HomeMy WebLinkAboutRep Amy Walen 8.3.21
August 2, 2021
Dear Renton City Councilmembers and members of the Renton Planning Commission,
It has come to my attention that the Renton Planning Commission will be discussing retail pet sales during their meeting on
August 4, 2021. I have reviewed the agenda and read the staff analysis, and as the prime sponsor of HB 1424, I wanted to
provide you with some insight on the legislative intention of the bill.
Specifically, I would like to respond to the following statement in the background section of the meeting materials:
“The State’s adoption of HB 1424 precludes the City from adopting regulations to not allow the sale of cats and dogs at the stores
that sold them prior to the effective date of the legislation because it explicitly allows existing stores to continue their business.”
HB 1424, as introduced, stated that no new stores in Washington state could sell cats and dogs and it also contained many
consumer protections provisions for the current stores that do sell cats and dogs. In an effort to compromise with the
opposition (retail pet stores selling puppies) we dropped the consumer protection pieces related to sourcing and transparency
and kept the language that said there could be no more new stores. As you may know, there are many egregious puppy-selling
chains looking to locate in states without bans, and there are puppy-selling stores in our own state looking to expand by
opening new locations. The compromise bill that passed ensured that no new stores can open in Washington. However, we
continue to work on this issue at the state and local level.
To be clear, the bill does not contain any preemption language preventing local jurisdictions from enacting their own bans, and
in fact, the goal of the compromise bill was to allow local jurisdictions to enact their own bans on the retail sale of pets, as
many counties and cities in Washington have already done.
HB 1424 was uniquely crafted to ensure the puppy mill-to-pet store-pipeline problem in Washington state did not get any
worse with the opening of additional puppy-selling pet stores, and in the meantime, it allows local communities to decide
whether or not they want these types of businesses in their communities.
At one point during negotiations there were efforts to include language in the bill that would prohibit local jurisdictions from
enacting bans, and I was very clear that I would not accept that amendment as it worked directly against the intention of the
bill.
I care deeply about this issue. Please let me know if you have any questions about the bill or how puppy-selling stores can
cause harm to consumers. I can be reached at 425. 381. 1909 or amy.walen@leg.wa.gov.
Sincerely,
Amy Walen