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legislation > follow the vote
Below records the status of House File (H.F.) 253 and Senate File (S.F.) 7 — during the 2009-2010 legislative session.
CURRENT BILL STATUS (as of May, 2010): Bill did not pass. New bill to be introduced in 2011 Legislative Session.
COMMITTEE STATUS: On Tuesday, March 9, 2010, the Minnesota Dog and Cat Breeder Bill Senate File 7 (also known as the Minnesota Puppy and Kitten Mill Bill) was heard in the Senate Agriculture Committee; it did not pass. Senate File 7 and House File 253 were laid on the table ("put on hold") in their respective Agriculture Committees during the 2009 session. In order to move each bill along (in the 2010 session), a majority vote was needed in each Agriculture Committee — to take the bill off the table and continue discussion. The bill also needed to meet committee deadlines. (The first policy committee deadline in the Minnesota Legislature was Friday, March 12. All bills needed to pass through all policy committees in either the House or Senate by that date.) Because S.F. 7 did not pass the Senate Agriculture Committee, the committee deadlines were not met.
Timing was running out The lobbying team met with Agriculture Committee members in both the House and Senate trying to get hearings and secure the votes. Thousands of constituents from all over Minnesota called, emailed and wrote legislators and signed petitions of support. The Chair of the House Agriculture Committee (Representative Otremba) would not grant H. F. 253 a hearing until there was movement in the Senate. But the Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee (Senator Vickerman) would not grant S.F. 7 a hearing. So the lobbying team took different action, bypassing the normal way a bill is scheduled and given a hearing. Senator Sharon Erickson Ropes, who sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee and was supportive of the bill, was approached and she agreed to make a motion (on March 9) to move S.F. 7 off the table for a hearing. This motion passed, which then allowed the bill to be debated in Committee.
The Senate Agriculture Hearing At the hearing, Senator Don Betzold, the author of S.F. 7, gave an overview of the bill. Keith Streff (humane agent for the Animal Humane Society) also responded to questions from Committee members. The Chair did not allow for any public testimony. One legislator was very supportive and expressed his reasons. Another legislator was in strong opposition and insisted "the system works as is." One legislator committed to voting yes prior to the meeting but then changed her vote. The Chair was not supportive. When there were no more questions on the bill, a motion was made to vote yes or no on the bill. The Committee vote was 7 to 5 — opposed. The bill failed. Following the vote, two legislators (who voted yes) expressed a clear desire that something needs to be done to address inhumane dog/cat breeding practices. NOTE: For video coverage of the meeting, go to: Senate Agriculture Committee, March 9 (Senate File 7 is the last item discussed.)
Senate Agriculture Committee There are 15 members on the Senate Agriculture Committee. Below are the member names and how each voted.
Every legislator who sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee was lobbied — multiple times. Each member was fully aware of the details of the bill and has seen or heard about animal cruelty, consumer fraud, tax evasion, and other issues defining the problem. As for the opposition, lobbyists for agricultural interests and for the larger breeders also showed up at the committee meeting, as did the NRA lobbyists. They worked hard lobbying committee members. Some small breeders, too, many of whom were apparently ignorant of the details of the bill, worked hard against it.
BILL HISTORY DURING 2009 SESSION: Before every Senator or Representative has the opportunity to vote on a bill, all legislation must first be heard and passed in the appropriate policy and/or finance committees. There are different committees in the MN Senate and in the MN House of Representatives. Below gives a brief summation of what happened during the 2009 session.
MINNESOTA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: H.F. 253 House Agriculture, Rural Economics and Veterans Affairs Committee H.F. 253 was heard by the House Agriculture Committee, chaired by Mary Ellen Otremba, on Friday, March 27. After testimony and debate, the bill was "laid on the table," which means the bill did not receive a vote. Since all bills must pass through all policy committees in one body (Minnesota House or Minnesota Senate) by the first committee deadline of March 27, this means H.F. 253/ S.F. 7 did not move ahead in the legislative process in 2009. The testifiers at the House Agriculture Committee hearing who spoke in opposition to the bill were the NRA, sportsmen/hunting groups, small breeders who don't fall under the definition of a "commercial breeder," and one veterinarian who is also a breeder who doesn't fall under the bill's definition. To listen to the hearing (and comments made by legislators in opposition), go to: AUDIO House Agriculture (Friday, March 27, 2009) NOTE: "Laid on the table" is a process to temporarily set aside a bill for possible further discussion and vote at a later time. Once a bill is "laid on the table," it requires a majority vote to get it off the table. It was apparent H.F. 253 did not have enough votes for it to pass out of the House Agriculture Committee so having it laid on the table kept it alive — even though it needs a majority vote to call it back. The good news was, as indicated above, the bill was still alive. In 2010 it could pick up where it left off in the process in 2009.
