August 30, 2019
BREAKING NEWS
FOUR SCIL SPONSORED BILLS GET OFF APPROPRIATIONS SUSPENSE FILES!
BILLS NOW MOVE TO FULL FLOOR VOTES THEN ON TO GOVERNOR!
FOUR ANIMAL RIGHTS BILLS MOVE FROM APPROPRIATIONS TO THE FLOOR

Each bill, led by Social Compassion in Legislation, takes a major step toward becoming California law

It was a monumental day for animal rights legislation in California. Four bills, all sponsored or co-sponsored by Social Compassion in Legislation, moved out of Appropriations Committees to their respective houses for an upcoming Floor vote. Then, once passed, the bills move to the Governor’s desk.

The bills are:

  • SB 313 Circus Cruelty Prevention Act (Hueso) with a 13-5 Vote

  • SB 202 Animal Blood Donors (Wilk) with a 18-0 Vote

  • AB 1260 Ban on Exotic Skins (Maienschein) with a 5-1 Vote

  • AB 733 Aquatic Toxicity Testing (Quirk) with a 7-0 Vote

“We are thrilled to see our bills continue on their respective paths to becoming law,” said Judie Mancuso, founder and president of Social Compassion in Legislation. “There is still a lot of work to get these bills passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor, but today was a huge hurdle and we are excited to finish the job for all of these important life saving bills.”

SB 313, the Circus Cruelty Prevention Act, authored by Senator Ben Hueso and passed with a 13-5 vote, will ban most animals, including all wild animals, in circuses as defined. The bill is co-sponsored by Social Compassion in Legislation and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

SB 202, authored by Senator Scott Wilk and passed with a 18-0 vote, will allow for community-sourced, that is pets that live with their owners, animal blood donors to give blood for commercial purposes. Right now, only blood coming from closed-colonies (dog prison) can be sold. The bill is sponsored by Social Compassion in Legislation and supported by the California Veterinary Medical Board, California Veterinary Medical Association, and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, among many others.

AB 1260, authored by Assemblymember Brian Maienschein passed 5-1, which will ban the sale of several lizard species (iguanas, etc.), hippos, and caiman. These animals are used in niche exotic skin trade. The bill is sponsored by Social Compassion in Legislation.

AB 733, authored by Assemblymember Bill Quirk passed 7-0, which will change the test which currently requires fish to be used to determine hazardous waste in the state. There are perfectly good alternative tests that do not use live fish. The bill is co-sponsored by Social Compassion in Legislation and Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Unfortunately, our AB 572, the California Deforestation-free Procurement Act, authored by Assemblymember Ash Kalra, that would have required any company contracting with the State of California for the sale of tropical forest risk commodities, such as palm oil, coffee, rubber, etc. to have a "No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation" policy in place was held on suspense, meaning the bill is now dead for this year.

On a happier note, AB 719 (Rubio) which would have allowed the continued sale of crocodiles and alligators also was held on suspense. Meaning we were successful in killing the bill, and helping to reimplement California's historic protections for these animals.

Please stay tuned for action alerts early next week.
Thank you all so much!!!!! We thank all of our authors for being the stellar leaders that they are for all of us and for the animals.

We are so thrilled to have such a productive year. It is not over yet, although we have come very far. Please stay tuned, keep making the calls and sending the emails, and please consider making a donation!

All my best,
Judie

Judie Mancuso, Founder/CEO/President
Social Compassion In Legislation

Social Compassion in Legislation
info@socialcompassioninlegislation.org
www.socialcompassioninlegislation.org