MONTGOMERY — On Wednesday, the Alabama House of Representatives passed SB361, also known as Beau's Law, with multiple amendments.
The legislation would require dog owners to provide adequate shelter, water, food, and care while tethered, or face the removal of their dogs and possible misdemeanor criminal charges.
Debate lasted over an hour and a half before finally passing 69-23. Amendments included better outlining what constituted a commercial breeder and defining a full enclosure as one with walls and a solid floor.
State Rep. Phillip Ensler (D-Montgomery), who carried the legislation in the House, strongly opposed a proposed amendment requiring a warrant when there was suspicion that a tethered dog was in peril.
He declared during the debate, "Dogs will die because of this."
State Rep. Phillip Rigsby (R-Huntsville) voiced his concern about the timing of police arriving at a call regarding a tethered dog that, at the time, had no food or water in its bowls, despite being appropriately fed and provided with sufficient water. He questioned whether the burden of proof would then be on the dog owner.
Ensler pushed back, saying that would be an "extreme example." He added that as long as the food and water were provided in intervals, that would be "adequate."
The legislation now heads to the Senate, where it is carried by President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman). The Senate could concur with the changes made in the House and give the bill final passage with only one more day of session remaining.
After the bill's passage, Ensler said he was glad to keep the core of his initial bill: "humane shelter, food, water."
"The amendments cleaned some things up, made some changes, and that’s part of the legislative process," he stated. "And I appreciate colleagues bringing different amendments, and the ones that we brought on don’t in any way weaken the bill, so I'm really glad and proud that we got it finally passed."
If passed, the law would go into effect on October 1.
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