Accord is reached on cruelty measure
Sen. Allen Christensen, R-Ogden, motioned for a bill file to be opened under the topic "animal torture" late in Wednesday afternoon's Senate floor session, indicating some change or alteration of SB117, an animal cruelty bill he introduced earlier this session. The bill has been widely criticized by animal rights groups as not going far enough to punish abusers and is one of three bills that could update animal cruelty laws in Utah.
After the floor session, Christensen was not available for comment, but Senate Majority Leader Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, said a compromise had been achieved.
"We've reached a tentative accommodation between House and Senate leadership," Bramble said. He indicated that Speaker of the House Rep. Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, brokered the deal and that it involved legislative leaders, advocates on both sides of the issue and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.
Curtis said the compromise bill will create a first offense felony provision for a conviction on the charge of torturing a "companion animal," defined as either a dog or cat. Current Utah code that addresses lesser offenses will remain essentially unchanged. Curtis said simplifying the legislation turned out to be key in finding a middle ground that all parties could agree to.
Curtis said he and other members of House leadership met with Senate leadership and Huntsman to find a common ground on the issue that has been addressed by two Senate bills and one House bill this session.
Huntsman's spokeswoman, Lisa Roskelley, said Wednesday the new bill "is a good move forward on this issue." Roskelley noted that the governor's involvement in facilitating the compromise tracks back to his concerns about the legislation.
"This is something the governor does feel is important," Roskelley said.
In addition to Christensen's SB117, Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, had introduced SB102, a bill that also created a first offense felony possibility, but included language that concerned agriculture industry representatives. Those two bills squared off in a committee hearing earlier in the session, although Christensen's bill received a full hearing, and committee approval, while Davis' bill was left floating in the nether-world of a committee decision not to hear SB102.
Davis also made an attempt to substitute a compromise bill for Christensen's during Senate floor debate last Thursday, but was unsuccessful. The Senate passed SB117 on a 15-14 vote, with Senate President Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, casting the final and deciding vote.
HB470, sponsored by Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, was introduced on the same day that SB117 squeaked out of the Senate, and was yet another attempt to establish a first offense felony, but appease dissenting interests. Allen's bill was held in a committee hearing on Monday after concerns were expressed by committee members — and a representative from the Utah Farm Bureau — that her proposal could create issues for the Utah agriculture industry.
Gene Baierschmidt from the Utah Humane Society is pleased that a compromise has been reached and has his fingers crossed that it will not run into opposition.
"We see no reason why any faction would fight this bill," Baierschmidt said. "There shouldn't be anybody that has a problem."
Baierschmidt said that, while the new proposed bill is a compromise, it addresses the issue most important to his group and doesn't weaken current code.
"We like it because if a dog or cat is tortured, it's a felony on the first offense," Baierschmidt said. "This bill will bring Utah more in line with laws in other states."
The new bill is expected to be introduced Thursday in the Senate.
E-mail: araymond@desnews.com
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