House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Currently, a loophole exists in Pennsylvania law which allows animal cruelty offenders to go undetected in our communities, thus allowing them the opportunity to abuse more animals and, in some cases, escalate to instances of violence against humans.

I am proposing legislation requiring persons convicted of an animal abuse crime to register their personal information and the offense for which they were convicted. This information will be kept on the registry for seven years for a first offense, 15 years for a second offense and for their lifetime for three or more convictions. The county sheriff will be responsible for maintaining a local registry and forwarding all information to the Pennsylvania State Police to maintain a publicly accessible central registry.

Tennessee became the first state to adopt a state-wide animal abuser registry in 2015. Since then, at least a dozen other states and countless local governments have introduced similar measures. Please join me in keeping our companion animals out of the hands of potential abusers. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact my Harrisburg office at 717-705-1925.