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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6998
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 4846
Referred to Committee on PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Introduced by:
(PD)
AN ACT REQUIRING THE LICENSING OF DOGS EVERY THREE
YEARS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 22-338 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 2
(a) Each owner or keeper of a dog of the age of six months or older, 3
except dogs kept under a kennel license as provided in section 22-342, 4
shall cause such dog to be licensed in the town clerk's office in the town 5
where such dog is kept, on or before June thirtieth, [annually] every 6
three years, or at such time as such dog becomes six months old, and 7
[annually] every three years thereafter, on or before June thirtieth. The 8
owner or keeper shall pay to such town clerk for such license the sum of 9
seven dollars for each neutered male or spayed female dog and the sum 10
of twelve dollars for each unneutered male dog and each unspayed 11
female dog, and one additional dollar in each case as the town clerk's 12
fee for issuing a tag and license as provided in section 22-340. Two 13
dollars from each license fee collected for a neutered or spayed dog shall 14
be deposited into the animal population control account, established 15
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under section 22-380g. If an owner or keeper of a dog fails to procure a 16
license as required by this section, such owner or keeper shall pay the 17
appropriate license fee specified in this section, the town clerk's fee and 18
a penalty of one dollar for each month or fraction thereof the dog 19
remains unlicensed. 20
(b) [Any] Each owner or keeper [applying for a license for a dog 21
under subsection (a) of this section] of a dog, except for those owners or 22
keepers possessing a rabies vaccination exemption certificate, or a copy 23
thereof, issued pursuant to section 22-339b, shall annually submit to the 24
town clerk a rabies certificate signed by a licensed veterinarian, or a 25
copy thereof, stating that such dog has been vaccinated against rabies, 26
the date of the vaccination and the duration of the immunity provided 27
by the vaccine. No license shall be issued pursuant to subsection (a) of 28
this section unless the certificate indicates that the immunity provided 29
by the vaccine is effective at the time of licensing. 30
(c) Any owner or keeper [applying for a license for a dog pursuant to 31
subsection (a) of this section] of a dog that has been exempted from 32
vaccination against rabies pursuant to section 22-339b shall submit to 33
the town clerk a rabies vaccination exemption certificate issued by the 34
department, or a copy thereof, in lieu of a rabies certificate. 35
(d) This section shall not apply to any dog which is imported into this 36
state for exhibition purposes and which does not remain in this state for 37
more than thirty days. Any person may import, from another state, any 38
licensed dog with collar, tag and rabies vaccination certificate, and keep 39
the same in this state for not more than thirty days, without complying 40
with the provisions of this section. 41
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 22-339a of the general statutes is 42
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 43
2025): 44
(b) Any person acquiring an unlicensed dog from a dog pound shall 45
be issued a temporary license by the town clerk, or his agent deputized 46
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pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, which shall expire thirty days 47
after the issuance thereof. Prior to the expiration of a temporary license, 48
the person holding the license shall apply for a license for the remainder 49
of the license [year] period, pay the appropriate license fee specified in 50
section 22-338, as amended by this act, and submit a certificate signed 51
by a veterinarian, or a copy thereof, stating (1) that the dog has been 52
vaccinated against rabies, (2) the date of the vaccination and (3) the 53
duration of the immunity provided by the vaccine. No license shall be 54
issued unless the certificate indicates that the immunity provided by the 55
vaccine is effective at the time of licensing. 56
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2025 22-338
Sec. 2 July 1, 2025 22-339a(b)
Statement of Purpose:
To require each owner or keeper of a dog to obtain a license for such dog
every three years rather than annually.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]