BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2098|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2098
Author: Krekorian (D), et al
Amended: 4/23/08 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 4-0, 06/17/08
AYES: Romero, Margett, Cedillo, Cogdill
NO VOTE RECORDED: Perata
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 05/15/08 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Animals: nonambulatory: cruelty
SOURCE : Humane Farming Association
DIGEST : This bill makes it a misdemeanor to buy, sell,
process or butcher, meat or products of a nonambulatory
animal for human consumption and to provide for property
handling of a nonambulatory animal, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law states, except as otherwise
provided, every person who maliciously and intentionally
maims, mutilates, tortures or wounds a living animal, or
maliciously and intentionally kills an animal, is guilty of
an offense punishable in the state prison, or by a fine of
not more than $20,000, or both the fine and imprisonment,
or, alternatively, by imprisonment in a county jail for not
more than one year or by a fine of not more than $20,000 or
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by both the fine and imprisonment.
Existing law states that any person who overdrives,
overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks, tortures,
torments, deprives of necessary sustenance, drink or
shelter, any animal, and whoever, having the charge or
custody of the animal either as owner or otherwise,
subjects any animal to needless suffering, or inflicts
unnecessary cruelty upon the animal, or in any manner
abuses the animal or uses the animal when unfit for labor
is, for every such offense, guilty of a crime punishable as
a misdemeanor or felony or alternatively punishable as a
misdemeanor or felony and by a fine of not more than
$20,000.
Existing law provides that no slaughterhouse that is not
inspected by the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA), stockyard, or auction shall buy, sell, or receive a
non-ambulatory animal.
This bill provides that no slaughterhouse, stockyard,
auction, market agency or dealer shall buy, sell or receive
a nonambulatory animal.
This bill further provides that no slaughterhouse shall
process, butcher or sell meat or products of nonambulatory
animals for human consumption, or shall hold a
nonambulatory animal without taking immediate action to
humanely euthanize the animal.
Existing law states that no slaughterhouse, stockyard,
auction, market agency or dealer shall hold a nonambulatory
animal without taking immediate action to humanely
euthanize the animal or remove the animal from the
premises.
This bill provides that no stockyard, auction, market
agency, or dealer shall hold a nonambulatory animal without
taking immediate action to humanely euthanize the animal or
to provide immediate veterinary treatment.
Existing law states that while in transit or on the
premises of a stockyard, auction, market agency, dealer or
slaughterhouse, a nonambulatory animal may not be dragged
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at any time, or pushed with equipment at any time, but
shall be moved with a sling or on a stoneboat or other
sled-like or wheeled conveyance.
This bill provides that no person shall sell, consign, or
ship any nonambulatory animal for the purpose of delivering
a nonambulatory animal to a slaughterhouse, stockyard,
auction, market agency, or dealer.
This bill provides that no person shall accept a
nonambulatory animal for transport or deliver to a
slaughterhouse, stockyard, auction, market agency, or
dealer.
Existing law defines "nonambulatory" as unable to stand and
walk without assistance.
Existing law defines "animal" as live cattle, swine, sheep,
or goats.
Existing law states that as used in this bill, "humanely
euthanized" means to kill by a mechanical, chemical or
electrical method that rapidly and effectively renders the
animal insensitive to pain.
Existing law provides that a violation of this bill is a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not
exceeding six months and/or by a fine not exceeding $1,000.
This bill provides that the penalty for a violation of this
bill is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in the
county mail and/or by a fine of not more than $20,000.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/30/08)
Humane Farming Association (source)
California Cattlemen's Association
California Federation for Animal Legislation
State Humane Association of California
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"On January 30, 2008, the Humane Society of the United
States released video documentation of the horrific abuse
of downed cattle at a California meat packing company.
'Downed' cattle are defined as being too diseased an/or
disabled to stand or walk without assistance. Images of
workers repeatedly kicking, electrocuting, ramming with
forklifts, and even spraying water down the noses of these
animals sent shockwaves throughout the nation.
"It was soon revealed that nearly 37 million pounds of the
contaminated beef ended up both in California's and the
nation's school lunch programs. Public health
professionals have long warned that meat derived from
downed animals has a much increased susceptibility to
passing the E. coli virus, mad cow disease, and salmonella
- all of which can lead to severe human health
complications and even death.
"These revelations set off the larges beef recall (143
million pounds) in U.S. history due to the risks posed by
this meat that has been deemed by the USDA as unfit for
consumption. Unfortunately, much of this condemned beef
has already been consumed by our nation's school children
and the public at large. Worse still, due to the
well-documented failings of the USDA inspection system,
there is still no adequate system in place to prevent
downed animals from continuing to enter our food supply.
That is largely due to the fact that California law does
not specifically prohibit the processing and sale of meat
from nonambulatory animals for human consumption, thus
limiting the state's ability to prevent this occurrence."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Aghazarian, Anderson, Arambula, Beall,
Benoit, Berg, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Brownley, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre,
De Leon, DeSaulnier, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng,
Evans, Feuer, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines,
Galgiani, Garcia, Hancock, Hayashi, Hernandez, Horton,
Houston, Huff, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Keene,
Krekorian, La Malfa, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu,
Ma, Maze, Mendoza, Mullin, Nakanishi, Nava, Niello,
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Parra, Plescia, Portantino, Price, Sharon Runner, Ruskin,
Salas, Saldana, Silva, Smyth, Solorio, Spitzer,
Strickland, Swanson, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Walters,
Wolk, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Dymally, Garrick, Karnette, Nunez, Soto
RJG:cm 7/1/08 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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