This has been an informative thread and Wildcard, thanks for your specific knowledge of this bill. Yours is a unique perspective, being that you are a lawyer, dog lover and resident of Indiana. With all these bills coming forward, it seems like this debate could be repeated over and over with some variations. I don't think there's any debate that we all want what's best for all dogs but rather we see a debate where some say, "there outta be a law" and others say, "well, there is already a law". I would throw in with the latter group since we already have animal cruelty laws on the books, USDA inspections for commercial breeders, AKC inspections and the like. If anything is lacking, it's enforcement. How does a new law that requires voluntary compliance and citizen complaints to initiate enforcement do anything new? The one thing I see lacking are stiffer penalties for those convicted and that could be addressed by amending existing laws rather than overwhelming agencies with new regulations. The only real thing I see for the states is a new source of revenue and I've yet to see it specified where that money would go. If it goes into the general fund, what good does that do for the dogs? One issue I often see tied to this type of legislation is pet over-population. I have already expressed my opinion that these laws don't address this issue. Without reading back through all the posts, I believe someone here mentioned that dogs are actually being imported by some shelters. This is galling to me in the face of so many animals being euthanized but, apparently, it is true. I did a little quick googling around and found these links if anyone is interested.
Dog Owner's Guide: Shelters Adopt Shelter Dog| Animal Shelters PetPAC: More Cities Importing Pound Puppies