February 06, 2006
VVAW Alert - Now is the Hour
Some of you have seen an earlier version of this alert.
We need immediate and concerted support for the remaining live VVAW bills, or all the work everyone has done this year will have been in vain.
We need your support of SJ66 (see below).
We need your support of HJ209 (see below).
We need your attendance at 7am on Friday, 2/10/06, to support HB835, HB1113, HB1367, and HB1114 (see below).
HUMANE EDUCATION BILLS
VVAW has two humane ed bills still under consideration, one in the House and the other in the Senate.
Sen. John Edwards has patroned SJ166 about which we have heard that the Farm Bureau (if you can believe this) opposes and would like to bury humane ed in the 4H programs. This bill was heard by the Senate Rules Committee on Monday, 2/6/06, at 2:30 (3rd Floor East, Conference Room, General Assembly Building).
Del. Ken Alexander has patroned HJ209 which will be heard on Wednesday, 2/8/06, at 9am (Speaker's Conference Room, General Assembly Building) by the House Rules Committee.
Click here to get to "legislative services" which will lead you to information about the bills:
Contact the Rules Committee members - both House and Senate - and contact the patrons to express your support, even now, after the 2/6 hearing.
TAX CREDIT BILLS
We have three tax credit bills which will be heard on Friday, 2/10/06, by the House Finance Subcommittee. The hearing will start at 7:00 am (5th Floor East Conference Room, General Assembly Building). Please come, and please contact in support of these bills (below) all members of the entire House Finance Committee, with an emphasis on those members of the subcommittee. Please send to Del. Orrock first.
HB1114, patroned by Del. Clay Athey, provides a tax credit to those adopting from a pound or a "c3" organization. It will help all those having animals needing to be rehomed, so it should get your unequivocal support. Please say in your contact that you support HB1114 and ask them to do so as well. It needn't be more than that.
Del. Orrock opposes HB1114, and commented that he could not support a tax credit for companion animal adoptions when no tax credit is available to adopt a child. Since subcommittee hearings offer no give and take, and do not require accuracy in statements made, you may wish to point out to Del. Orrock that continuing tax credits are available for human adoptions (they are called dependent deductions), that foster homes are paid by the state to take foster children, and orphanages don't euthanize, but pounds do.
The other bills in finance are HB835, patroned by Del. John Welch, HB1113, patroned by Del. Clay Athey, and HB1367, patroned by Del. Robert Hull. (The bills are identical and presumably will be combined with the three Delegates as patrons.) The bills provide a tax credit to vets who perform pro bono s/n and euthanasia to "c3" organizations. Again, all those "c3"s should support this wholeheartedly.
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On a different subject, Bob Kane who heads the Virginia Dog Owners Association and is viscerally opposed to VVAW, calling us PETA-like and lumping us with HSUS, has been using statistics about animal euthanasia which are wrong and need to be corrected. He has been writing and presenting figures that say only 3% of Virginia dogs are euthanized, and those euthanized are old, sick, aggressive, and non-adoptable.
The State Vet statistics, incomplete as they may be, for 2004 show that dogs/cats that "died in facility" and "euthanized" are over 45% of total intake. Not 3%, but 45%. Not unadoptable either.
Please find every opportunity you can to correct this and speak the truth. We do not want the "big lie", inadvertent or not, to take hold. Write to your papers, your legislators - anyone who may have received Mr. Kane's incredibly wrong information, or who might be inclined to use it, unquestioningly or self-servingly.
STATUS of other VVAW bills
These VVAW bills have been eliminated from further consideration this session. At some point, we will assess the reasons for this, but for now, here is the list:
HB265 - patroned by Del. Hargrove - license fee cap change
HB318 - patroned by Del. Albo - penalties for failure to license
HB606 - patroned by Del. Amundson - vet check required for pet dealer animals
HB654 - patroned by Del. Plum - owners pay for space/care of seized animals
HB1091 - patroned by Del. Scott - elimination of gas chambers
HB1095 - patroned by Del. Amundson - mandatory inspection of pounds, shelters, pet shops
SB55 - patroned by Sen. Reynolds - releasing agencies changes re s/n, chipping, definition
SB343 - patroned by Sen. Ticer - whistle blower protection
Lillian Clancy and Don Marro