Controversial 'ag-gag' bill gets rare veto from Tennessee governor; similar bill dies in California

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, who has only vetoed two bills since coming into office in 2011, vetoed the state's controversial "ag-gag" bill Monday, saying he thought it might be unconstitutional, reports Chas Sisk for The Tennessean. The bill would have required recorded images of suspected animal cruelty on livestock farms to be turned over to police within 48 hours. Journalists and animal-welfare groups objected to the bill. (Associated Press photo by Eric Schelzig)

Haslam said, “There’s a sense in which I think that community feels besieged. That being said, there are a lot of people that said this will actually discourage reporting of abuse,” reports Sisk. The governor's office received more than 5,000 phone calls and 16,000 emails on the bill, most of them opposed to it, and an online petition calling for a veto had more than 34,000 signatures. (Read more)

Haslam's decision comes less than a month after a similar bill in California was pulled by Republican author Jim Patterson of Fresno just before it was supposed to be voted on. That law would have required footage to be turned over within 120 hours, reports Melody Gutierrez of the Sacramento Bee. Patterson said, "My intention with this bill was -- and remains to be -- the prevention of animal cruelty," and he said he hopes "we can move forward our goals of a safe food supply, strong agricultural industry, and the humane treatment of livestock." (Read more)

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/04/latest-ammendment-of-animal-cruelty-bill-creates-stir.html#storylink=cpy