Bill Text: CA AB1117 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Animal abuse: penalties.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-2)
Status: (Passed) 2011-10-07 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 553, Statutes of 2011. [AB1117 Detail]
Download: California-2011-AB1117-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1117 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 553
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 7, 2011
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 7, 2011
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 22, 2011
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 12, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 20, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 11, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Smyth
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Solorio and Williams)
(Coauthors: Senators Hancock, Lieu, and Strickland)
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Section 597.1 of, and to add Section 597.9 to, the
Penal Code, relating to animal abuse.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1117, Smyth. Animal abuse: penalties.
Existing law provides that the cost of seizing, caring for, and
treating any animal seized pursuant to specified provisions regarding
the failure to care for animals shall constitute a lien on the
animal and that the animal shall not be returned to its owner until
the charges are paid. Existing law provides that no animal properly
seized pursuant to these provisions shall be returned to its owner
until, in the determination of the seizing agency or hearing officer,
the animal is physically fit, or the owner can demonstrate that he
or she can and will provide the necessary care.
This bill would additionally apply these provisions to animals
seized pursuant to a search warrant.
Existing law establishes various other crimes regarding cruelty to
animals and the failure to care for animals.
This bill would provide that any person who has been convicted of
certain of these crimes, and who within a specified period after
conviction, owns, possesses, maintains, has custody of, resides with,
or cares for any animal, is guilty of a public offense punishable by
a $1,000 fine. The bill would provide that the court may reduce the
duration of, or, in the case of livestock owners and in the interest
of justice, exempt a defendant from, these restrictions under
specified circumstances. By creating a new crime and by increasing
the duties of local humane officers, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
This bill would incorporate changes made by AB 1279 to become
operative if both this bill and AB 1279 are enacted and become
operative.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 597.1 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
597.1. (a) Every owner, driver, or keeper of any animal who
permits the animal to be in any building, enclosure, lane, street,
square, or lot of any city, county, city and county, or judicial
district without proper care and attention is guilty of a
misdemeanor. Any peace officer, humane society officer, or animal
control officer shall take possession of the stray or abandoned
animal and shall provide care and treatment for the animal until the
animal is deemed to be in suitable condition to be returned to the
owner. When the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that very
prompt action is required to protect the health or safety of the
animal or the health or safety of others, the officer shall
immediately seize the animal and comply with subdivision (f). In all
other cases, the officer shall comply with the provisions of
subdivision (g). The cost of caring for and treating any animal
properly seized under this subdivision or pursuant to a search
warrant shall constitute a lien on the animal and the animal shall
not be returned to its owner until the charges are paid, if the
seizure is upheld pursuant to this section.
(b) Every sick, disabled, infirm, or crippled animal, except a dog
or cat, that is abandoned in any city, county, city and county, or
judicial district may be killed by the officer if, after a reasonable
search, no owner of the animal can be found. It shall be the duty of
all peace officers, humane society officers, and animal control
officers to cause the animal to be killed or rehabilitated and placed
in a suitable home on information that the animal is stray or
abandoned. The officer may likewise take charge of any animal,
including a dog or cat, that by reason of lameness, sickness,
feebleness, or neglect, is unfit for the labor it is performing, or
that in any other manner is being cruelly treated, and provide care
and treatment for the animal until it is deemed to be in a suitable
condition to be returned to the owner. When the officer has
reasonable grounds to believe that very prompt action is required to
protect the health or safety of an animal or the health or safety of
others, the officer shall immediately seize the animal and comply
with subdivision (f). In all other cases, the officer shall comply
with subdivision (g). The cost of caring for and treating any animal
properly seized under this subdivision or pursuant to a search
warrant shall constitute a lien on the animal and the animal shall
not be returned to its owner until the charges are paid.
(c) (1) Any peace officer, humane society officer, or animal
control officer shall convey all injured cats and dogs found without
their owners in a public place directly to a veterinarian known by
the officer to be a veterinarian who ordinarily treats dogs and cats
for a determination of whether the animal shall be immediately and
humanely destroyed or shall be hospitalized under proper care and
given emergency treatment.
(2) If the owner does not redeem the animal within the locally
prescribed waiting period, the veterinarian may personally perform
euthanasia on the animal. If the animal is treated and recovers from
its injuries, the veterinarian may keep the animal for purposes of
adoption, provided the responsible animal control agency has first
been contacted and has refused to take possession of the animal.
