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tf/l-;6 Legislative Bill Action ................................................................ The following are summaries of just a few of the legislative bills that are currently being acted upon by the League of California Cities. For more information about these and other bills, please visit the League website to access information about legislation, policy issues and relate? develop- ments. You can track information on bills (www.cacities.org/billsearch), locate legislators and legislative committees, send letters to legislators or the media through the online Advocacy Center (www.cacities.org/advocacycenter), research League policy positions, access useful related links, and much more. ADMINISTRATIVE S8 861 has passed the legislature and is on its way to Gov. Schwarzenegger awaiting action. S8 861 would authorize local governments to enact additional regulations related to dangerous and vicious dogs that are specific to individual breeds, provided that the local regulations do not constitute a ban on the breed. In 1989, California enacted a law that limited the authority of local governments to adopt breed- specific local ordinances to regulate vicious dogs. Prior to that law, local governments were authorized to enact breed-specific laws. S8 861 properly revisits the decision to limit local authority. S8 861 is in response to a number of tragic situations in which dogs have attacked and injured or killed children and adults. As a result, San Francisco evaluated what steps could be taken by local govern- rnents to prevent canine-related injuries. The report recommends a number of sensible and proactive regulatory steps that local governments could enact for individual breeds, if existing law is changed to provide that such authorization. S8 861 reflects a number of steps included in the report, but stops short of authorizing a local government to enact breed specific bans. The League supports S8 861 as a way to give back to local governments additional tools and flexibility to appropriately regulate dangerous and vicious dogs within their communities in order to protect their residents. We believe it is a necessary step to returning to local governments some mea- sure of authority to regulate vicious animals and to protect the health and safety of their community and citizens. While some have described S8 861 as an animal control and local control issue, we believe that in addition, it is an important public safety issue. Local governments need to have, once again, some of the tools needed to enact local breed-specific animal regulations dealing with spaying and neutering of dogs to reflect local conditions in order to protect their citizens. Cities are encouraged to write the governor and request that he sign S8 861. Staff: Yvonne Hunter: S1atus: On Governor's Desk. Position: Request Signature. ENVIRONMENTAL S8 655 was amended on Friday, September 2 in the Assembly to respond to a number issues raised by the League and others. As a result, the League is neutral on the bill. S8 655 addresses an important emerging health issue related to naturally occurring asbestos (NOA). The amended bill will be in print early next week. The amendments requested by the League ensure that local governments will continue to have the flexibility to adopt mitigation requirements for construction projects that meet their local needs, while at the same time ensuring that property owners receive notice about development in NOA zones. The League thanks Sen. Ortiz and her staff for working with the League to address our concerns. Staff: Yvonne Hunter. Status: Pending on Assembly Floor. Position: Neutral. PAGE a/PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Website -- www.cacities.org