LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A bill that would have banned the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores may have been amended into a study of the issue, but animal activists in Las Vegas are demanding the measure be restored to its original version.
Assembly Bill 487 — sponsored by the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources — would have banned the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores throughout Nevada. Bill supporters, including Humane World for Animals, say pet store animals are often sourced from so-called puppy mills that mistreat dogs and cats.
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The measure passed the Assembly with a big bipartisan majority of 32-9 on April 21, but stalled when it got to the Senate Natural Resources Committee.
The bill finally got a hearing on May 13, but on May 16, just one day before a legislative committee deadline, Natural Resources Chairwoman Shelly Cruz-Crawford, D-Clark County, brought an amendment that gutted the language of the bill and instead called for a study to be conducted by the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Natural Resources.
In Carson City, converting a policy bill into a study is a common way for lawmakers to avoid taking a vote on an issue on its merits.
Activist Bryce Henderson, a local Realtor and founder of the nonprofit No Kill Las Vegas, blamed the last-minute switch on lobbyist Alisa Nave-Worth, a former state Senate caucus director whose family runs veterinary clinics in Las Vegas.
Nave-Worth represented the industry-backed, Alexandria, Va.-based Pet Advocacy Network, which lobbied against the bill.
Henderson said Nave-Worth's connections and political donations made to lawmakers by her and her family helped kill the bill in its original form.
"I think it's because the pet store lobby hired Elisa Nave as their lobbyist," said Henderson, in an interview Wednesday at his Las Vegas home. "And we want everybody to know that, Alisa Nave, you can't wear a vet coat during the day and a lobbyist leash at night. And when the people find out about this, which they are now, we're not going to tolerate it, and we're going to boycott your vet clinics."
Nave-Worth did not respond to two emails seeking comment for this story, and Cruz-Crawford also didn't return a message.
Hiring a lobbyist with a personal connection to lawmakers is a time-tested Carson City tradition, as is industries making bipartisan political donations to lawmakers. Those contributions are required to be disclosed and are included in a searchable database on the Secretary of State's website, and lobbyists are required to register and list their clients for the public to see.
Henderson said animal activists sometimes face an uphill battle, as they're not always used to the insider-dominated world of Carson City.
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"At times, it can be a disadvantage, but people need to understand that when we come together, our voice can be larger than their pocketbooks," he said. "And so that's what we need to do right now."
Activists point to the case of Reba's Law, a bill to increase penalties for animal cruelty and torture, which died after the Assembly Judiciary Committee didn't take a vote on it by an earlier deadline. But after an outcry, legislative leaders brought the bill back, and it later passed the Assembly unanimously.
Henderson is hoping the same thing will happen with AB 487, and he's encouraging people to call Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro's office to register their objections. He notes that Cannizzaro also received donations from Nave-Worth and her family.
"And we want people to call her and tell her that, hey, we're not going to vote for you if you run for a higher office, we're not going to vote for you," he said. "And we want you to bring this bill back, She has the power to do that."
A spokesman for Cannizzaro said Wednesday that she was not involved in any decisions about AB 487, choosing to allow the committee process to decide the bill's fate. The spokesman noted that Cruz-Crawford's amendment passed the Natural Resources Committee unanimously, and that the Assembly sponsor of the bill agreed with the amendment, too.
Cannizzaro — who is midway through her third and final term in the state Senate — has not made any announcements about her political future, but is widely expected to run for attorney general in 2026, as incumbent term-limited AG Aaron Ford seeks the governor's mansion.
The bill is currently on the Senate's list of measures awaiting final approval. It will have to go back to the Assembly for lawmakers in that house to concur with the Senate's amendment, before it heads to Gov. Joe Lombardo for a signature.
