This bill amends the current dog licensing law to allow owners of 7 or fewer dogs to obtain a group license, replacing the previous threshold of 5 or more dogs. The bill introduces a new fee structure, increasing the group license fee from $20 to $28, with $2 allocated to a companion animal neutering fund and $18 retained by the municipality. Additionally, if an owner keeps more than 7 dogs, they must obtain individual licenses for each additional dog, with a supplemental fee based on the number of individual licenses exceeding 7. The bill also specifies that no fee is required for dogs under 6 weeks of age and prohibits the sale, gifting, or trading of any dog under a group license without first obtaining a license for that dog.

The legislation further ensures that town clerks cannot refuse to issue a group license to compliant owners and mandates that numbered license tags be provided upon request. The effective date for this act is set for July 1, 2025. The fiscal impact of the bill is projected to be less than $10,000 for each fiscal year from 2025 to 2028, as determined by the Legislative Budget Assistant.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 466:6