HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – A Pennsylvania lawmaker is asking fellow legislators to consider legislation to modernize Pennsylvania’s dog laws.

In a memo released on Wednesday, Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski (D-Luzerne) and State Senator Elder Vogel Jr. (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) say they plan to introduce companion legislation that will revise annual and lifetime dog licenses and reasonably increase fees.

The changes proposed by lawmakers are due to what they call several years of the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement operating at a deficit. The repeated years of a deficit have led to understaffing at the bureau and the transfer of funds to maintain operations, according to the memo.

Under their proposed legislation, Pennsylvania residents will pay $8 for an annual license or $80 for a lifetime license for male and female dogs. Pennsylvania residents 65 years of age or older and persons with disabilities will pay $6 for an annual license or $50 for a lifetime license for male and female dogs.

According to the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, an annual license is currently $8.50, and a lifetime license is $51.50. If the animal is spayed or neutered, the annual fee is $6.50 and the lifetime fee is $31.50.

The proposal also includes a 25% increase for kennel license fees, which have not been increased in nearly six decades.

The lawmakers say approximately 50% of dogs in Pennsylvania are licensed. The proposed legislation would update the current licensing requirement for a dog at three months of age or older, to the point of transfer to a new owner, or whichever occurs first.

This proposal will also make changes to provisions of Dog Law pertaining to the:
• Clarification of dangerous dog determination.
• Requirement that kennels notify the Department of updates to their type or classification.
• Rescue network kennel licensing and related documentation of foreign dogs.
• Revocation of kennel licenses when the kennel is charged with animal cruelty.
• Required transparency of both the source of a dog and the identifying seller’s license information in advertisements.
• Proof of licensure when requested by the appropriate authorities.

A copy of the legislation was not immediately available.