BILL NUMBER: AB 241 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Nava
FEBRUARY 10, 2009
An act to add Section 597.8 to the Penal Code, relating to
animals.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 241, as amended, Nava. Dogs and cats: breeders.
breeding for sale.
Existing law specifies that certain conduct
proscribes specified acts against animals is
criminal and imposes criminal penalties for a
violation .
This bill would make it a misdemeanor for an individual
or business that buys or sells dogs or cats any person
to have more than a combined total of 50 unsterilized
dogs and cats with intact sexual organs
for breeding or raising them for sale as pets , as specified.
The bill would authorize certain officers to investigate a
violation of that provision, as provided, and to lawfully
take possession of an animal kept in violation of that provision, as
specified.
Because this bill would create a new crime, it 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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
Responsible Breeder Act of 2009.
SEC. 2. Section 597.8 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
597.8. (a) No individual or business that buys or sells
dogs or cats to the public or at wholesale person
shall own, possess, control, or otherwise have charge or
custody of more than a combined total of 50 unsterilized
dogs and cats with intact sexual organs. An individual or
business at any time used for the purpose of breeding
or raising dogs or cats for sale as pets, or for the
purpose of producing offspring from dogs or cats for sale as pets. An
y person that must reduce the number of
intact unsterilized dogs or cats in order to
comply with this section shall spay or neuter the excess animals or
sell, transfer, or relinquish the excess animals within 30 days
following notification by authorities specified in subdivision (b)
. If necessary, any euthanasia procedures shall be performed by
a California licensed veterinarian.
(b) A peace officer, humane society officer, or animal control
officer may, upon receiving a complaint or upon his or her own
motion, investigate a violation of subdivision (a). The investigation
may include (1) the inspection of the books and records of an
individual or business that buys or sells dogs or cats to the public
or at wholesale and (2) the inspection of any place where dogs or
cats are bred or maintained. In conducting the inspection, the
officer may, during daytime operating hours, enter any premises where
animals may be bred or maintained. If the place or premises include
a home or residence, the officer shall obtain the consent of the
owner, tenant, or resident before entering the home or residence. An
individual or business that is the subject of an investigation under
this section shall, upon request of the officer, provide assistance
to the officer in making an inspection authorized by this section.
(c)
(b) A peace officer, humane society
officer, or animal control officer may lawfully take possession of an
animal kept in violation of this section when necessary to protect
the health or safety of the animal or the health or safety of others.
An officer that seizes an animal under this subdivision shall comply
with paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (f)
of Section 597.1.
(d) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(e) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) A publicly operated animal control facility or duly
incorporated private animal shelter.
(2) A veterinary facility.
(3) A retail pet store.
(4)
(3) A research institution
facility, as defined in Section 2132(e) of Title 7 of the United
States Code .
SEC. 3. 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.