BILL NUMBER: AB 2949	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER  265
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  AUGUST 4, 2008
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  AUGUST 4, 2008
	PASSED THE SENATE  JULY 7, 2008
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  JULY 15, 2008
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JULY 2, 2008
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 12, 2008
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 6, 2008
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 22, 2008

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member DeSaulnier

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2008

   An act to amend Sections 1815, 1816, and 1981 of the Civil Code,
relating to involuntary deposits.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2949, DeSaulnier. Involuntary deposits: abandoned pets.
   Existing law provides that an involuntary deposit is made by the
accidental leaving or placing of personal property in the possession
of any person, without negligence on the part of its owner, or by the
delivery to, or picking up by, and the holding of, a stray live
animal by any person or public or private entity. The person or
private entity with whom a thing or animal is deposited is bound to
take charge of it, if able to do so.
    Existing law also provides that every owner, driver, or keeper of
any animal who permits the animal to be in any building, enclosure,
lane, street, square, or lot of any city, county, city and county, or
judicial district without proper care and attention is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
   This bill would provide that an involuntary deposit is made by the
abandonment or leaving of a live animal in or about any premises or
real property that has been vacated upon, or immediately preceding,
the termination of a lease or other rental agreement or foreclosure
of the property. The bill would require any person or private entity
with whom a live animal is involuntarily deposited to immediately
notify animal control officials for the purpose of retrieving the
animal.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1815 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
   1815.  An involuntary deposit is made:
   (a) By the accidental leaving or placing of personal property in
the possession of any person, without negligence on the part of its
owner.
   (b) In cases of fire, shipwreck, inundation, insurrection, riot,
or like extraordinary emergencies, by the owner of personal property
committing it, out of necessity, to the care of any person.
   (c) By the delivery to, or picking up by, and the holding of, a
stray live animal by any person or public or private entity.
   (d) By the abandonment or leaving of a live animal, as proscribed
by Section 597.1 of the Penal Code, in or about any premises or real
property that has been vacated upon, or immediately preceding, the
termination of a lease or other rental agreement or foreclosure of
the property.
  SEC. 2.  Section 1816 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
   1816.  (a) The person or private entity with whom a thing is
deposited in the manner described in Section 1815 is bound to take
charge of it, if able to do so.
   (b) Any person or private entity with whom a live animal is
deposited in the manner described in subdivision (d) of Section 1815
shall immediately notify animal control officials for the purpose of
retrieving the animal pursuant to Section 597.1 of the Penal Code.
Animal control officers who respond shall be entitled to exercise the
right afforded them pursuant to that section to secure a lien for
the purpose of recovering the costs of attempting to rescue the
animal. Nothing in this subdivision shall impose any new or
additional civil or criminal liability upon a depositary who complies
with this subdivision.
   (c) A public agency or shelter with whom an abandoned animal is
deposited in the manner described in Section 1815 is bound to take
charge of it, as provided in Section 597.1 of the Penal Code.
   (d) The person in possession of the abandoned animal is subject to
all local ordinances and state laws that govern the proper care and
treatment of those animals.
   (e) For purposes of this section, the person or private entity
that notifies animal control officials to retrieve the animal or the
successor property owner shall not be considered the keeper of the
animal or the agent of the animal's owner as those terms are used in
Section 597.1 of the Penal Code.
  SEC. 3.  Section 1981 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
   1981.  (a) This chapter provides an optional procedure for the
disposition of personal property that remains on the premises after a
tenancy has terminated and the premises have been vacated by the
tenant.
   (b) This chapter does not apply whenever Section 1862.5, 2080.8,
2080.9, or 2081 to 2081.6, inclusive, applies. This chapter does not
apply to property that exists for the purpose of providing utility
services and is owned by a public utility, whether or not that
property is actually in operation to provide those utility services.
   (c) This chapter does not apply to any manufactured home as
defined in Section 18007 of the Health and Safety Code, any
mobilehome as defined in Section 18008 of the Health and Safety Code,
or to any commercial coach as defined in Section 18001.8 of the
Health and Safety Code, including attachments thereto or contents
thereof, whether or not the manufactured home, mobilehome, or
commercial coach is subject to registration under the Health and
Safety Code.
   (d) This chapter does not apply to the disposition of an animal to
which subdivision (d) of Section 1815 or Chapter 7 (commencing with
Section 17001) of Part 1 of Division 9 of the Food and Agricultural
Code applies, and those animals shall be disposed of in accordance
with those provisions.
   (e) If the requirements of this chapter are not satisfied, nothing
in this chapter affects the rights and liabilities of the landlord,
former tenant, or any other person.