BILL NUMBER: AB 1122	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 29, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 14, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 23, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 13, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Lieu
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Eng and Jones)

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

   An act to add Section 597.4 to the Penal Code, relating to
animals.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1122, as amended, Lieu. Animal abuse: sale of live animals.
   Existing law proscribes animal abuse, as specified, including the
failure to maintain and care for the premises and animals at pet
shops. Existing law also generally provides that a pet store shall
not sell, offer for sale, trade, or barter any dog or cat that is
under 8 weeks of age, but may sell, offer for sale, trade, or barter
a dog or cat over 8 weeks of age only if the animal is weaned.
   This bill would provide, in addition and with specified
exceptions, that it shall be a crime, punishable as specified, for
any person to willfully sell, display or offer for sale or give away
as part of a commercial transaction, a live animal on any street,
highway, public right-of-way,  commercial  parking
lot,  or at any outdoor special sale, parking lot sale,
 carnival, or boardwalk. The bill would provide that a
notice describing the charge and the penalty for a violation of this
bill may be issued by a peace officer, animal control officer, or
humane officer. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 597.4 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
   597.4.  (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully sell,
display  or   for sale,  offer for sale
 ,  or give away as part of a commercial transaction, a live
animal on any street, highway, public right-of-way, 
commercial  parking lot,  or at any outdoor special
sale, parking lot sale,  carnival, or boardwalk.
   (b) (1) A person who violates this section for the first time
shall be guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed
two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
   (2) A person who violates this section for the first time and by
that violation either causes or permits any animal to suffer or be
injured, or causes or permits any animal to be placed in a situation
in which its life or health may be endangered, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.
   (3) A person who violates this section for a second or subsequent
time shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
   (c) A person who is guilty of a misdemeanor violation of this
section shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand
dollars ($1,000) per violation; the court shall weigh the gravity of
the violation in setting the fine.
   (d) A notice describing the charge and the penalty for a violation
of this section may be issued by any peace officer; animal control
officer, as defined in Section 830.9; or humane officer qualified
pursuant to Section 14502 or 14503 of the Corporations Code.
   (e) This section shall not apply to the following:
   (1) Events held by 4-H Clubs, Junior Farmers Clubs, or Future
Farmers Clubs.
   (2) The California Exposition and State Fair  , district
agricultural association fairs,  or county fairs.
   (3) Stockyards with respect to which the Secretary of the United
States Department of Agriculture has posted notice that the
stockyards are regulated by the federal Packers and Stockyards Act (7
U.S.C. Sec. 181 et seq.).
   (4) The sale of cattle on consignment at any public cattle sales
market; the sale of sheep on consignment at any public sheep sales
market; the sale of swine on consignment at any public swine sales
market; the sale of goats on consignment at any public goat sales
market; and the sale of equine on consignment at any public equine
sales market.
   (5) Live animal markets regulated under Section 597.3.
   (6) A public animal control agency or shelter, society for the
prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or
rescue group regulated under Division 14 (commencing with Section
30501) of the Food and Agricultural Code. For purposes of this
section, "rescue group" is a not-for-profit entity whose primary
purpose is the placement of dogs, cats, or other animals that have
been removed from a public animal control agency or shelter, society
for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, or humane society
shelter, or that have been surrendered or relinquished to the entity
by the previous owner. 
   (7) The sale of fish or shellfish, live or dead, from a fishing
vessel, at a pier or wharf, or at a farmer's market by any licensed
commercial fisherman to the public for human consumption.  
   (8) A cat show, dog show, or bird show, provided that all of the
following circumstances exist:  
   (A) The show is validly permitted by the city or county in which
the show is held.  
   (B) Each and every participant in the show complies with all
federal, state, and local animal welfare and animal control laws.
 
   (C) The participant has written documentation of the payment of a
fee for the entry of his or her cat, dog, or bird in the show. 

   (D) The sale of a cat, dog, or bird occurs only on the premises
and within the confines of the show.  
   (E) The show is a competitive event where the cats, dogs, or birds
are exhibited and judged by an established standard or set of ideals
established for each breed or species. 
   (f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to in any way limit
or affect the application or enforcement of any other law that
protects animals or the rights of consumers, including, but not
limited to, the Lockyer-Polanco-Farr Pet Protection Act contained in
Article 2 (commencing with Section 122125) of Chapter 5 of Part 6 of
Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code, or Sections 597 and 597l
of this code.
   (g) Nothing in this section limits or authorizes any act or
omission that violates Section 597 or 597l of this code, or any other
local, state, or federal law. The procedures set forth in this
section shall not apply to any civil violation of any other local,
state, or federal law that protects animals or the rights of
consumers, or to a violation of Section 597 or 597l of this code,
which is cited or prosecuted pursuant to one or both of those
sections, or to a violation of any other local, state, or federal law
that is cited or prosecuted pursuant to that law.
  SEC. 2.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.