Bill > S36

This bill seeks to upgrade hen welfare and establish uniform cage-free standards. The key provisions include: 1. Clarifying the definition of "confined in a cruel manner" for egg-laying hens, specifying that they must be housed in a cage-free system with a minimum amount of usable floor space per hen. 2. Extending the maximum time that covered animals (breeding pigs, calves raised for veal, and egg-laying hens) can be confined without the ability to lie down, stand up, fully extend their limbs, or turn around freely. 3. Defining various terms related to cage-free housing systems, covered animals, and different types of meat and egg products. 4. Allowing a defense for businesses that relied in good faith on supplier certifications that the products were not derived from animals confined in a cruel manner. 5. Requiring the Department of Agricultural Resources to promulgate rules and regulations for implementing the Act within 6 months, with input from the Attorney General. 6. Specifying that Sections 2 through 7 of the bill will take effect on January 1, 2022.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/S36