(3) Whenever any animal is transferred to a veterinarian in a
clinic, such as an emergency clinic that is not in continuous
operation, the veterinarian may, in turn, transfer the animal to an
appropriate facility.
(4) If the veterinarian determines that the animal shall be
hospitalized under proper care and given emergency treatment, the
costs of any services that are provided pending the owner's inquiry
to the responsible agency, department, or society shall be paid from
the dog license fees, fines, and fees for impounding dogs in the
city, county, or city and county in which the animal was licensed or,
if the animal is unlicensed, shall be paid by the jurisdiction in
which the animal was found, subject to the provision that this cost
be repaid by the animal's owner. The cost of caring for and treating
any animal seized under this subdivision shall constitute a lien on
the animal and the animal shall not be returned to the owner until
the charges are paid. No veterinarian shall be criminally or civilly
liable for any decision that he or she makes or for services that he
or she provides pursuant to this subdivision.
(d) An animal control agency that takes possession of an animal
pursuant to subdivision (c) shall keep records of the whereabouts of
the animal from the time of possession to the end of the animal's
impoundment, and those records shall be available for inspection by
the public upon request for three years after the date the animal's
impoundment ended.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any peace
officer, humane society officer, or any animal control officer may,
with the approval of his or her immediate superior, humanely destroy
any stray or abandoned animal in the field in any case where the
animal is too severely injured to move or where a veterinarian is not
available and it would be more humane to dispose of the animal.
(f) Whenever an officer authorized under this section seizes or
impounds an animal based on a reasonable belief that prompt action is
required to protect the health or safety of the animal or the health
or safety of others, the officer shall, prior to the commencement of
any criminal proceedings authorized by this section, provide the
owner or keeper of the animal, if known or ascertainable after
reasonable investigation, with the opportunity for a postseizure
hearing to determine the validity of the seizure or impoundment, or
both.
(1) The agency shall cause a notice to be affixed to a conspicuous
place where the animal was situated or personally deliver a notice
of the seizure or impoundment, or both, to the owner or keeper within
48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. The notice shall include
all of the following:
(A) The name, business address, and telephone number of the
officer providing the notice.
(B) A description of the animal seized, including any
identification upon the animal.
(C) The authority and purpose for the seizure, or impoundment,
including the time, place, and circumstances under which the animal
was seized.
(D) A statement that, in order to receive a postseizure hearing,
the owner or person authorized to keep the animal, or his or her
agent, shall request the hearing by signing and returning an enclosed
declaration of ownership or right to keep the animal to the agency
providing the notice within 10 days, including weekends and holidays,
of the date of the notice. The declaration may be returned by
personal delivery or mail.
(E) A statement that the cost of caring for and treating any
animal properly seized under this section is a lien on the animal and
that the animal shall not be returned to the owner until the charges
are paid, and that failure to request or to attend a scheduled
hearing shall result in liability for this cost.
(2) The postseizure hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours of
the request, excluding weekends and holidays. The seizing agency may
authorize its own officer or employee to conduct the hearing if the
hearing officer is not the same person who directed the seizure or
impoundment of the animal and is not junior in rank to that person.
The agency may utilize the services of a hearing officer from outside
the agency for the purposes of complying with this section.
(3) Failure of the owner or keeper, or of his or her agent, to
request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall result in a forfeiture
of any right to a postseizure hearing or right to challenge his or
her liability for costs incurred.
(4) The agency, department, or society employing the person who
directed the seizure shall be responsible for the costs incurred for
caring and treating the animal, if it is determined in the
postseizure hearing that the seizing officer did not have reasonable
grounds to believe very prompt action, including seizure of the
animal, was required to protect the health or safety of the animal or
the health or safety of others. If it is determined the seizure was
justified, the owner or keeper shall be personally liable to the
seizing agency for the cost of the seizure and care of the animal,
the charges for the seizure and care of the animal shall be a lien on
the animal, and the animal shall not be returned to its owner until
the charges are paid and the seizing agency or hearing officer has
determined that the animal is physically fit or the owner
demonstrates to the seizing agency's or the hearing officer's
satisfaction that the owner can and will provide the necessary care.
