BILL NUMBER: AB 2012 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 12, 2010
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 17, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 4, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 28, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Lieu
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Smyth)
FEBRUARY 17, 2010
An act to amend Section 597 of the Penal Code, relating to cruelty
to animals.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2012, Lieu. Cruelty to animals.
Existing law provides, subject to exceptions, that every person
who overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks,
tortures, torments, deprives of necessary sustenance, drink, or
shelter, cruelly beats, mutilates, or cruelly kills any animal, or
causes or procures any animal to be so overdriven, overloaded, driven
when overloaded, overworked, tortured, tormented, deprived of
necessary sustenance, drink, shelter, or to be cruelly beaten,
mutilated, or cruelly killed; and whoever, having the charge or
custody of any animal, either as owner or otherwise, subjects any
animal to needless suffering, or inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon
the animal, or in any manner abuses any animal, or fails to provide
the animal with proper food, drink, or shelter or protection from the
weather, or who drives, rides, or otherwise uses the animal when
unfit for labor, is guilty of a crime punishable as a misdemeanor or
as a felony, or alternatively as a misdemeanor or a felony and a fine
of not more than $20,000.
This bill would revise the punishment for this offense to provide
that it is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more
than one year, or in the state prison, or by a fine of not more than
$20,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. The bill would make
other technical, nonsubstantive changes.
By revising the penalty for an existing crime, this bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
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 no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 597 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
597. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (c) of this section or
Section 599c, every person who maliciously and intentionally maims,
mutilates, tortures, or wounds a living animal, or maliciously and
intentionally kills an animal, is guilty of a crime punishable
pursuant to subdivision (d).
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (a) or (c), every
person who overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks,
tortures, torments, deprives of necessary sustenance, drink, or
shelter, cruelly beats, mutilates, or cruelly kills any animal, or
causes or procures any animal to be so overdriven, overloaded, driven
when overloaded, overworked, tortured, tormented, deprived of
necessary sustenance, drink, shelter, or to be cruelly beaten,
mutilated, or cruelly killed; and whoever, having the charge or
custody of any animal, either as owner or otherwise, subjects any
animal to needless suffering, or inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon
the animal, or in any manner abuses any animal, or fails to provide
the animal with proper food, drink, or shelter or protection from the
weather, or who drives, rides, or otherwise uses the animal when
unfit for labor, is, for each offense, guilty of a crime punishable
pursuant to subdivision (d).
(c) Every person who maliciously and intentionally maims,
mutilates, or tortures any mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, or fish,
as described in subdivision (e), is guilty of a crime punishable
pursuant to subdivision (d).
(d) A violation of subdivision (a), (b), or (c) is punishable as a
felony by imprisonment in the state prison, or by a fine of not more
than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or by both that fine and
imprisonment, or alternatively, as a misdemeanor by imprisonment in a
county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more
than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or by both that fine and
imprisonment.
(e) Subdivision (c) applies to any mammal, bird, reptile,
amphibian, or fish which is a creature described as follows:
(1) Endangered species or threatened species as described in
Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3 of the Fish
and Game Code.
(2) Fully protected birds described in Section 3511 of the Fish
and Game Code.
(3) Fully protected mammals described in Chapter 8 (commencing
with Section 4700) of Part 3 of Division 4 of the Fish and Game Code.
(4) Fully protected reptiles and amphibians described in Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 5050) of Division 5 of the Fish and Game
Code.
(5) Fully protected fish as described in Section 5515 of the Fish
and Game Code.
This subdivision does not supersede or affect any provisions of
law relating to taking of the described species, including, but not
limited to, Section 12008 of the Fish and Game Code.
(f) For the purposes of subdivision (c), each act of malicious and
intentional maiming, mutilating, or torturing a separate specimen of
a creature described in subdivision (e) is a separate offense. If
any person is charged with a violation of subdivision (c), the
proceedings shall be subject to Section 12157 of the Fish and Game
Code.
(g) (1) Upon the conviction of a person charged with a violation
of this section by causing or permitting an act of cruelty, as
defined in Section 599b, all animals lawfully seized and impounded
with respect to the violation by a peace officer, officer of a humane
society, or officer of a pound or animal regulation department of a
public agency shall be adjudged by the court to be forfeited and
shall thereupon be awarded to the impounding officer for proper
disposition. A person convicted of a violation of this section by
causing or permitting an act of cruelty, as defined in Section 599b,
shall be liable to the impounding officer for all costs of
impoundment from the time of seizure to the time of proper
disposition.
(2) Mandatory seizure or impoundment shall not apply to animals in
properly conducted scientific experiments or investigations
performed under the authority of the faculty of a regularly
incorporated medical college or university of this state.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a defendant is
granted probation for a conviction under this section, the court
shall order the defendant to pay for, and successfully complete,
counseling, as determined by the court, designed to evaluate and
treat behavior or conduct disorders. If the court finds that the
defendant is financially unable to pay for that counseling, the court
may develop a sliding fee schedule based upon the defendant's
ability to pay. An indigent defendant may negotiate a deferred
payment schedule, but shall pay a nominal fee if the defendant has
the ability to pay the nominal fee. County mental health departments
or Medi-Cal shall be responsible for the costs of counseling required
by this section only for those persons who meet the medical
necessity criteria for mental health managed care pursuant to Section
1830.205 of Title 9 of the California Code of Regulations or the
targeted population criteria specified in Section 5600.3 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code. The counseling specified in this
subdivision shall be in addition to any other terms and conditions of
probation, including any term of imprisonment and any fine. This
provision specifies a mandatory additional term of probation and is
not to be utilized as an alternative in lieu of imprisonment in the
state prison or in a county jail when that sentence is otherwise
appropriate. If the court does not order custody as a condition of
probation for a conviction under this section, the court shall
specify on the court record the reason or reasons for not ordering
custody. This subdivision shall not apply to cases involving police
dogs or horses as described in Section 600.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because 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.