Animal torture bill pulled back to committee

Before the House began its debate on the health insurance exchange, Rep. Ken Andrus, R-Lava Hot Springs, asked unanimous consent of the House to pull HB 111, the bill to make third-time torture of a pet a felony, back to committee. The measure has languished for weeks on the House’s amending order, since clearing the House Agriculture Committee early in the session; Andrus, who chairs the committee, sponsored the bill. “It needs further consideration, and it needs to be returned to the Agricultural Affairs Committee,” Andrus told the House; members agreed unanimously to the move.