SAUGUS — State Rep. Donald Wong has shown support for a series of animal-welfare bills, as well as a bill related to salary transparency that was recently signed into law by Gov. Maura Healey.
In a press release, Wong called focus to several bills related to animal welfare, including H.4919, also known as “Ollie’s Law;” H.4915; H.4917; H.4911; and H.4912.
H.4919 outlines the formation of a committee that would seek to develop a set of standards for pet daycare facilities, including dog-daycare centers.
Specifically, H.4919 seeks to outline issues regarding insurance, as well as developing staff-to-dog ratios and safety and fire requirements, and implementing annual kennel inspections.
Bill H.4915 would outlaw the usage of exotic animals, such as elephants, big cats, primates, giraffes, and bears in traveling exhibits such as fairs, expositions, and carnivals.
Violations of H.4915 would carry fines of $500 to $10,000 per animal.
Bill H.4917 would seek to establish a legislative commission to study the usage of service animals, which would examine current guidelines surrounding their use, as well as fraud and misrepresentation in their use, and their benefits. Additionally, it seeks to increase public awareness of service animals. The commission would submit all legislative recommendations by April 1, 2025.
H.4911 would permit employees in the executive offices of Elder Affairs and Health and Human Services and the Department of Children and Families to report mistreatment of animals without needing to attach the report to an ongoing 51A report.
H.4911 would additionally allow for DCF to compel records of animals kept at foster homes, including medical records, and consider a child’s behavior around an animal. It would also grant DCF the ability to compel information in order to determine safety risks toward the child or animal.
The bill additionally would prohibit DCF from using dog-breed information to base housing decisions upon.
Bill H.4912 would establish licensure requirements and regulations of veterinary technicians through the state’s Board of Registration in Veterinary Medicine. The bill would also add three licensed veterinary technicians to the Board of Registration in Veterinary Medicine, and distinguish between veterinary technicians and veterinary assistants.
H.4890, a bill related to wage transparency that Wong supported, was signed into law by Healey on July 31.
“I have long supported wage-equity legislation and, as attorney general, I was proud to work together with the business community to implement the 2016 Equal Pay Act,” Healey said in a press release.
The law requires companies with more than 25 employees to represent salary offers in ranges to applicants, in addition to existing employees who might be considered for promotion or transfer.
Employers will also be required to provide salary-range information to employees upon request.
Additionally, the law requires companies with more than 100 employees that are subject to federal wage-report filings to submit additional copies of their filings to the secretary of state, so they can be forwarded to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. Then, the EOLWD will utilize this information to track gender and racial disparities.
The office of the attorney general will oversee the enforcement of penalties associated with not adhering to the rules laid out in the bill, with businesses that fail to comply receiving a written warning for a first offense, a $500 fine for a second offense, and a fine of no more than $1,000 for a third offense. All subsequent failures to comply will be subject to expanded civil-liberties penalties, up to $25,000 per violation.
The bill additionally makes clarifications regarding post-retirement earning-capacity amounts, which is based upon an individual’s highest salary, either for the position from which they retired or from which their pension allowance was based upon.
