Bill Text: WV HB2029 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permitting counties to adopt certain ordinances relating to dogs and cats
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-10 - To House Political Subdivisions [HB2029 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2018-HB2029-Introduced.html
West Virginia
Legislature
2017 Regular Session
Introduced
House Bill 2029
(By Delegate Gearheart)
to the Committee on Political Subdivisions then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code
of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated
§7-1-14a, relating to permitting counties to adopt certain ordinances relating
to dogs and cats; including legislative findings; granting county commissions
authority to adopt ordinances to provide for the proper restraint of dogs and
the spaying and neutering of dogs and cats; including permissible ordinance
provisions; authorizing penalties for violations; providing authority of humane
officers; giving authority to county commissions to adopt an ordinance upon
approval by referendum and specifying applicability of ordinances to
municipalities.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §7-1-14a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-14a. Authorizing
certain ordinances relating to dogs and cats.
(a) The Legislature finds
that it may be in the best interest of the public to protect the health and
safety of the individuals as well as the health and safety of animals owned by
residents of a county by reducing the number of dogs and cats that are stray or
abandoned. The Legislature further finds
that there are a large number of dogs and cats that are euthanized or have been
abandoned and running at large because they are not wanted or are not owned or
under control of individuals. The
Legislature further finds that it is in the public interest to allow a means to
eliminate the excessive number of unwanted dogs and cats and thereby stop the
needless euthanization of these animals and to prevent them from becoming a
public nuisance or risk to public health or safety or the environment.
(b) Notwithstanding any
provision of this code to the contrary, a county commission may adopt an
ordinance requiring certain restraints and control of dogs owned or in the
custody and control of persons in the county.
The ordinance may:
(1) Prohibit a person from
allowing a dog owned or in the custody or control of the person to run at large
within the county. As used in this subdivision, "run at large"
means to allow a dog to leave the boundaries of property owned, leased or
occupied by its owner or custodian without restraint by being secured by a
leash or lead or being under the control of a responsible person and obedient
to that person's command;
(2) Prohibit persons from
keeping a dog on a leash and tied to the ground or to a structure, confining a
dog to a pen, run or cage or leave a dog in a vehicle without adequate
protection from extreme heat or cold or unsafe exposure to the elements or
without providing adequate food or water to safely sustain the dog at all
times; or
(3) Prohibit a person from
allowing a dog while in his or her control or custody from defecating or
urinating upon the land or other property or premises of another without
providing for the immediate remediation of the same.
(c) Notwithstanding any
provision of this code to the contrary, any county commission may adopt an
ordinance providing for the spaying and neutering of dogs and cats owned, or in
the care and custody of a county resident and for dogs and cats that have been
abandoned, or are running at large and not licensed or kept by a county
resident. The ordinance may:
(1) Prohibit the ownership,
possession or keeping of a dog or cat that has not been spayed or neutered,
establish reasonable exceptions to the prohibitions and provide for permits to
have an unaltered dog or cat;
(2) Limit the number of
animals owned, kept or maintained by an individual, group or organization,
whether public or private, that are not spayed or neutered;
(3) Establish a program and
facilities to provide for the spaying and neutering of dogs and cats; and
(4) Establish reasonable
fees for spaying and neutering services and permits.
(d) The ordinances may provide
appropriate penalties for violations and may authorize humane officers to take
possession of any dog or cat that is not properly spayed or neutered or
adequately restrained or controlled as required by the ordinance, rule or
regulation.
(e) A county commission may
conduct a referendum on the question of the adoption of an ordinance pursuant
to this section by entry of an order providing that the ordinance not become
effective until it is ratified by a majority of the legal votes cast on the
referendum by the qualified voters of the county at any primary, general or
special election as the county commission directs. The powers and authority granted to county
commissions are in addition to and supplemental to the powers and authority
granted in section fourteen of this article.
(f) Notwithstanding any
other provision of this code to the contrary, an ordinance enacted pursuant to
the provisions of this section does not apply to or affect any municipal
corporation within the county that either has adopted:
(1) And has in effect an
ordinance which provides substantially similar provisions as an ordinance
allowed by this section; or
(2) An ordinance to exempt
itself from any county ordinance enacted pursuant to this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to grant county
commissions authority to adopt certain ordinances relating to dogs and cats.
The bill allows for the adoption of ordinances to prohibit persons from
allowing dogs to run at large, regulate the confinement of dogs and provide for
the spaying and neutering of dogs and cats.
The bill provides legislative findings; permissible ordinance
provisions; authorizes penalties for violations; provides authority to humane
officers; allows county commissions to adopt the ordinances upon approval by
referendum; and exempts municipalities that have exempted themselves from such
an ordinance or that have a similar ordinance.
Strike throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.