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Council adopts Bill 27-24, shortens animal shelter holding period and revises notice rules
Summary
Bill 27-24 reduces the county impound holding period from five days to three for stray animals, aligns notice practices with existing posting practices, and passed on final reading with unanimous roll-call support.
The Montgomery County Council approved Bill 27-24 on final reading, amending county animal-control impoundment and disposition rules to reduce the required holding period and to clarify notice requirements.
Chair of the Public Safety Committee, Councilmember Katz, said the intent of Bill 27-24 was to address overcrowding at the county animal shelter and shorten the timeline for adoption. The amended bill reduces the local statutorily required hold from five days to three days for stray animals — aligning the county’s hold period with the current state law, the committee report said — and revises notice provisions to reflect current practice, including posting notice on an animal owner’s door.
The committee made two substantive amendments during its work session: clarifying additional notice to be sent in the event of an animal seizure to ensure due-process protections, and applying the reduced hold time specifically to stray animals rather than to animals seized from an owner. Committee staff confirmed the amended version was included in the staff report.
The measure went to a roll-call vote and passed unanimously. The clerk called the roll and recorded the following yes votes: Councilmember Dawn Lukey; Councilmember Mink; Councilmember Sayles; Councilmember Glass; Councilmember Katz; Councilmember Albernaz; Councilmember Fontaine Gonzales; Councilmember Balcom; Councilmember Dewando; Councilmember Stewart; and other members present, all recorded as voting yes. The chair noted the public-safety committee had recommended approval with amendments and thanked county staff who helped draft the bill.
The bill’s effective changes shorten the hold time for stray animals and require that additional notice procedures be followed in seizure cases; the council did not identify an immediate effective date in the session minutes provided, and administrative staff will implement revised intake and notice procedures consistent with the amended county code.
