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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2136 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1056
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Mark C. Montigny
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to improving enforcement for tethering violations.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Mark C. MontignySecond Bristol and PlymouthJack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex1/26/2023 1 of 3
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2136 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1056
By Mr. Montigny, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1056) of Mark C. Montigny and
Jack Patrick Lewis for legislation to improve enforcement for tethering violations. The
Judiciary.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1099 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act relative to improving enforcement for tethering violations.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 174E of chapter 140 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
2Official Edition is hereby amended by striking in paragraph (a) the first and second sentences
3and replace with:-
4 (a) No person owning or keeping a dog shall chain, confine, or tether a dog outside and
5unattended (1) for longer than 5 hours or (2) outside from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
6 “Outside and unattended,” for the purposes of this section, shall mean any dog who is
7exposed to the elements for a duration of longer than 15 minutes and not in visual range and
8physical presence of the owner. This expressly includes, but is not limited to, a dog in a securely 2 of 3
9fenced-in yard, a dog in a kennel, or a dog tethered. For purposes of this section a dog shall be
10considered “outside” regardless of access to an outdoor doghouse or similar structure.
11 No person owning or keeping a dog shall tether, confine or chain a dog in a manner that
12allows the dog to leave the owner's, guardian's or keeper's property.
13 SECTION 2. Section 174E of chapter 140 is hereby further amended by inserting after
14the word “chains”, in line 7, the following words:- , pinch collars, choke collars,
15 SECTION 3. Section 174E of chapter 140 is hereby further amended by striking out, in
16line 7, the words “lines or”
17 SECTION 4. Section 174E of chapter 140 is hereby further amended by inserting after
18the word “feet”, in line 19, the following words:- per dog
19 SECTION 5. Section 174E of chapter 140 is hereby further amended by striking out, in
20lines 35-37, the words “provided, however, that a choke collar and a pinch collar shall not be
21used to tether a dog to a cable run;”
22 SECTION 6. Section 174E of chapter 140 is hereby further amended by striking out the
23words “in accordance with subsection (b)”, in lines 52-53, and inserting in place thereof the
24following words:- and unattended
25 SECTION 7. Section 174E of chapter 140 is hereby further amended by striking out in
26paragraph (c) the third sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The
27entrance to the shelter shall allow the dog's entry and exit, and in adverse weather have a flap or
28other mechanism sturdy enough to block entry of weather elements. 3 of 3
29 SECTION 8. Section 174E of chapter 140 is hereby further amended by inserting after
30the word “outside”, in line 64, the following words:- and unattended
31 SECTION 9. Section 174E of chapter 140 is hereby further amended by striking out, in
32lines 69-70, the words “, unless the tethering is for not more than 15 minutes”
33 SECTION 10. Section 174E of chapter 140 is hereby further amended by striking out, in
34line 90, the word “and” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- or