The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Updates!

THE GOOD:

AB 3162, the OCTO Act, Passed the Full Assembly!

On Monday, AB 3162, authored by Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-Santa Barbara) and cosponsored by Social Compassion in Legislation and Animal Legal Defense Fund, passed the full Assembly with a vote of 51-10!

Did you know that companies operating in Spain and Hawaii are trying to figure out how to farm octopus? The bill will preemptively ban this barbaric practice in California and prohibit the sale of imported farmed octopus.

"Octopuses are one of earth's most wonderful and inspiring species," said Nickolaus Sackett, Director of Legislative Affairs for Social Compassion in Legislation. "We thank Assemblymember Bennett and the 50 other Assemblymembers who voted for the bill for having the forethought to protect them from the potential atrocity of being farmed in California."

Intensively confining these highly intelligent, solitary animals in unnatural farming conditions increases the likelihood of stress, aggressive activity, and mortality.

"There is already enough animal suffering on California's animal farms," said Judie Mancuso, Founder and President of Social Compassion in Legislation. "This cruelty should not be extended to any other species." 

The bill now moves to the Senate.

THE BAD:

AB 3053 Pulled from Assembly Agriculture Committee!

Despite support letters from over 1300 of you (THANK YOU!) and hundreds of calls to the Committee urging support for AB 3053, authored by Assemblymember Kalra (D-San Jose) and sponsored by Social Compassion in Legislation (SCIL), the bill was pulled from the agenda by the Committee on Agriculture and will not move forward this year.

"We plan on polling this issue later in the year, but our gut feeling is that it will receive over 80% of Californians supporting a child's right to not have their animal slaughtered," said Judie Mancuso, Founder and President of SCIL. "We believe history will be on our side."

Even a deeply agricultural and one of the most reliably Republican states, North Dakota has moved entirely away from terminal sales in junior ag programs. Minnesota, a slightly blue state, has severely limited terminal sales.

"More and more families are expressing the desire for a compassionate educational experience," said Director of Legislative Affairs for SCIL. "Thankfully, humane education programs like LEAP are gaining in popularity."

This bill was a modest proposal to simply allow children and their parents to opt-out of slaughtering their farm animal. The bill would not have changed anything for those families that desired to continue on with the terminal sale.

Opposition to the bill centered on the fact that these families voluntarily sign up for the program. This is true, but what they do not want to recognize is that children don't always comprehend what they are signing up for, or they are signed up by their parents and have little say in the matter. After the children spend months raising and bonding with their animal, the reality of having to send the animal off to be killed sets in and can be emotionally traumatizing, yet the California State Fair rules do not allow for a reversal of course.

The State's rules should not stand in the way of parents who need to make the right choice for their child in a moment where their emotional well-being is at stake. That is a tremendously personal moment.

While we are disappointed that AB 3053 was not heard today, we will continue to work with Assemblymember Kalra, Members of Agriculture Committee, and the Department of Food and Agriculture on next steps.

THE UGLY:

AB 2425 Dies in Assembly Business and Professions Committee!

Last week, we were reminded that the policy in a bill is not always the reason the bill does not move forward.

AB 2425, authored by Assemblymember Bill Essayli (R-Corona) and sponsored by Social Compassion in Legislation (SCIL), was presented in the Assembly Business and Professions Committee. Despite the bill having a support recommendation from both the Democratic and Republican committee caucuses, and all legislative offices indicating they were supportive, the bill did not receive a motion for a vote and therefore died!

"SCIL works hard to approach pro-animal legislation in a bipartisan manner. We have both Republican and Democratic authors carry our bills, with Governors of both parties signing them into law. AB 2425 fell victim to an intra-party squabble. We were made aware that the bill was a casualty of politics between the author and his Republican colleagues which had nothing to do with the policy itself," said Judie Mancuso, Founder and President of Social Compassion in Legislation.

For your reference, the bill would have expanded the definition of dog breeder and ensure that all dogs sold by breeders are microchipped and vaccinated. The bill also included provisions requiring that shelters post the adoption availability of animals on their website or a third-party website.

Lastly, it would have ordered the California Department of Food and Agriculture to conduct a study on overcrowding in California shelters and potential remedies, including a statewide database listing all dogs and cats available for adoption.

It is unfortunate that sometimes good policy is stopped because of personalities, but unfortunately it isn't surprising. We will continue to work to move this policy forward. We will keep you updated with our progress.

As you know, SCIL has a full plate of bills that will directly save animals’ lives this year. Since Covid, it has been extremely difficult to raise funds. We must have your financial support to continue our work. If you’re in a position to do so, please consider making a donation today.

Thank you so much,

Judie Mancuso, founder/CEO/president

Social Compassion in Legislation