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Interim Legislative Report
By Priscilla Gabosh
October 4, 2004
A1135 was
heard in Assembly Committee Financial Institutions &
Insurance Monday, October 3, 2004. Before the
Committee meeting, a similar bill A2373 was combined
with A1135. The resultant combined bill prohibits the
use of certain underwriting guidelines which result in
the declination or termination of homeowners insurance
policy based upon the type or specific breed of dog
harbored on the insured property.
An original
provision of the bill would not apply if the dog
harbored on the property is declared potentially
dangerous or vicious by a municipal court was removed.
Based on testimony that shelters also can be (and have
been) denied insurance because they harbor specific
breeds of dogs, it is likely that an amendment will be
made to include shelters and boarding kennels.
Assemblyman
Joseph Azzolina and Assemblywoman Nilsa Cruz-Perez were
the two Primary Sponsors. At the meeting, Committee
Chair Neil Cohen (Deputy Majority Leader of the
Assembly) added himself as a Sponsor of the Bill.
The NJFDC
supports this bill and provided testimony (the text will
be in the next Newsletter).
What you can
do:
- Contact each
committee member and thank him/her for their vote.
- Contact Albio
Sires, Speaker of the Assembly and urge him to bring
this for a vote.
- Contact your
Assemblyman/woman and tell him/her of your support of
this bill.
- Get as many
signatures as possible on the petition on our
web-site. This alerts everyone of the bill and is
effective supporting documentation as we provide
additional testimony or meet with the legislators.
Go to
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp
for legislator contact information. You can contact
them by email, phone, or letter.
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