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LEGISLATION
| National laws
originate as bills in the US Congress, either in the House of
Representatives (thus an "H.R." designation) or in the Senate
(thus a "S." designation). A bill must be passed by both the
House and Senate and then be signed by the President before it becomes
law. Bill numbers restart from 1 every two years. Each two-year cycle is
called a session of Congress. So a bill created in the 2009-2010 session
of Congress would be designated under the 111th Congress, in 2009-2010.
The titles of bills are written by the bill's sponsor and are a part of
the legislation itself. Similarly state bills originate in either the
Senate (thus an "S." designation) or in the Assembly (thus an
"A." designation). Local bills are referred to as Resolutions
(thus a resolution originating in New York City would be "NYC
Resolution No.").
Before you jump on any
bandwagon, read any bill carefully, as well as responses to the bill.
You can track the progress of a national bill at www.govtrack.us
and the progress of a state bill at http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us. |
HR669
Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention
Act
| MAY
2009 - HR669
Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention
Act 111th Congress, 2009-2010. The stated purpose of this Act is
to establish a risk assessment process to prevent the introduction into,
and establishment in, the United States of nonnative wildlife species
that will cause or are likely to cause economic or environmental harm
or harm to other animal species' health or human health, and for other
purposes.
Will it affect our status
as companion bird keepers? Links to the text of the bill itself,
as well as to the responses of other reputable sources including World
Parrot Trust, are listed below.
To read the original text
of the bill, click on the link: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-669
For the WPT's
perspective: http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/05/world_parrot_trust_speaks_out.php
For additional
perspectives, click on the following links:
http://www.nohr669.com/
http://nohr669.com/blog/?p=223
These are the appropriate
committee members, and their stated positions as of 4/22.
Madeleine Z. Bordallo (Ch)(NP-Guam)
202/225-1188 - Sponsor of the Bill, For it, Staffers telling people
that they are over reacting and that their pets will be safe
Neil Abercrombie (D-HI)
202/225-2726 - Co-Sponsor of the Bill, For it, One staffer told me
personally that “it’s going to pass”
Henry Brown (R-SC)
202/225-3176 - Opposes the bill, most vocal opposition on the
subcommittee, USARK did a great job with Rep Brown!!
Lois Capps (D-CA)
202/225-3601 - Undecided at this time
William Cassidy (R-LA)
202/225-3901 - Undecided at this time (we need to keep calling and
asking for his help!!!)
Jason Chaffetz (R-UT)
202/225-7751 - Strongly opposed!!!
Donna M. Christensen (NP-Virgin Islands)
202/225-1790 - Undecided at this time
Diana L. DeGette (D-CO)
202/225-4431 - Undecided at this time
Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (NP – American Samoa)
202/225-8577 - Undecided at this time
Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
202/225-2635 - Likely to oppose
John Fleming (R-LA)
202/225-2777 - Undecided at this time
Doc Hastings (R-WA)
202/225-5816 - Undecided at this time
Dale E. Kildee (D-MI)
202/225-3611 - Co-Sponsor of the Bill, was For it but due to the
volume of calls in opposition is “re-thinking” his position. GET
ON HIM!! This can make a huge difference!!!
Ronald James Kind (D-WI)
202/225-5506 - Co-Sponsor, For it
Frank M. Kratovil, Jr. (D-MD)
202/225-5311 - Undecided at this time, Spoke to Legislative staffers
and they are very interested in the businesses that would be hurt and
why there is such strong opposition.
Douglas L. Lamborn (R-CO)
202/225-4422 - Undecided at this time
Frank J. Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ)
202/225-4671 - For it
Pedro R. Pierluisi (NP-Puerto Rico)
202/225-2615 - Undecided at this time
Nick Joe Rahall, II (D-WV)
202/225-3452 - Undecided at this time
Gregorio Sablan (I- Mariana Islands)
202/225-2646 - Co-Sponsor, For it
Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
202/225-5456 - Undecided at this time. Reports that staffers seem
agitated by calls.
