H. B. 3023
(By Delegates Houston, Renner,
Beach and Susman)
[Introduced February 14, 2003; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then Finance.]
A BILL to amend article twenty, chapter nineteen of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twelve-a, relating to lost animals generally; providing for
the establishment by the commissioner of agriculture of a toll
free hot line for reporting lost animals; providing for
notification of certain entities; and providing for erection
of certain highway signs.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article twenty, chapter nineteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twelve-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 20. DOGS AND CATS.
§19-20-12a. Lost animal hot line.
From funds appropriated therefore by the Legislature, the
commissioner of agriculture shall establish a toll free telephone
number whereby people may report domestic animals and livestock
that have been lost and whereby people may report finding lost
livestock and domestic animals. The commissioner shall establish
a register of such lost animal reports and shall implement a system
to cross check reports of lost domestic animals and livestock with
reports of found domestic animals and livestock.
The commissioner shall ensure that information on the register
is available to people requesting information about lost domestic
animals or livestock. In addition, the commissioner may post the
register on the world wide web.
Upon receipt of a report, the commissioner shall notify the
humane society in the county in which the lost domestic animal or
livestock was reported lost or found or in the case of dogs, to the
county dog warden.
The commissioner may enter into agreements with the department
of transportation for the erection of signs along the interstates
and roadways of the state encouraging motorists to report lost
animals to the hotline.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a lost animal
hotline in the office of the commissioner of agriculture. It
provides for a statewide register of lost and found animals and it
allows people to access the information on the register.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.