Rep. Fishbein Announces Proposals to Protect Animals, Homeowners

State Representative Craig Fishbein (R-90) today joined his colleagues for the opening day of the 2020 legislative session at the state Capitol in Hartford.

After opening day formalities were finished, Rep. Fishbein took the opportunity to announce two pieces of legislation he proposed to protect animals that have been carelessly left in vehicles, and to reduce the prejudices against homeowners who own certain breeds of dogs.

Building upon legislation (PA18-164) passed in 2018 that holds Good Samaritans harmless if they free an animal in distress from a vehicle, Rep. Fishbein proposed legislation to reduce these protections by making it a crime to leave an animal in an unattended motor vehicle during extreme weather conditions that threaten its life or health.

“It’s absolutely unacceptable and wrong to leave any animal in a hot vehicle at the height of summer, and it’s just as wrong to leave them in a cold vehicle in winter,” Rep. Fishbein said. “This legislation will hold uncaring and irresponsible pet owners accountable and prevent needless tragedies.”

The second piece of proposed legislation would preclude insurance companies from denying coverage to homeowners merely based upon the breed of their dog.

“We’ve all heard anecdotal stories about certain dog breeds being dangerous and uninsurable and unfortunately insurance companies have bought into these stories without justification, denying coverage based upon prejudice instead of risk” Rep. Fishbein said. “It is unfair to prevent a family from having insurance coverages on their home and property merely because they own a dog of a certain breed.”

Similar legislation was introduced previously but failed to make it out of committee. Rep. Fishbein supported the previous measures and wanted to make certain the proposals were brought back again.

“This is important on several levels, and I will continue to fight for these rights until we can make a positive change in our law.”