Gov. DeSantis, Floridians love pets. Veto this bill that helps puppy mills | Editorial

Puppies may be the one remaining issue that can still unite conservatives, liberals and moderates in deeply divided Florida.

Vetoing a bill that could benefit pet-sellers who deal with unscrupulous puppy mills would be a win-win for Gov. Ron DeSantis. He’d help local governments that might want to cut down or ban puppy mill sales. He would also come across as a maverick, as he did when he vetoed another controversial measure, that one backed by Florida Power & Light, to undermine solar-power expansion.

It’s easy to be swayed by Senate Bill 620’s inspirational title, “Local Business Protection Act.” But this legislation is all about the state controlling what local governments can do, down to a granular level. It would allow businesses that have been in a jurisdiction for at least three years to sue a local government that enacts or amends an ordinances that causes a drop of at least 15% in profits. The bill makes exceptions for emergency, zoning, fire and building regulations but is so broad and vague it could open taxpayers up to costly legal battles over even the most popular measures — such banning puppy-mill pet sales.

One of the businesses that stands to benefit from SB 620 is Petland, the largest retailer selling puppies for profit, with about a dozen Florida locations, including in Kendall, Doral and Pembroke Pines. The company for years has fought regulations that local governments have passed to stop the sale of pets from puppy mills. These high-volume dog breeding facilities concentrated in the Midwest churn out puppies like a factory. Federal regulations are lax and animals are often kept in cages all their lives.

The big prize for the puppy mill industry would have been a different bill to lift recent bans on puppy sales in Orange and Manatee counties. Those would have been replaced with a state licensing system that animal welfare advocates like the Humane Society say is riddled with loopholes. Luckily, Senate Bill 994 and companion House Bill 869 died in the 2022 legislative session. But the “Local Business Protection Act” might be the next best thing for the industry.

Pet store bans

Florida has 87 pet-selling stores, more than any other state, according to John Goodwin, senior director of the Stop Puppy Mills Campaign at the Humane Society of the United States. With few exceptions, pet stores usually rely on puppy mills, he said. Forty-seven stores in Florida received dogs from breeders featured on the Human Society’s 2022 Horrible Hundred dealers.

“High-volume pet retailers rely on high-volume pet breeders,” Goodwin told the Herald Editorial Board.

More than 80 counties and cities in Florida have banned pet sales, including 17 municipalities in Miami-Dade County such as Miami Beach, Coral Gables, the city of Miami and Homestead, according to a Humane Society tally. Miami-Dade County government regulates pet sales and breeders but doesn’t go as far as banning them.

If DeSantis signs SB 620 into law, existing ordinances won’t go away but local governments might not be able to strengthen them or pass new ones without risking legal action. That would affect Miami-Dade County if, for example, the commission wanted to toughen its existing rules on pet-selling, Goodwin said.

DeSantis’ team tried to convince Senate leadership to amend the bill to exempt regulations that protect animal welfare, according to emails obtained by the online news website Seeking Rents.

“A local ordinance regulating puppy mills would expose the local government to legal action by the puppy mills,” read an email from DeSantis’ legislative affairs director to Senate President Wilton Simpson’s office.

House Democrats proposed a similar amendment but sponsor Rep. Lawrence McClure, R-Tampa, urged his colleagues to vote against it. The amendment died by a 69-46 vote in March. McClure’s political committee received a $10,000 check from Petland after session ended. The company also has funneled campaign donations to Simpson, who’s running for commissioner of agriculture.

There are many reasons SB 620 is a bad idea for those who believe in the American principle of local rule. That alone probably isn’t enough to convince DeSantis to veto it. He signed a power-grabbing law last year that overturned a Key West referendum to impose limits on cruise ships.

So do it for the puppies, governor.