House Committee Roll Call Votes

As amended by the Senate, the bill added provisions relating to torture of horses, aggravated cruelty, tethering and sheltering of dogs. The bill also changed the level of intent required under the general cruelty subsection. As amended in Rules, the bill leaves intact the provisions relating to torture of horses and the changed level of intent for general cruelty. The bill now removes the presumption that if a dog is viewed tethering twice in nine hours, it will be presumed to have been tethered for the entire time and the presumption that tethering is disallowed during a severe weather warning. The bill adds an exception to allow tethering a dog to complete a temporary task. The bill limits aggravated cruelty to instances of torture or abuse that result in bodily injury or serious bodily injury to an animal, removing general neglect from aggravated cruelty.