(g) Where the need for immediate seizure is not present and prior
to the commencement of any criminal proceedings authorized by this
section, the agency shall provide the owner or keeper of the animal,
if known or ascertainable after reasonable investigation, with the
opportunity for a hearing prior to any seizure or impoundment of the
animal. The owner shall produce the animal at the time of the hearing
unless, prior to the hearing, the owner has made arrangements with
the agency to view the animal upon request of the agency, or unless
the owner can provide verification that the animal was humanely
destroyed. Any person who willfully fails to produce the animal or
provide the verification is guilty of an infraction, punishable by a
fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor more than
one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(1) The agency shall cause a notice to be affixed to a conspicuous
place where the animal was situated or personally deliver a notice
stating the grounds for believing the animal should be seized under
subdivision (a) or (b). The notice shall include all of the
following:
(A) The name, business address, and telephone number of the
officer providing the notice.
(B) A description of the animal to be seized, including any
identification upon the animal.
(C) The authority and purpose for the possible seizure or
impoundment.
(D) A statement that, in order to receive a hearing prior to any
seizure, the owner or person authorized to keep the animal, or his or
her agent, shall request the hearing by signing and returning the
enclosed declaration of ownership or right to keep the animal to the
officer providing the notice within two days, excluding weekends and
holidays, of the date of the notice.
(E) A statement that the cost of caring for and treating any
animal properly seized under this section is a lien on the animal,
that any animal seized shall not be returned to the owner until the
charges are paid, and that failure to request or to attend a
scheduled hearing shall result in a conclusive determination that the
animal may properly be seized and that the owner shall be liable for
the charges.
(2) The preseizure hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours,
excluding weekends and holidays, after receipt of the request. The
seizing agency may authorize its own officer or employee to conduct
the hearing if the hearing officer is not the same person who
requests the seizure or impoundment of the animal and is not junior
in rank to that person. The agency may utilize the services of a
hearing officer from outside the agency for the purposes of complying
with this section.
(3) Failure of the owner or keeper, or his or her agent, to
request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall result in a forfeiture
of any right to a preseizure hearing or right to challenge his or
her liability for costs incurred pursuant to this section.
(4) The hearing officer, after the hearing, may affirm or deny the
owner's or keeper's right to custody of the animal and, if
reasonable grounds are established, may order the seizure or
impoundment of the animal for care and treatment.
(h) If any animal is properly seized under this section or
pursuant to a search warrant, the owner or keeper shall be personally
liable to the seizing agency for the cost of the seizure and care of
the animal. Furthermore, if the charges for the seizure or
impoundment and any other charges permitted under this section are
not paid within 14 days of the seizure, or, if the owner, within 14
days of notice of availability of the animal to be returned, fails to
pay charges permitted under this section and take possession of the
animal, the animal shall be deemed to have been abandoned and may be
disposed of by the impounding officer.
(i) If the animal requires veterinary care and the humane society
or public agency is not assured, within 14 days of the seizure of the
animal, that the owner will provide the necessary care, the animal
shall not be returned to its owner and shall be deemed to have been
abandoned and may be disposed of by the impounding officer. A
veterinarian may humanely destroy an impounded animal without regard
to the prescribed holding period when it has been determined that the
animal has incurred severe injuries or is incurably crippled. A
veterinarian also may immediately humanely destroy an impounded
animal afflicted with a serious contagious disease unless the owner
or his or her agent immediately authorizes treatment of the animal by
a veterinarian at the expense of the owner or agent.
(j) No animal properly seized under this section or pursuant to a
search warrant shall be returned to its owner until, in the
determination of the seizing agency or hearing officer, the animal is
physically fit or the owner can demonstrate to the seizing agency's
or hearing officer's satisfaction that the owner can and will provide
the necessary care.
(k) (1) Upon the conviction of a person charged with a violation
of this section, or Section 597 or 597a, all animals lawfully seized
and impounded with respect to the violation shall be adjudged by the
court to be forfeited and shall thereupon be transferred to the
impounding officer or appropriate public entity for proper adoption
or other disposition. A person convicted of a violation of this
section shall be personally liable to the seizing agency for all
costs of impoundment from the time of seizure to the time of proper
disposition. Upon conviction, the court shall order the convicted
person to make payment to the appropriate public entity for the costs
incurred in the housing, care, feeding, and treatment of the seized
or impounded animals. Each person convicted in connection with a
particular animal may be held jointly and severally liable for
restitution for that particular animal. The payment shall be in
addition to any other fine or sentence ordered by the court.
