The month of July is known as “Summer Recess” in the California Legislature. In advance of the Legislature returning to Sacramento on August 5, below are status updates for bills the American Kennel Club (AKC) continues to track this session.
To see the complete list of bills you can do so by checking the AKC legislative tracker.
- Assembly Bill 2042 – Law enforcement: police canines.
Status: Advanced out of the Assembly; passed out of the Senate Public Safety Committee; currently before Senate Appropriations Committee.
Summary: This bill is an amended version of AB 742 from 2023 and would direct the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), on or before January July 1, 2026, to develop guidelines, as specified, for the use of canines by law enforcement, including guidelines concerning canine deployment and a prohibition on using canines for crowd control. Additionally, each law enforcement agency with a canine unit would need to have a police canine policy compliant with POST guidelines by July 1, 2027. This bill would only become law with the passage of AB 3241. AKC is working with the author’s office and will continue to monitor the proposal.
- Assembly Bill 3241 – Law enforcement: police canines.
Status: Advanced out of the Assembly; passed out of the Senate Public Safety Committee; currently before Senate Appropriations Committee.
Summary: This bill would require the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), on or before January 1, 2026, to adopt uniform, minimum guidelines regarding the use of canines by law enforcement, including legal standards established by the bill, and, on or before July 1, 2026, and to certify courses of training for all law enforcement canine handlers and those law enforcement supervisors directly overseeing canine programs. The bill would also require each law enforcement agency with a canine unit to annually publish a report of the use of canines on its website. This bill would only become law with the passage of AB 2042. AKC is working with the author’s office and will continue to monitor the proposal.
- Senate Bill 1459 – Animal shelters
Status: Advanced out of the Senate; passed out of the Assembly Business and Professions Committee; currently before Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Summary: This bill requires animal shelters to collect and publish certain statistics on their website, including sources of animal intake. AKC is monitoring this proposal.
- Senate Bill 89 – Crimes: stalking
Status: Passed Senate unanimously; held in the Assembly Public Safety Committee
Summary: This bill sought to expand what constitutes stalking to include behavior that seeks to harm or threaten a domestic violence victim’s pets, service animals, or emotional support animals. This bill would have brought California in line with the federal stalking statute. We look forward to supporting similar legislation in the future.
- Assembly Bill 2216 – Tenancy: common household pets
Status: Advanced out of Assembly; pulled by author in Senate Judiciary Committee.
Summary: This bill looked to expand access to people with pets being able to access rental housing and bans “pet rent.” AKC looks forward to working towards policy solutions that get more pets into housing in future sessions.
- Assembly Bill 2248 – Contracts: sales of dogs and cats.
Status: Advanced out of Assembly unanimously; passed out of Senate Judiciary Committee; before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Summary: This bill states that a contract to transfer ownership of a dog or cat by a “broker” to a buyer in California is void if either of the following are satisfied:
- The contract requires a nonrefundable deposit.
- The contract does not identify the original source of the dog or cat, including, but not limited to, the breeder.
AKC is monitoring this bill.
- Assembly Bill 1988 – Stray animals: Availability for adoption or release.
Status: Passed Assembly and Senate; signed by governor.
Summary: This bill allows animal shelters to immediately adopt out puppies and kittens in the narrow instance of owner surrenders. AKC will monitor its implementation.
AKC Government Relations continues to monitor bills in California impacting dog owners and will provide updates. For questions or more information, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.