Bill Text: MI HB4596 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Animals; cats; establishment and promotion of community cat programs; provide for. Creates new act.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-05-16 - Bill Electronically Reproduced 05/16/2019 [HB4596 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2019-HB4596-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL No. 4596
May 15, 2019, Introduced by Reps. Pohutsky, Hammoud, Brann, Tyrone Carter, Manoogian, Kuppa, Cambensy, Hertel, Whitsett and Brixie and referred to the Committee on Agriculture.
A bill to promote the welfare and care of community cats; to
promote the establishment and implementation of community cat
programs; and to exempt community cats and certain individuals and
organizations from certain statutes and local ordinances concerning
the care, treatment, and possession or ownership of cats.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. As used in this act:
(a) "Animal control officer" means a county, city, village, or
township animal control officer as described in sections 29a, 29b,
and 29c of the dog law of 1919, 1919 PA 339, MCL 287.289a,
287.289b, and 287.289c.
(b) "Animal shelter" means an animal control shelter or animal
protection shelter as those terms are defined under section 1 of
1969 PA 287, MCL 287.331.
(c) "Cat" means a member of the species Felis catus.
(d) "Community cat" means a free-roaming cat that does not
have a visibly discernable, or microchip, identification. Community
cat includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(i) A cat that has been ear-tipped to indicate that the cat is
sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, and currently part of a
community cat program.
(ii) A cat that is known to be currently under the care of 1
or more residents in the area where the cat is found.
(iii) A cat that is found outside with no valid
identification, or is not known to be under the care of 1 or more
residents in the area where the cat is found, that is brought to an
animal shelter and determined to not be sterilized, vaccinated
against rabies, or ear-tipped.
(e) "Community cat caretaker" means a person that provides
care to a community cat in the form of food, water, shelter, and
veterinary care.
(f) "Community cat colony" means a group of cats that
congregate together. Community cat colony includes a colony in
which community cats and cats that are owned by or in the
possession of a person, as determined by the law of this state or a
local ordinance, regulation, or resolution, congregate together.
(g) "Community cat program" means a program under which a
community cat is humanely trapped, sterilized, vaccinated against
rabies, ear-tipped, and returned to the location where it was
found.
(h) "Ear-tipped" means approximately 1/4 inch of the tip of a
cat's left ear has been removed in a straight line to indicate that
the animal has been sterilized and vaccinated against rabies.
(i) "Sponsor" means an individual or organization that
humanely traps community cats and ensures that the cats are
sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, and ear-tipped before
returning them to the location where they were trapped. Sponsor
includes, but is not limited to, an animal shelter, a nonprofit
organization for animals, an animal rescue organization, or an
animal adoption organization.
Sec. 2. The following do not apply to a community cat:
(a) Any licensing requirement, at-large provision, or feeding
ban under a law of this state or under a local ordinance,
regulation, or resolution.
(b) Any law of this state or any local ordinance, regulation,
or resolution that applies to an animal that is owned by or in the
possession of a person, as determined by the law of this state or a
local ordinance, regulation, or resolution.
Sec. 3. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a sponsor that operates
a community cat program may release a community cat received by the
sponsor prior to the expiration of any required holding period for
stray animals imposed under a law of this state or a local
ordinance, regulation, or resolution. The sponsor may release the
community cat into the community at-large at the location where it
was found or to a sponsor that operates a community cat program.
(2) A sponsor shall not release a community cat under
subsection (1) unless prior to its release the cat is, or is
determined to be, sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, and ear-
tipped. A sponsor shall not ear-tip a community cat unless the cat
is anesthetized during the procedure.
Sec. 4. (1) A sponsor or community cat caretaker that is
operating as a participant in a community cat program shall not be
considered under any law of this state or any local ordinance,
regulation, or resolution the owner, custodian, harborer,
possessor, or keeper of a community cat that is under the care of
the sponsor or caretaker.
(2) The care and treatment of a community cat is not exempt
from any law of this state or any local ordinance, regulation, or
resolution that prohibits cruelty to or neglect of animals.
(3) The release of a community cat at the location where it
was found, after sterilization, vaccination against rabies, and
ear-tipping, shall not be considered abandonment under any law of
this state or any local ordinance, regulation, or resolution.
(4) A sponsor or community cat caretaker shall maintain for
not less than 3 years the sterilization and rabies vaccination
records of a community cat that is or was in the care of the
sponsor or caretaker. The sponsor or caretaker shall make the
records available to an animal control officer upon reasonable
request.
(5) This section does not limit the enforcement of any law of
this state or any local ordinance, regulation, or resolution that
requires the sterilization of a cat.
(6) A community cat shall not be included in the number of
animals permitted to be owned by or under the care of a person
under any law of this state or any local ordinance, regulation, or
resolution as applied to a community cat sponsor or caretaker.
(7) A sponsor or community cat caretaker shall make reasonable
efforts to do all of the following:
(a) Ensure that a community cat that is under the care of the
sponsor or caretaker is sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, and
ear-tipped.
(b) Humanely trap and remove socialized kittens and socialized
cats for adoptive placement.
(c) Arrange for veterinary care for a community cat that is
suffering from illness or injury.
Enacting section 1. This act takes effect January 1, 2020.
