House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016 Regular Session

Posted:	January 12, 2015 02:18 PM
From:	Representative Scott Conklin
To:	All House members
Subject:	Legislation Providing for County Humane Officers

In the near future, I will be re-introducing legislation (House Bill 990) that would allow counties to employ humane officers. In 2013, there was a house fire in my legislative district in which several dogs needed to be rescued from a home. While these dogs were not harmed, they could no longer be kept in the dwelling. The dogs were left outside during very cold weather and several local residents were concerned about their well-being. According to reports, local residents had difficulty contacting state and local officials authorized to inspect or intervene in the situation. The legislation that I will be re-introducing would allow counties to employ humane officers who could deal with these types of situations. These officers would be empowered to enforce dog control provisions as defined in Act 225 of 1982 (Dog Law) and animal cruelty provisions as contained in Section 5511 of Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. In order to be eligible to serve as a county humane officer, an individual would be required to meet the training requirements contained in Sections 3712 and 3713 of Title 22 (Detectives and Private Police) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. Previous Co-Sponsors: BIZZARRO, V. BROWN, CALTAGIRONE, COHEN, GIBBONS, HARKINS, KORTZ, O'BRIEN, O'NEILL, SAINATO AND SCHLOSSBERG
View Attachment

Introduced as HB569