Massachusetts Rules to Reduce Homeless Animal Euthanasia Initiative (2018)
| Massachusetts Rules to Reduce Homeless Animal Euthanasia Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Treatment of animals | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Massachusetts Rules to Reduce Homeless Animal Euthanasia Initiative was not on the ballot in Massachusetts as an indirect initiated state statute on November 6, 2018.
The measure was designed to enact rules to reduce the euthanasia of homeless animals.[1]
Text of measure
Petition summary
The petition summary was as follows:[2]
This proposed law would require an animal shelter or rescue to hold lost, abandoned, stray, or surrendered animals and animals removed from the home for at least seven days before euthanizing, unless the animal is seriously or terminally ill. This proposed law would require animal control officers and shelters to contact three state Department of Agriculture registered shelters or rescues two business days before euthanizing an animal to offer the contacted shelters or rescues the opportunity to take possession of the animal. The proposed law would allow a shelter or rescue to transfer an animal within the seven-day hold period to another shelter or rescue as long as the receiving facility continued to hold the animal for the remainder of the seven days. The proposed law would authorize a shelter or rescue to begin adoption proceedings before the seven-day hold expires and would allow owners to reclaim animals at any time during the hold period. This proposed law would limit those authorized to euthanize animals to state licensed veterinarians or veterinary technicians working under the supervision of veterinarians, and would prohibit the use of intra-cardiac injection of barbiturates as a form of euthanasia. However, under the proposed law, a police officer, constable, or animal control officer could euthanize a dog in a humane manner if the dog is in violation of an order of a hearing authority or a district court or living in a wild state. Animal control officers would no longer be required to complete a course in humane euthanasia before euthanizing an animal. The proposed law would require animal control officers to check the description of dogs and cats against descriptions of animals registered in the city or town. The proposed law would also require shelters to make good-faith efforts, depending on funding availability, to have potentially dangerous animals evaluated by trainers. If an evaluated animal were transferred to another shelter or rescue, this proposed law would require all evaluation results be provided in writing and any negative results provided to potential adopters. The proposed law would also authorize the trapping, neutering, and release of community cats, which are cats that are abandoned, stray, lost or born living outdoors and cared for by members of the community. However, this law would prohibit the trapping of such cats for the sole purpose of destroying the cat unless it is seriously or terminally ill. For community cats in the trap/neuter/release program, this proposed law would require a shelter or rescue to: (1) return the cat to the location where it was trapped, or other suitable location, when medically safe to do so; (2) make the best determination possible that the cat is not stray or lost; (3) for stray or lost cats, hold the cat for at least seven days before sterilization to allow the owner to reclaim the animal; and (4) at the shelter’s or rescue’s discretion, hold the cat for longer than seven days, transfer the cat to another facility, or adopt out the cat. For community cats not in the trap/neuter/release program, the proposed law would permit a shelter or rescue to: (1) after the seven days and before returning the cat to the location where it was found or other suitable location, contact another shelter or rescue to take custody of the cat or release the cat to a community cat caregiver; (2) transfer the cat to another shelter or rescue for the remainder of the seven-day hold; or (3) after the seven-day hold, offer the cat for adoption. A fine of between $25 and $100 could be assessed for each violation of this proposed law. The proposed law states that, if any of its parts were declared invalid, the other parts would stay in effect. The proposed law would take effect on January 1, 2019. |
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
In Massachusetts, the number of signatures required to place an indirect initiated state statute on the ballot is equal to 3.5 percent of votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. The first 3 percent is collected in order to refer the indirect initiative to the Massachusetts General Court. If members of the General Court pass and the governor signs the initiative, then the initiative becomes law. If the legislature declines to act on an initiative or the governor vetoes it, sponsors of the initiative need to collect additional signatures equal to 0.5 percent of the votes cast for governor.
To make the 2018 ballot, sponsors of this initiative needed to collect the first round of 64,750 signatures between September 20, 2017, and November 22, 2017. Petitioners did not submit signatures to the office of the secretary of the commonwealth by the deadline on December 6, 2017. If signatures had been submitted, and the General Court had rejected or not acted on the initiative by May 2, 2018, then an additional 10,792 signatures would have been required by July 4, 2018.
On September 6, 2017, Attorney General Maura Healey (D) approved the initiative for signature gathering.[2]
See also
Footnotes
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State of Massachusetts Boston (capital) |
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