Elder Vogel

As the Dog Law Modernization Bill, proposed by state Sen. Elder Vogel, R-47th, advances from the House this week, officials in the county urged dog owners to proactively renew their licenses ahead of fee changes.

“Sen. Vogel wrote up a bill last year, then he had to reintroduce it in this session,” Butler County Treasurer Diane Marburger said. “Senate Bill 746, which gives a slight increase for the annual dog licenses and an increase on the lifetime licenses.”

Vogel’s bill includes a gradual fee increase to $10 for annual dog licenses and $49 for lifetime dog licenses by 2027 — striking previous discounts for spayed or neutered animals.

Seniors ages 65 and older will be eligible for a $2 discount on annual licenses and a $16 discount on lifetime licenses, according to the bill.

Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement fees have not seen an increase in 25 years. The bill, according to Vogel, would help fund deficits for the struggling department.

“I have worked diligently with the Department of Agriculture and other stakeholders to ensure updates to our Dog Law would benefit the BDLE and prioritize resident and animal safety,” Vogel wrote in statement.

While the increases won’t begin until 2025, Marburger said the bill would additionally increase compensation charges starting in 2024 to help offset inflating costs for dog enforcement agents like her.

She said annual dog license compensation charges would increase by 20 cents and lifetime license charges would increase by $2.20 — primarily to cover the nearly 70 cent cost of postage.

“I sell maybe 26- to 27,000 licenses annually, so it’s not a whole lot of money,” Marburger said. “But that 70 cents, I do keep to cover postage, envelopes, glue … and, if I have any leftover, I could do advertising.”

While Marburger said the cost increases were “slight,” she encouraged owners to renew their licenses for 2024 as soon as possible to avoid any confusion or additional fees.

With the county preparing to begin renewals next month, she said her office has already sent out renewal forms with the current prices on them.

“By law, I’m to start selling licenses for 2024 on Dec. 1, but this law doesn’t go into effect for at least 90 days,” she said. “So if the governor signs it today, these prices do not go into effect until the 16th or 17th of January.”

Until the law takes effect, the county will continue renewals at its current rates — including increased discounts for seniors as well as discounts for spayed and neutered dogs.

Marburger warned the timing of the bill could lead to frustrations for owners who wait to return renewal forms until after the law is enacted, with customers then needing to send additional funds.

“The way they wrote the law, I don’t think they ever anticipated that they’d still be fighting over the budget,” she said. “This should have been done in June and signed by the governor.”

With the divided state legislature in a stalemate over the primary budget, Vogel’s bill has been delayed in the House since June — finally passing Oct. 18.

“This grappling over the budget has impacted this office and every treasurer across the commonwealth,” Marburger said. “Now we will have a period of a little turmoil, but we’ll be trying to clean up all this stuff.”

Marburger said owners could renew annual licenses before the law takes effect online through the county’s website or through the treasurer’s office at 124 W. Diamond St.

“Do it now,” she said. “Go online or mail in your paper renewals — let’s get it done before then.”