Colorado Horse Council
Legislative and Regulatory Committee 2008 Annual Report

Overview:

The Legislative and Regulatory Committee (LRC) goals include:

The committee believes participation in activities that support these goals strengthens Colorado Horse Council's position as the leader in monitoring, promoting, and protecting Colorado's Horse Industry through legislation and education.

LRC members are: Danny Williams, Laura Locke, Lobbyists, Kathleen Burke, Khadija Haynes, Cody Hollingsworth, Jill Montgomery, Dorothy Nepa, Kathie Riley, Cindy Schonholtz, and Chris Whitney. Brian Kitchen is staff liaison for committee. Advisors include: Marvin Beeman and Tom Haren.

Significant Activities

State Issues:

The LRC tracked forty-three (43) bills this session; a complete chart of bills is available at ColoradoHorseCouncil.com. Of these the CHC Board assigned support positions to 11, monitor positions to 25, and oppose positions to 5. No position was assigned to 2 bills for lack of a formal board meeting in the time frame the bills were introduced and end of the session. Oversight of the committee generally focuses on five issue areas including agri-business, animal welfare, government interface, property rights, and public land management. This session animal welfare, in the form of Livestock Confinement Standards S201, was a highly charged issue as HSUS came to the table with demands for the production livestock industry and the Dept. of Agriculture ultimately served to broker a deal. On a very upbeat note, the passage of S.178, creating a specialty license plate to “Support the Horse,” moved the dream from project to program status. Visit the website for the form to order your license plate certificate.

As we worked on issues in 2008, we benefited from solid relationships with regulatory agencies and groups with animal welfare, agricultural, and land use interests. January was a difficult time for horse rescues and unwanted horses in CO with three high-profile failures at horse rescues requiring law enforcement intervention due to animal cruelty. CHC stepped up to assist on the issue of unwanted horses, with three LRC members joining with other industry professionals, government officials, and academicians to find humane, workable solutions for surplus horses. The Colorado Unwanted Horse Alliance was formed; you will learn more about this organization’s efforts through other reports at this Annual Meeting.

Committee members coordinated with county and local horse groups to work several zoning and land access issues. Some overlap with the Trails Committee occurred with these issues. Coordination with other member groups such as the CO Cattlemen’s Association, CO Farm Bureau, Rocky Mountain Farmer’s Union, and CO Veterinary Medical Association has served to identify issues that we can pool resources to address and in finding common ground for a stronger voice in the political arena.

On the radar for the 2009 session is a horse racing-funded CO Breeders Incentive Fund, intended to provide an economic stimulus package for the Colorado horse industry. The CHC has endorsed the concept and is waiting to review the specific language of the proposed bill before taking a position on legislation to create such a fund. A caveat has been requested to address the potential for an increase in the number of unwanted horses resulting from giving an incentive to horse breeders. We anticipate more animal welfare and property rights issues in the upcoming year.

Fundraising for the political committee, ColoradoHorses, is a priority for 2009, to be in position for effective use in 2010. CHC formed ColoradoHorses in 2006 to serve as a means to help elect candidates who support the goals and objectives of keeping Colorado a great state in which to own and keep horses. Contribution forms are conveniently located on the website or available upon request from CHC staff.

National Issues

LRC members have worked with other horse industry organizations concerned with the welfare of horses, and specifically unwanted horses, to oppose H.R. 6598, H.R. 503 and S.311 regarding abolishing and criminalizing processing of horses for food. This national legislation would create a federal ban on the sale or transportation of a horse for slaughter. The Board of the Colorado Horse Council adopted the position of opposing this legislation because of its failure to make adequate provisions for the unwanted horses that will be impacted by the legislation. The American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Equine Practitioners are among those opposing the legislation based on the evidence indicating the laws would increase the number of horses suffering from abuse and neglect in this country.

Summary

The committee and board wishes to thank our lobbyist team and dedicated staff for their hard work on behalf of the Colorado Horse Industry. Much credit goes to them for staying on top of the issues at the Capitol and for professionally representing our interests to the legislature, the agricultural community, and the public in general. In addition to the support of our lobbyists’ work with the CO General Assembly, LRC members also work directly with CHC members, government officials at state and national levels representing regulatory agencies and the U.S. Congress. The latter is coordinated through our national lobbying organization, the American Horse Council. The CHC is the legislative and regulatory watchdog for Colorado’s horse people.

Respectfully submitted by Jill Montgomery, Legislative and Regulatory Committee Chair