(2) The court may also order, as a condition of probation, that
the convicted person be prohibited from owning, possessing, caring
for, or residing with, animals of any kind and require the convicted
person to immediately deliver all animals in his or her possession to
a designated public entity for adoption or other lawful disposition
or provide proof to the court that the person no longer has
possession, care, or control of any animals. In the event of the
acquittal or final discharge without conviction of the arrested
person, the court shall, on demand, direct the release of seized or
impounded animals upon a showing of proof of ownership.
(3) Any questions regarding ownership shall be determined in a
separate hearing by the court where the criminal case was finally
adjudicated and the court shall hear testimony from any persons who
may assist the court in determining ownership of the animal. If the
owner is determined to be unknown or the owner is prohibited or
unable to retain possession of the animals for any reason, the court
shall order the animals to be released to the appropriate public
entity for adoption or other lawful disposition. This section is not
intended to cause the release of any animal, bird, reptile,
amphibian, or fish seized or impounded pursuant to any other statute,
ordinance, or municipal regulation. This section shall not prohibit
the seizure or impoundment of animals as evidence as provided for
under any other provision of law.
(l) It shall be the duty of all peace officers, humane society
officers, and animal control officers to use all currently acceptable
methods of identification, both electronic and otherwise, to
determine the lawful owner or caretaker of any seized or impounded
animal. It shall also be their duty to make reasonable efforts to
notify the owner or caretaker of the whereabouts of the animal and
any procedures available for the lawful recovery of the animal and,
upon the owner's and caretaker's initiation of recovery procedures,
retain custody of the animal for a reasonable period of time to allow
for completion of the recovery process. Efforts to locate or contact
the owner or caretaker and communications with persons claiming to
be the owner or caretaker shall be recorded and maintained and be
made available for public inspection.
SEC. 1.5. Section 597.1 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
597.1. (a) Every owner, driver, or keeper of any animal who
permits the animal to be in any building, enclosure, lane, street,
square, or lot of any city, county, city and county, or judicial
district without proper care and attention is guilty of a
misdemeanor. Any peace officer, humane society officer, or animal
control officer shall take possession of the stray or abandoned
animal and shall provide care and treatment for the animal until the
animal is deemed to be in suitable condition to be returned to the
owner. When the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that very
prompt action is required to protect the health or safety of the
animal or the health or safety of others, the officer shall
immediately seize the animal and comply with subdivision (f). In all
other cases, the officer shall comply with the provisions of
subdivision (g). The cost of caring for and treating any animal
properly seized under this subdivision or pursuant to a search
warrant shall constitute a lien on the animal and the animal shall
not be returned to its owner until the charges are paid, if the
seizure is upheld pursuant to this section.
(b) Every sick, disabled, infirm, or crippled animal, except a dog
or cat, that is abandoned in any city, county, city and county, or
judicial district may be humanely euthanized by the officer if, after
a reasonable search, no owner of the animal can be found. It shall
be the duty of all peace officers, humane society officers, and
animal control officers to cause the animal to be humanely euthanized
or rehabilitated and placed in a suitable home on information that
the animal is stray or abandoned. The officer may likewise take
charge of any animal, including a dog or cat, that by reason of
lameness, sickness, feebleness, or neglect, is unfit for the labor it
is performing, or that in any other manner is being cruelly treated,
and provide care and treatment for the animal until it is deemed to
be in a suitable condition to be returned to the owner. When the
officer has reasonable grounds to believe that very prompt action is
required to protect the health or safety of an animal or the health
or safety of others, the officer shall immediately seize the animal
and comply with subdivision (f). In all other cases, the officer
shall comply with subdivision (g). The cost of caring for and
treating any animal properly seized under this subdivision or
pursuant to a search warrant shall constitute a lien on the animal
and the animal shall not be returned to its owner until the charges
are paid.
(c) (1) Any peace officer, humane society officer, or animal
control officer shall convey all injured cats and dogs found without
their owners in a public place directly to a veterinarian known by
the officer to be a veterinarian who ordinarily treats dogs and cats
for a determination of whether the animal shall be immediately and
humanely euthanized or shall be hospitalized under proper care and
given emergency treatment.
(2) If the owner does not redeem the animal within the locally
prescribed waiting period, the veterinarian may personally perform
euthanasia on the animal. If the animal is treated and recovers from
its injuries, the veterinarian may keep the animal for purposes of
adoption, provided the responsible animal control agency has first
been contacted and has refused to take possession of the animal.
