Floridians may face new restrictions on how they transport their dogs thanks to a bill that is in the state senate. If introduced, the bill would make it illegal for a driver to have a dog on their lap, or for the dog to stick their head out of a moving car window.
Florida state senate Bill 932 was introduced be state Senator Lauren Book, and is intended to introduce a variety of protections for animals, including a ban on the declawing of cats, and the use of animal testing in beauty products, reports USA Today.
In addition, the bill has provisions that would make it illegal for a dog to be transported “on a running board, fender, hood, or roof of a motor vehicle,” as well as in a trunk or enclosed cargo space.
Read: Last State Not To Require Seatbelts Attempts To Draw Line At Pets On Laps, Faces Pushback
Florida motorists would also be barred from transporting a dog in a vehicle that is being towed. If they are in the bed of a pickup truck, meanwhile, the bill requires that they are in a well-ventilated crate that allows them to have good footing, provides them with safety from bad weather, and is protected from direct sunlight.
Within the cabin of a vehicle, meanwhile, the law would require drivers to secure their dogs with a crate that is appropriate for the dog’s size, or be secured with a harness or seatbelt (other than a neck restraint). A dog could be physically restrained by a passenger, but the driver cannot be the one doing it.
If it passes, violators would face a moving violation citation, but the charges would not count as a criminal traffic infraction.
The second state this year to attempt to introduce such a law, New Hampshire is also in the process of passing a bill that would prevent drivers from holding a dog on their laps while in control of a motor vehicle.
In that state, the proposed legislation faced stern pushback from some drivers, who felt that the government should “stay out of people’s cars and let people have a small slice of happiness in the sanctity of their own vehicles.”