Robert J. Wittman (R-VA)
202/225-4261 - Opposed
Donald E. Young (R-AK)
202/225-5765 - Undecided at this time
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QUAKERS
| APRIL/MAY 2009
- S.4131/A07688,
introduced in April and May, 2009, are the bills to amend the
environmental conservation law, in relation to make (wild) psittacine
birds, especially (wild) Monk (Quaker) parakeets, protected birds. Both
bills have been since referred to the Senate and Assembly EnCon
Committees, and the Senate bill has been further referred to the Codes
Committee. To view the text of the bill, copy one of the bill
numbers shown above, paste this number in the box presented when you click
here or go to http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/
Individuals wishing to comment
on either or both sets of bills should write to their
local State Senator and local State Assembly member, asking them to
support the bills and become a co-sponsor. In addition, copies of those
letters should be sent to:
1. Hon. Linda B. Rosenthal, NY State Assembly Member, 230 West
72nd Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 2F, New York, NY 10023
2. Hon. Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr., NY State Senator, 159-53 102nd
Street, Howard Beach, NY 11414
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| APRIL/MAY 2009 -
S.4130A/A07694A,
also introduced in April and May, are the bills that relate to the sale
of birds by pet dealers, and aim to amend SS401 & 402 of the
Agriculture & Markets Law, amend Article 35D Article Heading, and
SS751, 752, 753-a & 753-b of the General Business Law. The Senate
bill has since been referred to the Senate Consumer Protection and Codes
Committees, and the Assembly bill has been referred to the Agriculture
& Markets Committee. To view the text of the bill, copy one of
the bill numbers shown above, paste this number in the box presented
when you click here
or go to http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/
Individuals wishing to comment
on either or both sets of bills should write to their
local State Senator and local State Assembly member, asking them to
support the bills and become a co-sponsor. In addition, copies of those
letters should be sent to:
1. Hon. Linda B. Rosenthal, NY State Assembly Member, 230 West
72nd Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 2F, New York, NY 10023
2. Hon. Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr., NY State Senator, 159-53 102nd
Street, Howard Beach, NY 11414
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| MARCH 2009
- Resolution
1872 - to add Quaker parrots to the list of “protected birds”.
NYC Council Resolution No. 1872-2009,
introduced March 24, 2009, co-sponsored by NYC Council Members
Tony Avella and Annabel Palma. Calls
for NY State to amend the Environmental Conservation Laws to make wild Quaker
parrots protected, and calls upon NYC agencies to humanely
relocate/remove nests if necessary.
As of JUNE 2009, the
resolution was in the Environmental Protection
Committee.
Persons interested in commenting
on this resolution (and one does not have to be a NYC resident)
may write to:
1. Hon. Tony Avella, 38-50 Bell Blvd., Suite C, Bayside, NY 11361
2. Hon. James F. Gennaro, Chair, Env. Prot. Committee, 185-10
Union Tpke., Fresh Meadows, NY 11366.
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SEPTEMBER 2009 - The
Monk parakeet bill (S4131) and
the sales of birds by pet dealers (S4130)
will have to be addressed next year since neither Senate
house could bring the bills to the floor.
S4130 and s4131 remain in
the Codes committee (chaired by Sen. Eric Schneiderman).
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| MARCH 2010 UPDATE - NYS
Bills S4131A/A7688A, to protect the colonies of wild Quaker parakeets in
New York State, were reintroduced into the Senate and Assembly on
Monday, March 22, and immediately recommitted to the respective
Environmental Conservation Committees. The
letters received from various organizations (including 2 from Dr.
Raymond, LIPS President) to the key politicians were very helpful!
The
biggest opponent was PIJAC, the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council. The
wording of the bill was revised to address issues raised by PIJAC.
If
you would like to see the bill as it stands now, go to http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S4131A.
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The
New York Invasive Species Council released a report MARCH 31, 2010,
for public comment (http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/63402.html).
The
report does not propose a listing for Monk Parakeet. Rather, the
monk parakeet is listed (in Appendix J, line 59 on p. 114, under
Assessment Priorities), as a species that should be assessed via the
recommended process. You will note that monk parakeet does not
have an asterisk indicating it has not been identified as a priority for
the initial assessments. Basically,
the Council feels that the Quakers do not pose enough of an
environmental threat to be studied right now, nor categorized.
Interested
people may want to go to the web site (http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/63402.html),
read the report, and comment.
Those
who comment may or may not want to suggest that the Monk (use Monk since
the State does) remain as an unregulated species. It is possible that if
Quakers are legally categorized
as unregulated, they may avoid documentation as invasive, or they may be
reprioritized to reduce scrutiny
by NYSDEC. However, without any laws protecting wild Monks, these birds
may continue being the subject of poaching and inhumane nest take-downs.
At
present a Monk Parakeet Protection Act is being developed to afford some
protection to wild-born Quakers. Just like the County and City of San
Francisco afforded
their wild Conures a degree of protection years ago, the state of NY can
provide protection to wild Quakers here. Such protection would need to
be offered by the state, as Quakers are documented in NYC’s 5 boroughs
and other areas, most notably lower Westchester. Any Quakers presently
living in Nassau or Suffolk Counties need to be documented immediately,
to assist ongoing initiatives.
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OTHER RESOURCES
Laws & Paws
- The official newsletter of the New York
State Bar Association's Committee on Animals and the Law
This page last
updated: Saturday, April 24, 2010
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