Animal Welfare Caucus Proposal

I am suggesting that the Animal Welfare Caucus be a year-round group that focuses on animals welfare and law enforcement issues related to, companion, farm animals and wildlife.  A board of directors comprised of legislative leaders from the House and Senate, Democrat and Republican would give oversight and direction.  The caucus itself would be comprised of industry and legal experts in addition to 1 representative from each Virginia district recommended by the representative from that district.  The group would act as an Animal Advisory Committee while comprehending regional implications of proposed legislation.  These regional representatives would be vetted by simple criteria but recommended by their Legislator.  We can structure the Caucus so that the Legislative Board and/or the Sub-Committee can influence/approve the regional representatives only in the case of controversy or obvious counter agendas.  Once the structure is in place, we would begin the work of looking at animal related legislation to produce bills that each district has had input on and have a consensus about.  They would also provide their insights to the legislators that recommended their participation/involvement with the caucus.

Only because of previous interactions, I’m thinking that from the House side, potential board members in addition to you would be Delegate Webert (r), Delegate Delaney (d), and Delegate Ware (r).  I would include Delegate Godditis but I understand she is not running for reelection. 

From the Senate side, Senator Boysko (d), Senator Stanley (r), Senator Marsden (d) and Senator Reeves (r).  This group would be an equally balanced group of Rs and Ds, House and Senate.  They would give oversight and direction to the Management Sub-Committee.  That Sub-Committee would organize and prioritize bills in preparation for next year’s legislative process.  The Sub-Committee would engage the three groups, Animal Industry Experts, Law Enforcement, and Regional Representatives to develop bills and offer recommendations and insights. 

The Management Sub-Committee would have state representatives from state law enforcement and national organizations like HSUS, PETA, ALDF.  Perhaps have a liaison from the Legislative Board.

The three committees, animal experts, law enforcement and regional representatives would comprehend state groups like the Animal Control Association, the Virginia Sheriffs Association, Animal Shelter Federation, Homeward Trails, the Virginia Veterinarian Association, just as examples.  The regional representatives would have the added task of advising their respective districts Boards of Supervisor, County Administrators, law enforcement and shelter/rescue organization of the work being done by the Caucus.

The result?  The bills coming to the legislature next year would be vetted, discussed and amended by all the players with a feedback mechanism built in via the regional representatives.  When the bills come to each legislative branch and a vote, the Caucus will have done the due diligence and comprehended the variety of opinions and challenges, making it a bill the majority can get behind.  The goal is not complete agreement but at least we will know where the resistance might be and how strong it is with concessions made on both sides of the issue.

So the Caucus structure would be:

This approach offers  an organizational and concentric approach to the legislative process related to animal welfare and law enforcement.  The players are all in a room talking to each other and developing legislation that we can all live with.

The first question I would have is, why am I recommending the year round Caucus?  I have been working on furthering the idea of the Virginia Animal Protection Coalition modeled on the New York State Animal Protection Federation.  They have done some amazing work and I strongly believe Virginia could benefit from their example.  I’ve sent you materials on the Coalition and have spoken to Nancy about this on several occasions.  I’ve been retired since 2016 so I am not working on my resume, more like my obituary.  😉

I believe the Caucus might be the correct path to the creation of the Coalition.  My job now is to convince you and other Legislative leaders of the Coalition’s merits which I am now fully vested in doing.