Dear friends:

SB 1277 would create a database of persons over the age 18 who have been convicted of animal abuse crimes. Information on animal abusers should be available to the public so that Californians can make informed decisions regarding who takes care of their furry family members, rescue groups can make informed decisions regarding fosters and adoptions, and law enforcement can better serve and protect the community.

Bill co-sponsors Social Compassion in Legislation (SCiL) and the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) have been working with the bill's author, Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, on fundamental improvement to SB 1277. The new amendment will remove the original funding mechanism in SB 1277 which would have imposed a new pet food tax. The proposed pet food tax will be eliminated and replaced by adding a $200 penalty for Misdemeanor offenses and $500 penalty for Felony offenses collected to fund the registry. Appropriately, animal abusers will pay for the registry, not pet food purchasers.

SB 1277 will be heard in the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, April 20th at 9:00 a.m. When you sign this petition, emails will be sent to the Public Safety Committee members to let them know you are in support of this important bill. Do not feel deflated when you get an automated response from their offices regarding your email; while they are unlikely to respond to us individually, a mass of email bearing clear subject lines in support of this bill WILL be heard as a clear message.

Note: In the interest of time, much of the language used to write this petition was taken from a widely circulated letter written by Judie Mancuso, President of Social Compassion In Legislation (SCiL), a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization focused on reducing pet overpopulation and promoting the humane treatment of animals through legislation. Many thanks to SCiL, the ALDF, and Senator Dean Florez for their work on this bill.

If you are also interested in calling or faxing the Committee's members, I encourage you to do so. (Please do not send more than one call or fax.)

Senator Mark Leno (Chair) (D)
p (916) 651-4003, f (916) 445-4722

Senator Dave Cogdill (Vice-Chair) (R)
p (916) 651-4014, f (916) 327-3523

Senator Gilbert Cedillo (D)
p (916) 651-4022, f (916) 327-8817

Senator Loni Hancock (D)
p (916) 651-4009, f (916) 327-1997

Senator Robert Huff (R)
p (916) 651-4029, f (916) 324-0922

Senator Darrell Steinberg (D)
p (916) 651-4006, f (916) 323-2263

Senator Roderick Wright (D)
p (916) 651-4025, f (916) 445-3712