Committee approves bill to tighten equine-sales traceability and recordkeeping

The Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee approved House Bill 2555, a measure to strengthen traceability and consumer protections in equine sales, during its meeting. The bill requires horses sold through dealers or livestock and horse auctions to have a current negative equine infectious anemia (Coggins) test before transport and directs dealers to retain identifying records — including microchips, tattoos, brands and veterinary inspection documents — for two years for horses entering Pennsylvania from other states.

Representative Hanbridge, the bill sponsor, said the proposal "strengthens protections for Pennsylvania's equine industry while improving transparency and accountability in horse sales," and argued inconsistent documentation and falsified paperwork have made disease tracing difficult during outbreaks. Destiny, the committee staff member who summarized the legislation, told members a technical amendment (03430) was intended to correct an irrelevant dealer provision and to align an auctioneer definition; the chair said the amendment was accepted after no negative voice votes.

A committee member who spoke in support said standard breeders told her they already follow these practices and that microchipping all horses would reduce confusion: "I personally would like to see all horses mic or chipped so that there is no confusion," she said. Another member thanked the bill sponsor and said inconsistent documentation across the state ‘‘puts everybody at risk.’’

The chair called for negative votes and announced that House Bill 2555 passes the committee by voice vote; individual roll-call tallies were not recorded in the transcript. The bill passed the committee and, per committee practice, will proceed according to legislative rules.