2020 Legislative Report A MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION
2020: The Pandemic Sine Die By Crystal Brumme Pickett and Jane Seigler
What a strange year. Even before the world was consumed by the pandemic now known as
COVID-19, it was a strange year for the Maryland General Assembly. It was the first year Mike Miller was not President of the Senate; for 32 years, the Maryland Senate had been run under his steady and predict- able hand. Across the aisle, since 2003, the House had been under the steady and predictable hand of Speaker Mike Busch, who passed away in 2019, and it was shortly after that when Miller retired as Senate presi- dent. For the 2020 legislative session, not only were both gavels in new hands, but both chess-boards had been completely rearranged, with new committee members and chairs, and a cadre of 2018 elected legislators entering their sophomore year now having gotten their feet wet but with their same freshman determination to shake things up, get stuff done! In Maryland, in a normal year, we begin with a hard start and a hard
close after precisely 90 days. Bills that don’t turn into laws by the end of session are dead. Done. Game over. If the proponents of a bill want to keep going, then they have to start all over in the next regular session (or in some cases a special session) – usually a bit wiser to the process, usually with a better written bill. But this was not a normal year. We began with the usual shotgun start,
but we came to a screeching crash of a close after only 71 days due to the COVID-19 crisis, cutting short the deliberative process by almost a third. Like most years, over 3,000 pieces of legislation were introduced, in-
cluding some bills brought forward by the Maryland Horse Council. About 660 bills were passed, but as of this writing the only bills which have been signed into law by the Governor are those related to the CO- VID-19 crisis, and the Governor has stated that he may not sign any bills that require spending State money. MHC submitted two bills this session. We knew not to expect either of them to pass the first year, so we were delighted when one did! Tat rarely happens. Usually it takes several years, at least, for a bill to pass – but each time the legislation is presented, it is a little bit tighter, a little bit more well written – just a better bill than in prior years.
Te Victory: Expanding Criminal Harassment Law to Include All Le- gal Equine Activities With all the young new legislators, our “Carriage Horse” bill was ea-
gerly embraced by several different sponsors, who each then presented different versions of our concept. A unique challenge! What was the Horse Council’s objective with “Te Carriage Horse Bill?” Established law made it illegal to interfere with certain classes of
horses engaged in certain activities, limited in the existing law to horses involved in racing, breeding, and showing/competition. MHC wanted the law to include all manner of equines (donkeys, mules, ponies, as well as horses) engaged in any legal activity, which would then include car- riage and wagon rides. MHC was inspired to broaden the existing law after a legally operating holiday wagon/carriage ride business endured potentially dangerous harassment from activists in 2018. We had three versions of our proposed legislation entered. In the end,
all the sponsors came together to pass the final version, which ended up attracting even more legislators who wanted to have their name on the fi- nal version as a bill sponsor. MANY thanks to Senators Hough and Hes- ter and Delegates Guyton, Bagnall, Boyce, Buckel, Hornberger, Lehman, R.Lewis, Metzgar, Morgan, Young, Cardin, Cox, McComas, and Pippy. Te bill is waiting to be signed into law by the Governor.
Back In Te Hopper: Licensing of Breeding Stables Over the last decade, there have been a number of high profile equine neglect and seizure cases (involving in some cases over 100 horses), owned by self-identified breeders, ostensibly breeding for the purpose of selling the horses. Unlike other stables offering services to the general public (such as boarding, lessons, training, and trail rides), breeding sta- bles are not required to be licensed. Because neglect cases are complaint driven, by the time there is any “official” involvement, it is often too late for some of the animals. Adding breeding stables to those establishments that require licensure by the MHIB provides an opportunity for pro- active oversight, before the situation develops into criminal neglect. Toroughbred and Standardbred breeding stables would continue to
be exempt, as they are already included under racing-related regulations. Te MHIB had concerns about the implementation, and there were some problems with the language that emerged from the Legislature’s bill drafting service. Te Maryland Horse Council recommended that the bill be withdrawn, and it was. MHC will be leading a task force of stakeholders to craft a new bill to submit in the 2021 legislative session.
Other Legislation Directly Affecting the Equestrian Community
Defining “Terapy Horse” in the Maryland Veterans Service Animal Program A Senate Bill that crossed over but died in the House, the intent of the
bill was to define the terms “service dog”, “support dog”, and “therapy horse” for the purposes of evaluating eligibility for participation in, and receipt of grant funds under, the Maryland Veterans Service Animal Pro- gram in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
continued...
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www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580 MAY 2020 | THE EQUIERY | 43
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