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Committee weighs bill to allow engines to run briefly to protect pets
Summary
SB 5833 would allow a vehicle to be left running up to 30 minutes to provide climate control for a pet and create a presumption against civil infraction when owners keep engines running to protect animals; animal-welfare groups and law-enforcement organizations urged changes to liability and enforcement language.
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Law and Justice Committee on Jan. 19 considered SB 5833, a bill that would make it lawful to leave a vehicle engine running for up to 30 minutes to protect a pet from extreme temperatures while creating a presumption that no civil infraction occurred when the engine is used for climate control.
Tim Ford, staff to the committee, described the measure as carving out an exception to current rules that make it an infraction to leave a motor vehicle unattended if it could harm an animal. The bill would also authorize…
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