Legislation to regulate puppy mills is getting watered down in the Pennsylvania Senate, according to Nancy Gardener, a member of the state Dog Law Advisory Board.

The bill is moving, but came out of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee with two omnibus packages of amendments sponsored by committee chairman Sen. Michael W. Brubaker, R-Lititz.

"I think these amendments are creating loopholes, immediately and into the future," said Gardener, president of the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter. "This mirrors what was attempted in the House."

Sen. John Eichelberger, R-Hollidaysburg, voted for the amendments, but was the lone committee member to vote against the amended bill.

"It will hurt our industry," he said. "People will pay more for their dogs and buy from states that can produce more dogs."

The amendments did not correct enough issues in the bill, Eichelberger said.

The group that Gov. Ed Rendell assigned to correct problems with the state's dog breeding industry rewrote the state Dog Law rather than finding common ground with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which also regulates large kennels, or working with veterinarians to establish a healthy dog program for different breeds, he said.

The amendments, passed 11-0 by committee members, include:

- Kennels that have not been cited for violations in the past three years are not required to make the changes required in the legislation.

- Slatted floors would be allowed. The original proposes solid flooring only.

- If local zoning prohibits outdoor runs, existing kennels are exempted from the requirement for outdoor exercise.

- The amended legislation raises maximum cage height to 30 inches, from 12 inches in the original. It could allow for stacking of cages, and dogs could be kept in rabbit hutches, according to Gardener.

- Rabies vaccinations must be given under the supervision of a veterinarian, rather than by a veterinarian.

- If the temperature in a kennel exceeds 85 degrees, the owner needs only to "make an effort" to lower the temperature. The original bill set a 50- to 85-degree temperature range and would have required air conditioning, Eichelberger said.

- Kennel owners have a year, instead of six months, to abide by the legislation.

- A Canine Health Board of seven veterinarians would review requests for exemptions to venting, flooring and lighting for breeding kennels.

"In two to four years, they could undo all the good this bill does," Gardener said.

"The biggest problem I have is that dogs must have unfettered access to outdoor exercise," Eichelberger said. "People with large kennels are going to have to rebuild their entire kennels."

Cages must be next to outside walls rather than in the center of the building, he said. Large kennels will lose half their space to comply with the requirement for outside exercise.

Gardener said that exempting kennels that have not been cited for violations will not help the animals. Many existing, compliant kennels stack cages with wire floors.

"There are lot of bad, bad kennels that have had no citations, so they're not going to have to make any changes," Gardener said.

The agriculture committee sent the amended bill out of committee by a 10-1 vote. Sen. Terry Punt, R-Waynesboro, voted in favor.

The bill is now in the Senate Appropriations Committee and is expected to come before the full Senate after Oct. 6, according to a spokeswoman for Punt.

Legislative leaders have called for concluding business by the Nov. 4 election to avoid a lame duck session.