Bill Text: VA HB2307 | 2019 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Police animals; killing or injuring, penalty.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-05 - Left in Courts of Justice [HB2307 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2019-HB2307-Prefiled.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §18.2-144.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§18.2-144.1. Prohibition against killing or injuring police animals; penalty.
It shall be is unlawful for any person to
maliciously shoot, stab, wound or otherwise cause bodily injury to, or
administer poison to or expose poison with intent that it be taken by a dog,
horse, or other animal owned, used, or trained by a
law-enforcement agency, regional jail, or
the Department of Corrections while such animal is performing his its
lawful duties or is being kept in a kennel, pen,
or stable while off duty. A violation of this section shall
be is
punishable as a Class 5 felony and the sentence
imposed shall include a mandatory
minimum term of imprisonment of six months.
Such punishment shall be separate and apart from, and shall be made to run
consecutively with, any other
sentence. The court shall order that the defendant pay
restitution for the cost of any animal killed or rendered unable to perform its
duties. Such cost shall include training expenses.
2. That the provisions of this act may result in a net increase in periods of imprisonment or commitment. Pursuant to §30-19.1:4 of the Code of Virginia, the estimated amount of the necessary appropriation is $0 for periods of imprisonment in state adult correctional facilities and cannot be determined for periods of commitment to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice.