(3) Whenever any animal is transferred to a veterinarian in a
clinic, such as an emergency clinic that is not in continuous
operation, the veterinarian may, in turn, transfer the animal to an
appropriate facility.
(4) If the veterinarian determines that the animal shall be
hospitalized under proper care and given emergency treatment, the
costs of any services that are provided pending the owner's inquiry
to the responsible agency, department, or society shall be paid from
the dog license fees, fines, and fees for impounding dogs in the
city, county, or city and county in which the animal was licensed or,
if the animal is unlicensed, shall be paid by the jurisdiction in
which the animal was found, subject to the provision that this cost
be repaid by the animal's owner. The cost of caring for and treating
any animal seized under this subdivision shall constitute a lien on
the animal and the animal shall not be returned to the owner until
the charges are paid. No veterinarian shall be criminally or civilly
liable for any decision that he or she makes or for services that he
or she provides pursuant to this subdivision.
(d) An animal control agency that takes possession of an animal
pursuant to subdivision (c) shall keep records of the whereabouts of
the animal from the time of possession to the end of the animal's
impoundment, and those records shall be available for inspection by
the public upon request for three years after the date the animal's
impoundment ended.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any peace
officer, humane society officer, or any animal control officer may,
with the approval of his or her immediate superior, humanely
euthanize any stray or abandoned animal in the field in any case
where the animal is too severely injured to move or where a
veterinarian is not available and it would be more humane to dispose
of the animal.
(f) Whenever an officer authorized under this section seizes or
impounds an animal based on a reasonable belief that prompt action is
required to protect the health or safety of the animal or the health
or safety of others, the officer shall, prior to the commencement of
any criminal proceedings authorized by this section, provide the
owner or keeper of the animal, if known or ascertainable after
reasonable investigation, with the opportunity for a postseizure
hearing to determine the validity of the seizure or impoundment, or
both.
(1) The agency shall cause a notice to be affixed to a conspicuous
place where the animal was situated or personally deliver a notice
of the seizure or impoundment, or both, to the owner or keeper within
48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. The notice shall include
all of the following:
(A) The name, business address, and telephone number of the
officer providing the notice.
(B) A description of the animal seized, including any
identification upon the animal.
(C) The authority and purpose for the seizure, or impoundment,
including the time, place, and circumstances under which the animal
was seized.
(D) A statement that, in order to receive a postseizure hearing,
the owner or person authorized to keep the animal, or his or her
agent, shall request the hearing by signing and returning an enclosed
declaration of ownership or right to keep the animal to the agency
providing the notice within 10 days, including weekends and holidays,
of the date of the notice. The declaration may be returned by
personal delivery or mail.
(E) A statement that the cost of caring for and treating any
animal properly seized under this section is a lien on the animal and
that the animal shall not be returned to the owner until the charges
are paid, and that failure to request or to attend a scheduled
hearing shall result in liability for this cost.
(2) The postseizure hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours of
the request, excluding weekends and holidays. The seizing agency may
authorize its own officer or employee to conduct the hearing if the
hearing officer is not the same person who directed the seizure or
impoundment of the animal and is not junior in rank to that person.
The agency may utilize the services of a hearing officer from outside
the agency for the purposes of complying with this section.
(3) Failure of the owner or keeper, or of his or her agent, to
request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall result in a forfeiture
of any right to a postseizure hearing or right to challenge his or
her liability for costs incurred.
(4) The agency, department, or society employing the person who
directed the seizure shall be responsible for the costs incurred for
caring and treating the animal, if it is determined in the
postseizure hearing that the seizing officer did not have reasonable
grounds to believe very prompt action, including seizure of the
animal, was required to protect the health or safety of the animal or
the health or safety of others. If it is determined the seizure was
justified, the owner or keeper shall be personally liable to the
seizing agency for the cost of the seizure and care of the animal,
the charges for the seizure and care of the animal shall be a lien on
the animal, and the animal shall not be returned to its owner until
the charges are paid and the seizing agency or hearing officer has
determined that the animal is physically fit or the owner
demonstrates to the seizing agency's or the hearing officer's
satisfaction that the owner can and will provide the necessary care.
