CHAPTER 405

S.P. 520 - L.D. 1545

An Act To Amend the Animal Welfare Laws

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 7 MRSA §3906-B, sub-§9, as amended by PL 1995, c. 502, Pt. C, §11, is further amended to read:

9. Employees. The commissioner shall employ personnel, subject to the Civil Service Law, as necessary to assist in enforcing this Part and in carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the department. The commissioner, in consultation with the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, shall employ, subject to the Civil Service Law, one full-time humane agent necessary employees to assist the commissioner in enforcing this Part and in carrying out the commissioner's duties and responsibilities. The commissioner shall conduct a background check of a potential employee. The commissioner may not hire as a state humane agent a person who has been convicted of a criminal violation under Title 17, chapter 42 or has been adjudicated of a civil violation for cruelty to animals under chapter 739.

Sec. 2. 7 MRSA §3906-B, sub-§9-A is enacted to read:

9-A.__Humane agents.__The commissioner shall assign a humane agent to each of the following areas of specialization:

A.__Blood sports;

B.__Exotic animals;