Update 3/6/12: The bill is still on the second reading calendar, but has not been read yet. We do not know if or when the House will take it up.
HB 997, which would repeal the breed ban in Miami-Dade (thereby treating all Florida municipalities and citizens equally), was postponed at second reading on March 2. It has been rescheduled for second reading on March 5. This could potentially set it up for a full House vote on March 6—barring any further delays.
Unfortunately, the legislative session ends on March 9, and the bill still has to go to the Senate side even if it passes the House. The continued delays have made the bill unlikely to pass without heroic measures.
However, Floridians, please continue to fight for HB 997 and push it as far in the process as it will go in the remaining time. The further it goes and the more successful it is, the more likely that the bill will be refiled next session. Some of you may remember Ohio HB 79. In 2009, HB 79 passed the Ohio House, but ran out of time and died in the Senate. Seeing that HB 79 had done well, even though it didn’t pass, Rep. Sears refiled the bill last year as HB 14. And of course, we all know what happened with HB 14! Sometimes it takes a few tries.
Florida residents, please contact your House Representatives and urge them to support HB 997.
If you do not know your House Rep, you can use the Legislator Finder:
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/sections/representatives/myrepresentative.aspx
SB 1322, the companion bill on the Senate side, is still stuck in a subcommittee. Florida residents, please contact your Senator and ask him or her to intervene on behalf of SB 1322. The bill needs to be removed from the subcommittee and put back in motion.
Find your Senator here: http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/Find
Status page for HB 997: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=48233
Status page for SB 1322: http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2012/1322
Fred M. Kray
krisdiaz9
Stop BSL 