By CHELYEN DAVIS
RICHMOND--The state Senate yesterday approved legislation that would significantly increase punishments for owners of dogs that attack people.
The Senate passed Sen. Edd Houck's bill on a unanimous block vote, with no debate.
Houck, D-Spotsylvania, introduced the legislation after a neigh- bor's pit bulls fatally mauled Spotsylvania County resident Dorothy Sullivan and her dog last spring.
If enacted into law, the bill would:
Create criminal penalties--of up to 10 years in prison in some cases--for owners of dogs that attack people.
Expand the authority of who can petition for a dog to be declared dangerous.
Create a dangerous dog registry.
Require a $300,000 insurance policy for dogs that have been declared dangerous.
Require owners of dangerous dogs to notify local authorities if they move.
Require doctors and nurses to report dog bites.
Make it illegal for owners of dogs declared dangerous to transfer that dog anywhere within the state.
Houck said the bill attempts to focus punishment on the owners, not the dogs.
After the vote, Houck said he was "real pleased" with the bill's smooth passage in the Senate. He hadn't known whether to expect opposition or not, so he took materials about the bill just in case.
But the legislation is likely to run into more trouble when it comes to the House of Delegates.
Del. Bobby Orrock, R-Caroline, has proposed legislation that is similar to Houck's, except it does not create felony offenses. Orrock doesn't think there's a need to charge dog owners with felonies.
He said common law already provides precedent for owners of dogs that kill a person to be charged with involuntary manslaughter, which is the charge brought against the owner of the dogs in the Sullivan case. Deanna Large was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last month.
"It is your property. If your property is the proximate cause of someone's death, then you are responsible," Orrock said.
Orrock's bill was the only dog bill recommended yesterday by a subcommittee of the House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee. The full committee will take up the bill next week, along with another Orrock bill that would require veterinarians to issue dog licenses when they give rabies shots to dogs.
Apart from the felony issue, Orrock said his bill and Houck's are almost identical. And he's ready to stand firm on that issue. He said several members of a task force that Houck put together to create his own legislation have told Orrock that they prefer the language in his bill.
But Orrock doesn't expect that issue to scuttle the legislation.
"While we may not be singing the exact same words, we're humming the same tune," he said. "That's not going to derail it."
To reach CHELYEN DAVIS:
Email: cdavis@freelancestar.com