Bill > A4083

Introduced Session

This bill would provide for the establishment of continuing education course requirements for certified animal control officers, including those certified animal control officers - commonly referred to as "animal cruelty investigators" - who have been authorized by a municipality, pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1983, c.525 (C.4:19-15.16b), to act as officers for the detection, apprehension, and arrest of offenders against the animal control, animal welfare, and animal cruelty laws of the State and ordinances of the municipality. The continuing education requirements provided by the bill would help to ensure that the State's certified animal control officers and animal cruelty investigators remain up-to-date on current laws and cases concerning animal welfare, animal control, and animal cruelty, and continue to employ up-to-date techniques and technology in the execution of their work. In particular, the bill would require: 1) the Commissioner of Health, in consultation with the New Jersey Certified Animal Control Officers Association, to approve continuing education courses for all such officers; 2) each such officer to annually complete 15 contact hours of approved continuing education courses; 3) the commissioner to inactivate the certificate issued to any officer who fails to annually comply with the bill's continuing education requirements; and 4) the commissioner to reactivate an inactive certificate if the officer, during any 12-month period, successfully completes the 15 contact hours of continuing education courses required by the bill. Any person whose certificate is inactivated for failure to comply with the bill's continuing education requirements would be prohibited, during the term of inactivation, from engaging in work as a certified animal control officer or animal cruelty investigator. The bill would authorize a municipality to use dog licensing fees to pay for the provision of initial training and the annual provision of continuing education courses necessary for the active certification of animal control officers and animal cruelty investigators in the municipality.

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Ronald Dancer (R)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Agriculture Committee (on 05/07/2020)