(g) Where the need for immediate seizure is not present and prior
to the commencement of any criminal proceedings authorized by this
section, the agency shall provide the owner or keeper of the animal,
if known or ascertainable after reasonable investigation, with the
opportunity for a hearing prior to any seizure or impoundment of the
animal. The owner shall produce the animal at the time of the hearing
unless, prior to the hearing, the owner has made arrangements with
the agency to view the animal upon request of the agency, or unless
the owner can provide verification that the animal was humanely
euthanized. Any person who willfully fails to produce the animal or
provide the verification is guilty of an infraction, punishable by a
fine of not less than two
hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor more than one thousand dollars
($1,000).
(1) The agency shall cause a notice to be affixed to a conspicuous
place where the animal was situated or personally deliver a notice
stating the grounds for believing the animal should be seized under
subdivision (a) or (b). The notice shall include all of the
following:
(A) The name, business address, and telephone number of the
officer providing the notice.
(B) A description of the animal to be seized, including any
identification upon the animal.
(C) The authority and purpose for the possible seizure or
impoundment.
(D) A statement that, in order to receive a hearing prior to any
seizure, the owner or person authorized to keep the animal, or his or
her agent, shall request the hearing by signing and returning the
enclosed declaration of ownership or right to keep the animal to the
officer providing the notice within two days, excluding weekends and
holidays, of the date of the notice.
(E) A statement that the cost of caring for and treating any
animal properly seized under this section is a lien on the animal,
that any animal seized shall not be returned to the owner until the
charges are paid, and that failure to request or to attend a
scheduled hearing shall result in a conclusive determination that the
animal may properly be seized and that the owner shall be liable for
the charges.
(2) The preseizure hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours,
excluding weekends and holidays, after receipt of the request. The
seizing agency may authorize its own officer or employee to conduct
the hearing if the hearing officer is not the same person who
requests the seizure or impoundment of the animal and is not junior
in rank to that person. The agency may utilize the services of a
hearing officer from outside the agency for the purposes of complying
with this section.
(3) Failure of the owner or keeper, or his or her agent, to
request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall result in a forfeiture
of any right to a preseizure hearing or right to challenge his or
her liability for costs incurred pursuant to this section.
(4) The hearing officer, after the hearing, may affirm or deny the
owner's or keeper's right to custody of the animal and, if
reasonable grounds are established, may order the seizure or
impoundment of the animal for care and treatment.
(h) If any animal is properly seized under this section or
pursuant to a search warrant, the owner or keeper shall be personally
liable to the seizing agency for the cost of the seizure and care of
the animal. Furthermore, if the charges for the seizure or
impoundment and any other charges permitted under this section are
not paid within 14 days of the seizure, or, if the owner, within 14
days of notice of availability of the animal to be returned, fails to
pay charges permitted under this section and take possession of the
animal, the animal shall be deemed to have been abandoned and may be
humanely euthanized by the impounding officer.
(i) If the animal requires veterinary care and the humane society
or public agency is not assured, within 14 days of the seizure of the
animal, that the owner will provide the necessary care, the animal
shall not be returned to its owner and shall be deemed to have been
abandoned and may be disposed of by the impounding officer. A
veterinarian may humanely euthanize an impounded animal without
regard to the prescribed holding period when it has been determined
that the animal has incurred severe injuries or is incurably
crippled. A veterinarian also may immediately humanely euthanize an
impounded animal afflicted with a serious contagious disease unless
the owner or his or her agent immediately authorizes treatment of the
animal by a veterinarian at the expense of the owner or agent.
(j) No animal properly seized under this section or pursuant to a
search warrant shall be returned to its owner until, in the
determination of the seizing agency or hearing officer, the animal is
physically fit or the owner can demonstrate to the seizing agency's
or hearing officer's satisfaction that the owner can and will provide
the necessary care.
(k) (1) Upon the conviction of a person charged with a violation
of this section, or Section 597 or 597a, all animals lawfully seized
and impounded with respect to the violation shall be adjudged by the
court to be forfeited and shall thereupon be transferred to the
impounding officer or appropriate public entity for proper adoption
or other disposition. A person convicted of a violation of this
section shall be personally liable to the seizing agency for all
costs of impoundment from the time of seizure to the time of proper
disposition. Upon conviction, the court shall order the convicted
person to make payment to the appropriate public entity for the costs
incurred in the housing, care, feeding, and treatment of the seized
or impounded animals. Each person convicted in connection with a
particular animal may be held jointly and severally liable for
restitution for that particular animal. The payment shall be in
addition to any other fine or sentence ordered by the court.
