Key Points:

• State lawmakers aim to prevent homeowner associations from discriminating against pets based on breed, size or weight

• Legislation now awaits a House vote 

• The proposed law would still allow HOAs to adopt reasonable rules on pet behavior

A legislative maneuver has given Arizona dog owners a new shot at barring homeowner associations from restricting pets based on breed, size or weight — but whether the full Senate will get to vote on it remains uncertain.

The bill, Senate Bill 1582, was twice blocked from a hearing by a single Senate committee chairman. Supporters then attached it to an unrelated bill to route it around his committee — but whether Republican Senate leadership will allow a floor vote remains an open question. Legislation awaiting a roll-call vote in the House would spell out in Arizona law that any rules adopted by community associations about dogs are invalid if they limit the weight of the animal. Ditto any regulations that say certain breeds are not permitted.

The issue, according to one activist, goes beyond allowing people to have the kinds of dogs they want.

“We have seen an incredible increase in the number of abandonments at shelters across the state,” said Sam Richard, a lobbyist for the Humane World for Animals, the organization formerly known as the Humane Society of the United States.

“So what we are looking for is ways in policy to encourage pet owners to stay united with their pets in every conceivable way,” he said. “And one of those ways is to prevent HOAs from restricting based on breed, size, or weight in any kind of measures.”

Richard said there is evidence of the impact of association rules.

For example, he said that most shelters have an intake form for those dropping off animals.

“Of course, it’s not mandatory,” Richard said. “But for those who self-report, one of the reasons is housing.”

That, he said, often takes the form of a dog owner moving into a community with regulations, whether single-family homes, townhomes, or condos, unaware when buying the property that existing rules preclude the pet from coming along.

The measure also has the backing of the Best Friends Animal Society.

“This section ensures that families are not subject to arbitrary restrictions on pets based on breed size or weight, policies that are not grounded in evidence and often lead to unnecessary relinquishment of beloved animals,” said lobbyist Gretchen Jacobs.

Many restrictions, she said, are arbitrary.

For example, some associations prohibit pit bulls. Others, she said, won’t allow residents to have chihuahuas “because they’re known to nip at people — allegedly.”

But what’s lost in all that, Jacobs told lawmakers, is evidence that animals behave “based on their environment and the people that are guardians.”

So what Senate Bill 1582 would do is replace any ban based on size, weight or breed with a provision that allows associations to adopt “reasonable rules” on both the number of dogs — or cats, for that matter — as well as their behavior.

“An HOA can still keep a Great Dane from a community space,” Richard said. Similarly, he said it would be permissible to say that certain kinds of dogs cannot be in the community pool area.

“But you can’t keep a resident from owning an animal in their own space that they fully own as a home,” Richard said.

Dennis Legere, representing the Arizona Homeowners Coalition, told lawmakers that the measure provides a fair balance. He said it is based on common-law principles “that protect your right to make your own choices over what’s your property and the association’s right to protect everybody else from what you do — whether it’s your behaviors, your guest’s behaviors, your pet’s behaviors.”

Alexis Glascock, who represents the Community Association Institute, said her organization is not opposed to the measure. It represents those who govern and manage homeowner associations.

Gress had previously introduced the concept through House Bill 4017. He even got the full House to approve it on a 47-7 margin.

But the bill stalled when assigned to the Senate Government Committee, and Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, who chairs that panel, refused to give it a hearing.

Hoffman also quashed Senate Bill 1729, an identical measure introduced by fellow Republican Sen. John Kavanagh of Fountain Hills, before it ever got a hearing.

Hoffman acknowledged he refused to hear either measure but would not explain his opposition.

Here’s how supporters engineered the workaround.

SB1582 was tagged onto a bill crafted by Sen. Kevin Payne. The Peoria Republican was pushing a proposal to set aside $3.2 million to fund a school safety program.

That measure, in its original form, stalled because of the price tag. So Gress convinced Payne to allow his Senate-passed bill to be stripped of its original language and used for his proposal.

Under legislative rules, if the now-amended SB1582 with its provision about pets gets final House approval, it then goes back to the full Senate — and not to Hoffman’s committee. And that would allow all senators to vote on whether they agree with the House amendments.

An affirmative vote there would send the measure to the governor.

Hoffman, however, said he’s not worried about being overridden. He said he believes that GOP leadership will never allow that vote to occur — even if what’s in the bill does have the support of the majority of lawmakers from both parties.

“The Senate doesn’t circumvent chairmen,” he said.

Even if the bill becomes law, that doesn’t resolve all problems.

Richard said nothing in the legislation applies to apartments, which remain the legal property of the landlord. He said it would take separate legislation to address the rights of pet-owning apartment dwellers.