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JN�V DF.H4 <br />COUNTY OF HAWAVI STATE OF HAWAII <br />RESOLUTION NO. 4 3 0 02111 <br />A RESOLUTION URGING THE HAWAII STATE LEGISLATURE TO AMEND <br />CHAPTER 142, HAWAII REVISED STATUTES, TO PROVIDE FOR GREATER <br />PUBLIC SAFETY AGAINST THE RISK OF DAMAGE, INJURY, AND DEATH POSED <br />BY DANGEROUS DOGS BY INCREASING ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES <br />AGAINST OWNERS OF SUCH DOGS. <br />WHEREAS, the American Veterinary Medical Association considers dog attacks to be a <br />serious health risk to our society that is almost entirely preventable through public education and <br />properly enforced measures by owners to keep dogs humanely restrained and secured; and <br />WHEREAS, Hawaii County residents and their animals have recently been subjected to <br />a number of vicious attacks by dogs, causing severe injuries and ultimately resulting in the <br />deaths of persons and animals that were attacked; and <br />WHEREAS, on April 6th, 2022, in response to these recurring attacks, the Council of the <br />County of Hawaii ("the Council") unanimously passed Bill No. 125, Draft 2, which was signed <br />into law as Ordinance No. 22-36 by Mayor Mitchell Roth on April 21St, 2022; and <br />WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 22-36 provided additional provisions to regulate persons <br />who own, harbor, or keep any dog that has bitten, injured, maimed, or killed a person or injured, <br />maimed, or destroyed an animal belonging to another person; and <br />WHEREAS, dog attacks have continued to occur since the enactment of this legislation, <br />demonstrating the need for stronger laws, penalties, and enforcement relating to dangerous dogs; <br />and <br />WHEREAS, inconsistencies in State and County laws regarding dangerous dogs have <br />made it unclear which laws are enforceable to hold dog owners accountable; and <br />WHEREAS, the problem of dangerous dogs is not unique to Hawaii County, and the <br />Hawaii State Association of Counties recognized this issue as the number one legislative <br />priority for its 2024 legislative package; and <br />WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Legislature is currently considering H.B. 2058, which <br />would establish requirements and penalties for dog owners that allow their dogs to injure or kill <br />other animals or people; now, therefore, <br />BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII that this <br />body hereby urges the Hawaii State Legislature to amend Chapter 142, Hawaii Revised <br />Statutes, to set and increase fines, penalties, and other regulations as prescribed in Ordinance No. <br />22-36, including providing that owners convicted under the law be found guilty of a class C <br />