at a doggie daycare or kennel—tragedies that could be avoided by commonsense oversight of these facilities.

Both the House and now the Senate voted unanimously for initial approval for Ollie’s Law, though the versions differ with a few technical issues. The Legislature will continue to meet in informal session through the fall to wrap up their business during which we will work toward final approval.

H. 4915: An Act relative to the use of elephants, big cats, primates, giraffes, and bears in traveling exhibits and shows
This legislation prohibits the use of elephants, big cats, primates, bears, and giraffes in traveling shows in Massachusetts. Using these animals for human entertainment is not only cruel to these exotic animals, but also presents a public health and safety risk. These traveling shows subject highly intelligent, social animals to abusive training and near-constant travel where they are deprived of exercise and the ability to express their most basic, natural behaviors.

This bill then passed the Senate on July 31 and was signed by the Governor on August 10.           

H. 4911: An Act relative to animal welfare and reporting of animal cruelty, abuse or neglect
This bill will prevent dog breed as a factor to determine whether a family can adopt or foster children. It also will remove timing restrictions in the statutes that allow employees and contractors of human services agencies to report suspected animal cruelty.

This bill was not passed by the Senate before the end of the formal sessions on July 31, but we will be working in informal sessions to pass it.       

On Monday July 29, the Senate passed a bill that would prevent the sale of puppies and kittens under 8 weeks of age and the roadside sale of dogs and cats. This bill was not passed by the House before the end of formal sessions, but we will continue to work on it.

Bills to prevent the use of harmful rodenticides may also pass in informal sessions, and we will share updates about those efforts.

Other notable achievements this year:

• In June, the Governor signed H. 4744, An Act to prevent abuse and exploitation. This new law, among other important provisions, adds “threatening to commit cruelty or abuse to an animal connected to the family or household member” to the definition of “coercive control.”
  This marks another legislative advancement to address the link between animal cruelty and interpersonal violence.
• When the state budget was signed on July 29, the Massachusetts Animal Fund (MAF) was allocated $100,000. These funds help families who cannot afford critical health services for their animals and animals who are in shelters across the state. Last year, the Fund received over 3,700 requests for assistance for local animals in need. One out of every four of the animals assisted needed urgent services for a life-threatening medical condition or spay/neuter so that they could stay with their families and not be relinquished.

For more information, visit our webpage on state legislation.