Committee members for the MN House Agriculture Committee are listed below: Chair: Representative Mary Ellen Otremba – 651-296-3201
House Civil Justice Committee -- Approved; no further action needed H.F. 253 passed out of the House Civil Justice Committee on Monday, March 23. This Committee is chaired by Rep. Joe Mullery. A "group" voice vote was taken. The majority voted "yes;" a few "no" voices were heard. Committee members are listed below. Chair: Representative Joe Mullery 651-296-4262 Vice Chair: Representative Gail Kulick Jackson 651-296-6746 Representative Bobby Joe Champion 651-296-8659 Representative Steve Drazkowski 651-296-2273 Representative Debra Hilstrom 651-296-3709 Representative Mary Liz Holberg 651-296-6926 Representative Melissa Hortman 651-296-4280 Representative Sheldon Johnson 651-296-4201 Representative Tim Kelly 651-296-8635 Representative Tim Mahoney 651-296-4277 Representative Dave Olin 651-296-9635 Representative Michael Paymar 651-296-4199 (co-author) Representative Peggy Scott 651-296-4231 Representative Torrey Westrom 651-296-4929 To view committee member photos and other contact information, click here.
House Public Safety Committee - Approved; no further action required H.F. 253 was heard on Tuesday, March 17, in the Minnesota House Public Safety Policy and Oversight Committee. This Committee is chaired by Representative Debra Hilstrom. With a wide margin of 13 (yes) to 4 (no) vote, the committee approved H.F. 253 with an amendment offered by Representative Tillberry. This amendment had been worked out with several interested parties to assure continuing progress. Certain language from Rep. Juhnke's bill (H.F. 573) was amended into H.F. 253 and supporters of Rep. Juhnke's bill now support H.F. 253. The biggest change to the bill's language (per the amendment) is the definitions of "commercial breeder" and "hobby breeder." Instead of having the count for commercial breeders include 6 intact "females", the number was changed to "20 or more adult intact animals" and includes breeders who produce five or more litters per year. To keep the bill moving forward, the coalition supported this compromise. Committee members acknowledged these collaborative efforts by voting Yes. To view the amendment (revised, approved language for H.F. 253), click here. Committee members and votes are listed below: Chair: Representative Debra Hilstrom (District 46B) 651-296-3709 -- voted yes To view committee member photos and other contact information, please click here. To obtain House committee reports, please click here. (Reports may take 24-48 hours to be written following a committee hearing/meeting.)
MINNESOTA SENATE: S.F. 7 Senate Agriculture Committee -- 2nd hearing; tabled Unfortunately, S.F. 7 did not receive a hearing on Tuesday, March 24, 2009, in the Senate Agriculture Committee. As you may recall, the bill was laid on the table at the last hearing in this Committee, which means members wanted more time for discussion and were not ready to take a vote. On Tuesday, the Committee Chair asked that the bill be "called off the table" to allow for continued debate. The committee chose, by a majority voice vote, to keep the bill tabled, which means it can brought back again in 2010. Committee members are listed below: Senate Agriculture Committee Chair: Senator Jim Vickerman (District 22) 651-296-5650 * Kathy Jo Bauck is owner of Pick Of The Litter, a dog breeding facility in Otter Tail County, Minnesota. Bauck was charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty and torture. See News: Bauck.
To view committee member photos and other contact information, click here.
Senate Agriculture Committee - 1st hearing; tabled S.F. 7 was given a hearing in the Senate Agriculture and Veterans Committee on January 27, 2009. Senator Betzold (author of S.F. 7) spoke on behalf of the bill. This hearing lasted two and one-half hours. After committee members heard people testify in support and in opposition to the bill, the Committee voted to table S.F. 7. This means a final vote for or against the bill was not taken at this hearing. Instead, it was laid on the table waiting for further action. Further hearings (see above) are needed in order to finish the discussion and have a vote.
OVERVIEW: SENATE AND HOUSE COMMITTEES Senate and House committees (and hearings) are critical to the law-making process. A committee hearing allows for testimony, questions, and discussion about a particular issue and proposed legislation. Hearings are scheduled at the discretion of the committee chair — without his or her support, the bill does not move forward in the process. For this reason, it's important to pay close attention to what committees get assigned which bills and who runs (chairs) each committee. For more information about legislative committees, agencies and the law-making process, go to governance.
COMMITTEE DEADLINES: The committee deadlines for the 2009 legislative session were:
NOTE: The first and second deadlines do not apply to the House committee on Finance, Ways and Means, Taxes, or Rules and Legislative Administration, or to the Senate committee on Capital Investment, Finance, Taxes, or Rules and Administration. For explanation of the deadlines, please go to State Legislature: Committee Deadlines.
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