Connecticut bill again attempts to give municipalities power to ban sale of cats, dogs and rabbits at pet stores
Similar bills have failed to be called for a vote in the past
More Stories
A bill being proposed in the Connecticut State House of Representatives will again look to give towns and cities the power to ban the sale of cats, dogs and rabbits at pet stores.
While similar bills have been proposed in the past, people involved believe the level of attention this year is what could make the difference.
"A lot of people know about it, a lot of the voters know," said Maureen Pollack, the deputy majority leader on the Stamford Board of Representatives.
A lot of that attention has come from Stamford.
The Board of Representatives has wanted to ban the sales for almost a decade, but city attorneys said that was something only the state had the power to do.
Still, the board passed an ordinance doing it anyway in November.
Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons then vetoed the ordinance, saying it could not legally be enforced.
"Our mayor realized that she needed to veto that action until she had some state legislation that would support the passage, so that she would protect the city from any potential litigation," explained State Representative Eilish Collins Main.
Collins Main is now co-sponsoring the bill, which would provide just that support.
"This is not a state mandate," she said, "it is simply a bill about municipal authority and legal clarity."
While Pollack says the proposal of the bill "shows that what (the board) did worked," the battle is far from over.
Similar bills have been proposed in the past and have never even been called for a vote, including last spring, when the bill died on the floor after time ran out - something Collins Main says could easily happen again.
"What I have learned as a freshman legislator is that the public hearing really matters," she said. "Our committee chairs and our ranking chairs take action based on the level of interest."
The attention on this bill seems to have turned into interest.
The public hearing is scheduled for Friday, and as of Wednesday evening, more than 170 people had submitted testimony, with nearly 95% of them supporting it.
"That's a high number in terms of public testimony," said Collins Main, "So, I'm optimistic."
The Stamford Board of Representatives also unanimously approved a resolution urging the state to pass the bill.
Pollack says if it does get called and makes it past the governor's desk, they will be ready to go with a new ordinance.
"Everything's written, the second we're allowed to choose for ourselves and our municipality, it will go into effect," she said.
The mayor would still need to sign the ordinance, but her office says it did express support for the resolution.
