County seeks new rules on rabies shots, golf carts
Maricopa County’s legislative agenda for 2014 includes proposals that would ease regulation of two popular parts of Valley life: pets and golf carts.
The county wants to allow certain dogs to be licensed even if they do not comply with state rabies-vaccination requirements. It also proposes to reduce penalties against certain dog owners who fail to license their pets.
“This bill is about making things efficient and reducing the impact of government on pets,” said Rodrigo Silva, assistant Maricopa County manager who oversees the Animal Care and Control Unit.
Another proposal, catering chiefly to Valley retirement communities, would clarify the law allowing golf carts to be driven on the far right side of public roadways in unincorporated communities.
The proposals are on a list of priority items approved by the Board of Supervisors last week for the county’s legislative staff to lobby for in January, when the Legislature goes back into session.
State law now requires all dogs to be vaccinated against rabies before they are licensed. Dog owners who fail to get a license within a specified time can be charged with a Class 2 misdemeanor.
The state’s rabies-vaccination laws were established about 50 years ago to control dog rabies, Silva said. The laws are not as necessary now because dog rabies is not as big a public health concern as it was then, according to Silva.
Arizona Department of Health Services records on reported bites by rabid animals show there have been three incidents involving dogs since 1999. None was in Maricopa County.
The county proposes to allow dogs with medical conditions that prohibit them from
getting a rabies shot to nonetheless be licensed. The county also wants to reduce the penalty for dog owners who fail to get a license because of the rabies-vaccination requirement, changing the penalty from a Class 2 misdemeanor to a civil infraction.
The legislative proposal includes an amendment to state law that would allow pet owners to quarantine their own unvaccinated dogs after a reported bite. State law requires unvaccinated dogs or cats that bite a person to be quarantined at a county shelter or at a veter- inary hospital at the owner’s expense.
Many of the reported bites by unvaccinated dogs are accidents that occur at the pet owner’s home, Silva said, and keeping the dogs quarantined at the county or at a veterinarian’s office can be costly.
Law-enforcement officials would still have authority to determine on a case-by-case basis whether a dog needs to be under quarantine at a shelter, he said. “These things don’t really need to escalate to bringing the dog to the shelter,” Silva said.
The county’s golf-cart proposal would clarify whether golf carts can be driven on the far right side of the road. Residents from Sun City and Sun City West have inconsistently received traffic citations for driving golf carts on the road, said Supervisor Clint Hickman, whose district encompasses the West Valley retirement communities. Both are unincorporated.
“For quite a few people, it’s a large mode of transportation in those two (communities),” Hickman said. “We’re hoping by setting up where they can be driving — specifically, on the far right side of the road — it’ll be good.”
State Rep. Debbie Lesko, RGlendale, plans to push for changes in the current law to allow people “in an age-restricted community” to drive a golf cart or a neighborhood electric vehicle on the far right side of the road.