After a wave of criticism and some threats stemming from a bill that would have required Colorado pet owners to register their animals and pay a fee, Democratic state lawmakers voluntarily repealed their bill Thursday. did.
The bill, HB24-1163, would have required pet owners to pay a small annual fee per animal to support shelters in the state. The fee component attracted attention and criticism on social media, particularly from conservative commentators.
The backlash prompted the bill's sponsor, Rep. Regina English, a Colorado Springs Democrat, to ask the House Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Committee to shelve the bill during a special session Thursday morning. The committee unanimously approved her request.
English told the committee that he wanted to support an animal shelter that had a flat tire and help abandoned and unclaimed pets. She said the bill had expanded beyond its original form to cover the keeping of a variety of animals, including fish, a detail that helped fuel the protests.
“While this expansion was well-intentioned to include as many pets as possible, it understandably caused confusion and concern among voters,” English said. “The feeling was, 'What the heck?' It resonated in our community, reflecting the disconnect between the original intent of this bill and its current form.”
Wellington Republican Rep. Mike Lynch jokingly thanked English for introducing the bill, saying it gave him “the opportunity to speak to more people in this state than I have ever spoken to in my career.” .
In an interview after the meeting, English said he had received threats over the bill and was surprised by the amount of backlash.
He said the bill was not one of his priority proposals this year and had no other sponsors in the House or Senate.
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