(2) The court may also order, as a condition of probation, that
the convicted person be prohibited from owning, possessing, caring
for, or residing with, animals of any kind and require the convicted
person to immediately deliver all animals in his or her possession to
a designated public entity for adoption or other lawful disposition
or provide proof to the court that the person no longer has
possession, care, or control of any animals. In the event of the
acquittal or final discharge without conviction of the arrested
person, the court shall, on demand, direct the release of seized or
impounded animals upon a showing of proof of ownership.
(3) Any questions regarding ownership shall be determined in a
separate hearing by the court where the criminal case was finally
adjudicated and the court shall hear testimony from any persons who
may assist the court in determining ownership of the animal. If the
owner is determined to be unknown or the owner is prohibited or
unable to retain possession of the animals for any reason, the court
shall order the animals to be released to the appropriate public
entity for adoption or other lawful disposition. This section is not
intended to cause the release of any animal, bird, reptile,
amphibian, or fish seized or impounded pursuant to any other statute,
ordinance, or municipal regulation. This section shall not prohibit
the seizure or impoundment of animals as evidence as provided for
under any other provision of law.
(l) It shall be the duty of all peace officers, humane society
officers, and animal control officers to use all currently acceptable
methods of identification, both electronic and otherwise, to
determine the lawful owner or caretaker of any seized or impounded
animal. It shall also be their duty to make reasonable efforts to
notify the owner or caretaker of the whereabouts of the animal and
any procedures available for the lawful recovery of the animal and,
upon the owner's and caretaker's initiation of recovery procedures,
retain custody of the animal for a reasonable period of time to allow
for completion of the recovery process. Efforts to locate or contact
the owner or caretaker and communications with persons claiming to
be the owner or caretaker shall be recorded and maintained and be
made available for public inspection.
SEC. 2. Section 597.9 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
597.9. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (c) or (d), any
person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor violation of
subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 597, or Section 597a, 597b, 597h,
597j, 597s, or 597.1, and who, within five years after the
conviction, owns, possesses, maintains, has custody of, resides with,
or cares for any animal is guilty of a public offense, punishable by
a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c) or (d), any person who
has been convicted of a felony violation of subdivision (a) or (b) of
Section 597, or Section 597b or 597.5, and who, within 10 years
after the conviction, owns, possesses, maintains, has custody of,
resides with, or cares for any animal is guilty of a public offense,
punishable by a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(c) (1) In cases of owners of livestock, as defined in Section
14205 of the Food and Agricultural Code, a court may, in the interest
of justice, exempt a defendant from the injunction required under
subdivision (a) or (b), as it would apply to livestock, if the
defendant files a petition with the court to establish that the
imposition of the provisions of this section would result in
substantial or undue economic hardship to the defendant's livelihood
and that the defendant has the ability to properly care for all
livestock in his or her possession.
(2) Upon receipt of a petition from the defendant, the court shall
set a hearing to be conducted within 30 days after the filing of the
petition. The petitioner shall serve a copy of the petition upon the
prosecuting attorney 10 calendar days prior to the requested
hearing. The court shall grant the petition for exemption from
subdivision (a) or (b) unless the prosecuting attorney shows by a
preponderance of the evidence that either or both of the criteria for
exemption under this subdivision are untrue.
(d) (1) A defendant may petition the court to reduce the duration
of the mandatory ownership prohibition. Upon receipt of a petition
from the defendant, the court shall set a hearing to be conducted
within 30 days after the filing of the petition. The petitioner shall
serve a copy of the petition upon the prosecuting attorney 10
calendar days prior to the requested hearing. At the hearing, the
petitioner shall have the burden of establishing probable cause to
believe all of the following:
(A) He or she does not present a danger to animals.
(B) He or she has the ability to properly care for all animals in
his or her possession.
(C) He or she has successfully completed all classes or counseling
ordered by the court.
(2) If the petitioner has met his or her burden, the court may
reduce the mandatory ownership prohibition and may order that the
defendant comply with reasonable and unannounced inspections by
animal control agencies or law enforcement.
SEC. 3. Section 1.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to
Section 597.1 of the Penal Code proposed by both this bill and
Assembly Bill 1279. It shall only become operative if (1) both bills
are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2012, (2)
each bill amends Section 597.1 of the Penal Code, and (3) this bill
is enacted after Assembly Bill 1279, in which case Section 1 of this
bill shall not become operative.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of
Title 2 of the Government Code.
