Latest news with #HouseBill201
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill banning cat declawing rejected in New Hampshire House
Lawmakers rejected the cat declawing bill on a 191-177 vote. (Photo by Dana Wormald/New Hampshire Bulletin) The House on Thursday shot down a bill that would have prohibited removing the claws from cats except when medically necessary. House Bill 201 would have banned the practice 'for cosmetic or aesthetic reasons or for reasons of convenience in keeping or handling the cat.' The bill has failed to pass the Legislature several times in recent years. This year, lawmakers rejected it on a 191-177 vote. The bill would've fined violators $500 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second violation, and $2,500 for subsequent violations. Rep. Nicholas Germana, a Keene Democrat and one of the bill's sponsors, noted that the House passed the measure about two years ago with bipartisan support. 'Some of my friends who are opposed to this bill talk about it as if it were an intervention into a sacred doctor-patient relationship,' Germana said on the House floor. 'Let's be clear about something: This is not a doctor-patient relationship. This is a relationship between a veterinarian, and the patient in this case is a cat, and if we gave cats a choice I'm pretty sure that they would in fact support this legislation.' He said the bill left open the opportunity for legitimate medical interventions. Germana said veterinary professionals and members of the public testified to the House Environment and Agriculture Committee that declawing was 'simply an inhumane procedure.' The committee split on the bill, recommending on a 9-7 vote that it not pass. Those who testified against declawing in the committee hearing argued that even one unnecessary declawing was too many, and some shared that they had witnessed intense, long-lasting pain from cats who had undergone the procedure. Rep. Judy Aron, a South Acworth Republican and chair of the committee, said the bill was 'a solution in the search of a problem.' The majority of the committee voted to reject the bill, 'because there is no real need to ban this procedure or codify harsh penalties to veterinarians,' Aron said. 'We do not have any statistics that demonstrate that New Hampshire has a problem with our veterinarians performing cat declawing procedures for nonmedical reasons.' She also argued the fines would be 'really unenforceable,' because it would be difficult to prove that the veterinarian did not have a valid medical reason to perform the declawing. She also said veterinarians testified that the vast majority of professionals in the state already discourage or do not perform these procedures, and that the procedure was 'an absolute last resort.' The bill sparked passions from the public, with 168 people expressing support for the bill online and 95 signaling opposition.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pa. House committee advances bill on intermediate unit facility ownership
The Capitol building in Harrisburg on July 6, 2024 (Capital-Star photo by Ian Karbal) The Pennsylvania House Education Committee approved a bipartisan piece of legislation that allows intermediate units to own land and buildings for instructional use. There are 29 intermediate units in Pennsylvania, which are regional educational service agencies created by the General Assembly that offer special education, workforce development, online learning, curriculum development and a range of other services. The units are allowed to own office space and warehouse facilities, but instructional space must be leased. That limitation does not exist for area career and technical schools or charter schools, a legislative memo says. That arrangement burdens 'IUs with rental costs that sometimes greatly exceed what it would cost the IU to purchase and own the facility themselves,' per the memo, as well as preventing 'IUs from providing facilities that are tailored for the needs of the students they serve.' House Bill 201, sponsored by state Reps. Joe Ciresi (D-Montgomery) and Kristin Marcell (R-Bucks), allows IUs to purchase and own land and buildings for instructional use. Ciresi, who served at the IU in Montgomery County when he was a school board member, argued that the legislation is 'definitely a cost saver,' during the voting meeting on Monday. Marcell, who was a school board member in Bucks County, noted that several IUs in the suburban county north of Philadelphia have been limited to leasing several facilities, including those that serve early childhood programs. 'The constraints of leasing prevent the IU from operating as efficiently as possible and from fully customizing these spaces to meet students' unique needs,' Marcell said. PAIU_Map_by_SD The legislation was approved by a 20-6 vote, with every Democrat voting to support the legislation, while Republicans were split 6-6. State Rep. Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster), the minority chair of the House Education Committee, supported the legislation because he thinks it's important that local control also comes with local financial responsibility. 'Those are the individuals that are closest to the community,' Cutler said. 'They understand their needs, they understand the financial impact, and ultimately, I trust them to make that best decision.' State Rep. Milou Mackenzie (R-Lehigh) was one of six Republicans who voted against the bill. 'I think now is not the time to go ahead and give permission to buy more real estate that ultimately the taxpayers are going to be responsible for paying and keeping up and maintaining,' Mackenzie said. 'It's just like in your own life if you can't afford to maintain your primary residence, you should not be going out and buying additional real estate.' The committee also advanced House Bill 190 by state Rep. Jason Ortitay (R-Allegheny), which would add a new section to the School Code to require the Departments of Education and Health to develop educational information and make recommendations for eating disorder awareness. An amendment to the bill proposed by state Rep. Gina Curry (D-Delaware) lists the Department of Health as the lead agency rather than the Department of Education. The vote was 18-8 vote. In April 2023, legislation addressing eating disorder awareness in schools was approved by a 158-43 vote. It was last referred to the Senate Education committee in the previous session, but did not receive a vote.
