BILL NUMBER: AB 2012	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Lieu

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2010

   An act to amend Section 597 of the Penal Code, relating to cruelty
to animals.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2012, as introduced, Lieu. Cruelty to animals.
   Existing law provides, subject to exceptions, that every person
who overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks,
tortures, torments, deprives of necessary sustenance, drink, or
shelter, cruelly beats, mutilates, or cruelly kills any animal, or
causes or procures any animal to be so overdriven, overloaded, driven
when overloaded, overworked, tortured, tormented, deprived of
necessary sustenance, drink, shelter, or to be cruelly beaten,
mutilated, or cruelly killed; and whoever, having the charge or
custody of any animal, either as owner or otherwise, subjects any
animal to needless suffering, or inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon
the animal, or in any manner abuses any animal, or fails to provide
the animal with proper food, drink, or shelter or protection from the
weather, or who drives, rides, or otherwise uses the animal when
unfit for labor, is guilty of a crime punishable as a misdemeanor or
as a felony, or alternatively as a misdemeanor or a felony and a fine
of not more than $20,000.
   This bill would revise the punishment for this offense to provide
that it is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more
than one year, or in the state prison, or by a fine of not more than
$20,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. The bill would make
other technical, nonsubstantive changes.
   By revising the penalty for an existing 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 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   597.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (c) of this section or
Section 599c, 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 by imprisonment in the state prison, or by a fine of not
more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or by 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 twenty
thousand dollars ($20,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment
  a crime punishable pursuant to subdivision (d)  .

   (b) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (a) or (c), every
person who overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks,
tortures, torments, deprives of necessary sustenance, drink, or
shelter, cruelly beats, mutilates, or cruelly kills any animal, or
causes or procures any animal to be so overdriven, overloaded, driven
when overloaded, overworked, tortured, tormented, deprived of
necessary sustenance, drink, shelter, or to be cruelly beaten,
mutilated, or cruelly killed; and whoever, having the charge or
custody of any animal, either as owner or otherwise, subjects any
animal to needless suffering, or inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon
the animal, or in any manner abuses any animal, or fails to provide
the animal with proper food, drink, or shelter or protection from the
weather, or who drives, rides, or otherwise uses the animal when
unfit for labor, is, for  every such   each
 offense, guilty of a crime punishable  as a misdemeanor
or as a felony or alternatively punishable as a misdemeanor or a
felony and by a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars
($20,000)   pursuant to subdivision (d)  .
   (c) Every person who maliciously and intentionally maims,
mutilates, or tortures any mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, or fish
 ,  as described in subdivision  (d)  
(e)  , is guilty of  an offense punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison, or by a fine of not more than
twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or by both the fine and
imprisonment, or, alternatively, by imprisonment in the county jail
for not more than one year, by a fine of not more than twenty
thousand dollars ($20,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment
  a crime punishable pursuant to subdivision (d)  .

   (d) A violation of subdivision (a), (b), or (c) is punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or in the
state prison, or by a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars
($20,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.  
   (d) 
    (e)  Subdivision (c) applies to any mammal, bird,
reptile, amphibian, or fish which is a creature described as follows:

   (1) Endangered species or threatened species as described in
Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3 of the Fish
and Game Code.
   (2) Fully protected birds described in Section 3511 of the Fish
and Game Code.
   (3) Fully protected mammals described in Chapter 8 (commencing
with Section 4700) of Part 3 of Division 4 of the Fish and Game Code.

   (4) Fully protected reptiles and amphibians described in Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 5050) of Division 5 of the Fish and Game
Code.
   (5) Fully protected fish as described in Section 5515 of the Fish
and Game Code.
   This subdivision does not supersede or affect any provisions of
law relating to taking of the described species, including, but not
limited to, Section 12008 of the Fish and Game Code. 
   (e)
    (f)  For the purposes of subdivision (c), each act of
malicious and intentional maiming, mutilating, or torturing a
separate specimen of a creature described in subdivision  (d)
  (e)  is a separate offense. If any person is
charged with a violation of subdivision (c), the proceedings shall be
subject to Section 12157 of the Fish and Game Code. 
   (f) 
    (g)  (1) Upon the conviction of a person charged with a
violation of this section by causing or permitting an act of cruelty,
as defined in Section 599b, all animals lawfully seized and
impounded with respect to the violation by a peace officer, officer
of a humane society, or officer of a pound or animal regulation
department of a public agency shall be adjudged by the court to be
forfeited and shall thereupon be awarded to the impounding officer
for proper disposition. A person convicted of a violation of this
section by causing or permitting an act of cruelty, as defined in
Section 599b, shall be liable to the impounding officer for all costs
of impoundment from the time of seizure to the time of proper
disposition.
   (2) Mandatory seizure or impoundment shall not apply to animals in
properly conducted scientific experiments or investigations
performed under the authority of the faculty of a regularly
incorporated medical college or university of this state. 
   (g) 
    (h)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a
defendant is granted probation for a conviction under this section,
the court shall order the defendant to pay for, and successfully
complete, counseling, as determined by the court, designed to
evaluate and treat behavior or conduct disorders. If the court finds
that the defendant is financially unable to pay for that counseling,
the court may develop a sliding fee schedule based upon the defendant'
s ability to pay. An indigent defendant may negotiate a deferred
payment schedule, but shall pay a nominal fee if the defendant has
the ability to pay the nominal fee. County mental health departments
or Medi-Cal shall be responsible for the costs of counseling required
by this section only for those persons who meet the medical
necessity criteria for mental health managed care pursuant to Section
1830.205 of Title  7   9  of the
California Code of Regulations or the targeted population criteria
specified in Section 5600.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The
counseling specified in this subdivision shall be in addition to any
other terms and conditions of probation, including any term of
imprisonment and any fine. This provision specifies a mandatory
additional term of probation and is not to be utilized as an
alternative in lieu of imprisonment in the state prison or county
jail when  such a   that  sentence is
otherwise appropriate. If the court does not order custody as a
condition of probation for a conviction under this section, the court
shall specify on the court record the reason or reasons for not
ordering custody. This subdivision shall not apply to cases involving
police dogs or horses as described in Section 600.
  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.