Council refers update to dog regulations to comply with state's "Ali's law"

President Ashley Shade introduced a proposed ordinance to update Chapter 27 (dog regulations) to bring North Adams into compliance with Massachusetts Chapter 213 of the Acts of 2024 (commonly called "Ali's law"). The proposed update would add elements required by the state, including mandatory inspections prior to license renewal, 24‑hour injury reporting, standardized recordkeeping, local authority to set and enforce kennel capacity, and explicit inspection authority for the animal control officer.

"My goal is to refer this to the public safety committee for review," President Shade said while reading a summary of the proposed revisions. Councilors noted the law's reporting requirements come into effect this year and asked about the number of facilities affected; staff said there is no current local reporting mechanism and that the city must begin identifying licensed kennels, training facilities, boarding operations and day‑care operations that fall under the new definitions.

The council voted to refer the ordinance to the Public Safety Committee, then to General Government and the solicitor, with a return date in late May so the city can meet state reporting timelines. Councilors and staff said the referral is intended to create a local process for licensing and to enable timely reporting to the state by the June deadline.

Next steps: referral to Public Safety and General Government and solicitor review; staff to begin identifying affected facilities so the city can meet the state's reporting requirements.