logout

Store Research

Legislative Intent News & Notes

Some bill research does not include the Governor's file because at the time we researched the bill, the sitting Governor had not released his chaptered bill file. If the Governor's file is not included with this particular research, please contact our office (1-530-666-1917 or quote@legintent.com) and we will be happy to provide this file at no charge if it is available. Please Note: Governor files did not exist prior to 1943.

LEGISLATIVE INTENT SERVICE, INC.

Your partner in legislative history research for over 40 years!

(800) 666‑1917 • www.legintent.com • Follow us @LegIntent on Twitter icon

 

 LIS NEWS AND NOTES

Legislating Animals:  Since before a New York court decided Pierson v. Post , animals have been a source of interest in legal circles because they provide sport, companionship … and food.  As a staff member for an Oregon legislator, I heard all about the childless constituent who was lobbying desperately to stop the ban on the ownership of exotic pets.  The photos of her and her capuchin monkey were pretty cute, but ultimately, the legislature directed the Department of Agriculture to not issue any additional permits .

Every now and then, we here at Legislative Intent Service, Inc. get to research fascinating and emotionally-charged animal legislation.  Here are just a few animal-related laws (and here is the Wikipedia summary of Pierson v. Post in case it is too late in the week to read an opinion from 1805). 

Caged Chickens: California made national news a few years ago with Proposition 2 of 2008.  The initiative applied to calves raised for veal, egg-laying hens and pregnant pigs, and provided that they have cages that allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up, and fully extend their limbs.

Shark Fins!  On January 4, 2011, President Obama signed the Shark and Fishery Conservation Act of 2010 into law.   Part of the law amended the ten-year-old Shark Finning Prohibition Act (SFPA).  The SFPA forbade finning by any vessels up to 200 nautical miles offshore the United States and possession of fins by U.S.-Flagged vessels.  Shark finning typically involves slicing off the fin and dumping the rest of the shark back in the ocean, where it meets an untimely end due to its inability to swim normally.  An estimate from 2002 placed the estimated “harvest” of sharks at 80 to 150 million sharks a year.

A year after President Obama signed the Shark and Fishery Conservation Act, California’s Governor, Jerry Brown, signed two bills which banned the possession and sale of fins in California, but allowed existing stock to be sold until January 1, 2013.  Both bills were carried by Assembly member Paul Fong and supported by high-profile Chinese like former NBA star Yao Ming (see page 3).  According to Assembly member Fong, “I’m proud of my Chinese roots, and our culture will live and survive without sharks’ fins.”

Ban on Selling Pets in Public: Earlier in 2011 in California, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 917, which enacted new Penal Code section 597.4 , which banned the selling or giving away of pets as part of a commercial transaction, “on any street, highway, public right-of-way, parking lot, carnival, or boardwalk.”  I’ve heard of people buying dogs from backyard breeders out of the backs of pick-up trucks … hopefully this will cur-tail that practice!

Wacky Animal Laws: For a quick review of recently enacted laws, see the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s “Top 10 Wacky Animal Laws of 2014 .”

 

WWW.LEGINTENT.COM

  • Our Services:  federal and state legislation and areas of expertise.
  • Free Quotes:  Need legislative intent and history research?  Any state?  Federal legislation?  We’ll provide you with a free email quote, M-F, within one to three hours.  Fill out the “Contact” form at our website or call us directly at 1-800-666-1917. 
  • LIS Online Store:   If you need quick legislative history research and cost savings is also a factor, try looking for your California bill at our website under “Bill Search.” The materials posted for your bill would include each bill version, final history, and all previously available committees’ files, author files, governor files, sponsor files, and agency files – Now all of these materials can be accessed and saved to your database 24/7 at a low cost!   
  • Free MCLEs:  LIS offers THREE California State Bar approved self-study exams on the separate subjects of legislative process (1 hr.), the California Public Records Act of 1968 (1 hr.) and legal ethics (1 hr. ethics!).  These free exams are easily available 24/7 for your convenience and will help you meet your State Bar MCLE compliance.  We typically correct the exams and provide State Bar approved certificates electronically within one week. 
  • What is Legislative Intent?   Courts when faced with facts or cases involving the application, interpretation or construction of a law, regulation or ordinance, will look to the rules of statutory construction.  For 40 years, when statutes and regulations needed clarity and interpretation, lawyers and courts have turned to Legislative Intent Service, Inc. for thorough research of legislative and administrative intent and history.  “The vital part, heart, soul and essence of statutory law; the guiding star in the interpretation of a statute.”    [Ballentine’s Law Dictionary, 3d Ed.]   

If you received this email from a current subscriber and wish to be included in future LIS News and Notes, you can subscribe here!