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SALT LAKE CITY — Cities and counties would no longer be able to ban specific dog breeds under a bill the Utah Legislature passed Thursday.
Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, the sponsor of HB97, said 10 municipalities in the state have breed-banning ordinances aimed at pit bulls. Debate in the House, where it passed 41-30, centered on balance between local control and individual rights.
Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Saratoga Springs, called such laws a form of “animal bigotry and profiling" during debate in the Senate, which passed it 26-2.
“Finally, we’re having a statewide nondiscrimination and I vote yes,” said Sen. Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, a reference to a proposed law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing and employment that legislative leaders declined to consider this year.
HB97 now goes to the governor for consideration.
