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The dog care standards bill, which has drawn ire from animal activists and support from retail pet stores and breeders, was sent back to the Indiana House for reconciliation after being approved by a 31-18 margin in the Senate on Monday.
Eight Republicans, including Sen. Dan, joined their Democratic colleagues in opposing the measure. Dernulc, R-Highland, after a weekend of legislative updates in her districts. Dernulc had previously voted to approve the bill.
If enacted, the measure would override 21 local ordinances banning the sale of puppies in retail stores, including measures in Crown Point, Munster and Valparaiso.
HB 1412 resurfaced this session after a similar measure died during the 2023 legislative session. Supporters say the dog grooming bill’s standards improve animal welfare and create a mechanism to hold bad actors in the dog breeding and sales industry accountable.
Supporters say lifting 21 local bans on the sale of dogs in pet stores and preventing such local regulations in the future allows free enterprise to thrive and allows pet store businesses to sell what they choose to sell in their stores without local restrictions.
Sen. Lonnie Randolph of East Chicago told the chamber that he heard a voice when he met with constituents for a town hall session last weekend. He said dogs have become a problem in the communities he represents, and some, such as Munster, have passed ordinances banning the retail sale of puppies.
“I know the problem they are having is not in other cities,” Randolph said.
He said residents of that community took action they felt was necessary to help with the problem. State legislation takes local control away from communities, and that’s a slippery slope. He asked where he would stand. He questioned the need for county councils and city councils if the legislature would override their elections.
“We tell them we know what is best, what is in their best interest. Even though we don’t live there, we know better,” Randolph said.
Sen. Blake Doriot, R-Goshen, who carries the legislation in the Senate, said this is a business issue, not about local control. He said the state retains the power to regulate business, so local communities cannot dictate what a business can and cannot sell.
Doriot praised his family’s history of breeding, judging and training dogs and said the legislation would work to eliminate “bad actors” that legitimate breeders want removed from the industry. He claimed this introduced the harshest restrictions on the breeding and sale of dogs in the country.
Communities can still regulate businesses through zoning ordinances and other measures, he said. They will also have the ability to police bad actors who violate the law and fail to raise their puppies according to the dog care standards outlined in the bill.
The bill does not provide any additional funding for the Animal Health Board to increase inspections or police inspections. The bill also does not prevent retail stores from purchasing their animals from out of state as long as they are from a licensed USDA breeder with no active complaints in the past two years. The USDA does not require breeders to comply with dog grooming standards.
Opponents say the “puppy mill” bill doesn’t do enough to eliminate puppy mill sales to pet stores and still provides a way for breeders who don’t meet dog care standards to sell their puppies as long as they’re USDA registered and owned. There are no active complaints in the last two years. They say the legislature has impeded local control by banning local ordinances against the sale of puppies.
Supporters say the bill creates a registry for breeders, pet stores and rescue groups and uses dog care standards created by Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine to improve the welfare of dogs in the state. It establishes fines for violations, return and warranty rules, and pre-sale veterinary care. The measure established the State Animal Health Board as the agency responsible for oversight of the law. Local law enforcement will be responsible for enforcing violations.
What the bill does not do, according to opponents, is create a mechanism to finance all kinds of enforcement measures. In one change, hobby breeders with 20 or fewer animals were also excluded from these requirements.
