Michigan bills would bar local governments from regulating dog breed
If lawmakers pass legislation prohibiting counties and municipalities from barring specific dog breeds in their borders, Michigan dog owners could have their pick in choosing a place to call home.
"Municipalities in the past have contemplated bans on specific breeds of dogs based on common, false associations between breeds and personality types, forcing tough choices on families," said bill sponsor state Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou, D-East Lansing, in a statement.
The bipartisan legislation introduced last week comes shortly after Grosse Pointe Shores banned pit bulls.
More than 30 local governments in Michigan have passed some breed ordinance regulating the dogs they'll allow in their communities, according to Michigan Humane, a nonprofit animal welfare organization that supports the bills recently introduced.
"A municipality which wants to protect its citizens, and safety is important to all of us, should focus on the enforcement of existing laws and the actual behavior of owners and their dogs," said Michigan Humane President and CEO Matt Pepper in a statement. "The tools to create safer environments, for both people and pets, are already available and just need to be enforced uniformly and fairly."
Local breed bans are commonly called "breed-specific legislation," and approximately 22 states have some kind of prohibition of such legislation in place, according to a 2022 analysis from Michigan State University's Animal Legal & Historical Center.
The bipartisan package introduced last week to add Michigan to that list of states includes three bills. House Bill 5039 would bar counties from enacting or enforcing any ordinance, policy, resolution or rule regulating dog breeds or perceived dog breeds. House Bill 5040 would bar townships from regulating dog breeds while House Bill 4051 would bar cities and villages from doing so.
Dog breed ban: Grosse Pointe Shores votes to ban pit bulls – and it all started with dog of a Detroit Lion
"The science is very clear," said bill sponsor state Rep. Veronica Paiz, D-Harper Woods in a statement. "We know that breed alone doesn't account for behavioral differences between dogs, yet this misperception continues. Responsible dog owners shouldn't have to experience the hardships of the misunderstandings of our canine family members."
All three bills were referred to the state House Committee on Agriculture.
In 2018, the state Senate passed similar legislation barring local units of governments from regulating dog breeds but it never received a vote in the state House.
Breed-specific legislation has typically targeted pit bull terriers and breeds that appear to be related to pit bulls, according to a legislative analysis of a previous bill that proposed banning localities from enforcing or pursuing such bans.
Proponents of breed-specific legislation have argued that pit bull-type breeds account for a disproportionate share of dog bites and attacks. The American Veterinary Medical Association says it is difficult to determine or compare dog bite rates by breed, citing problems with how such data is collected, according to the association's website.
The association opposes breed-specific legislation, emphasizing that any dog can bite and characterizing the breed bans as unfair to responsible dog owners.
Contact Clara Hendrickson: chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan bills would prohibit cities from banning dog breeds
