BILL NUMBER: AB 2689	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER  45
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  JULY 6, 2010
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  JULY 6, 2010
	PASSED THE SENATE  JUNE 17, 2010
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  MAY 6, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 22, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 15, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 8, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Smyth

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   An act to amend Section 121690 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to public health, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take
effect immediately.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2689, Smyth. Rabies vaccinations.
   Existing law imposes various requirements upon dog owners in
rabies areas designated by the State Public Health Officer. Any
person who violates these requirements is guilty of an infraction.
Violation of these requirements also results in impounding of the dog
by the local jurisdiction. Among the requirements imposed under
existing law is that a dog 4 months of age or older must be licensed
by the appropriate city, county, or city and county, and vaccinated
for rabies, as specified.
   This bill would permit a city, county, or city and county to
specify the means by which a dog owner is required to provide proof
of his or her dog's rabies vaccination.
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 121690 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
   121690.  In rabies areas, all of the following shall apply:
   (a) Every dog owner, after his or her dog attains the age of four
months, shall no less than once every two years secure a license for
the dog as provided by ordinance of the responsible city, city and
county, or county. License fees shall be fixed by the responsible
city, city and county, or county, at an amount not to exceed
limitations otherwise prescribed by state law or city, city and
county, or county charter.
   (b) Every dog owner, after his or her dog attains the age of four
months, shall, at intervals of time not more often than once a year,
as may be prescribed by the department, procure its vaccination by a
licensed veterinarian with a canine antirabies vaccine approved by,
and in a manner prescribed by, the department. The responsible city,
county, or city and county may specify the means by which the dog
owner is required to provide proof of his or her dog's rabies
vaccination, including, but not limited to, by electronic
transmission or facsimile.
   (c) All dogs under four months of age shall be confined to the
premises of, or kept under physical restraint by, the owner, keeper,
or harborer. Nothing in this chapter and Section 120435 shall be
construed to prevent the sale or transportation of a puppy four
months old or younger.
   (d) Any dog in violation of this chapter and any additional
provisions that may be prescribed by any local governing body shall
be impounded, as provided by local ordinance.
   (e) The governing body of each city, city and county, or county
shall maintain or provide for the maintenance of a pound system and a
rabies control program for the purpose of carrying out and enforcing
this section.
   (f) Each city, county, or city and county shall provide dog
vaccination clinics, or arrange for dog vaccination at clinics
operated by veterinary groups or associations, held at strategic
locations throughout each city, city and county, or county. The
vaccination and licensing procedures may be combined as a single
operation in the clinics. No charge in excess of the actual cost
shall be made for any one vaccination at a clinic. No owner of a dog
shall be required to have his or her dog vaccinated at a public
clinic if the owner elects to have the dog vaccinated by a licensed
veterinarian of the owner's choice.
   All public clinics shall be required to operate under antiseptic
immunization conditions comparable to those used in the vaccination
of human beings.
   (g) In addition to the authority provided in subdivision (a), the
ordinance of the responsible city, city and county, or county may
provide for the issuance of a license for a period not to exceed
three years for dogs that have attained the age of 12 months or older
and have been vaccinated against rabies. The person to whom the
license is issued pursuant to this subdivision may choose a license
period as established by the governing body of up to one, two, or
three years. However, when issuing a license pursuant to this
subdivision, the license period shall not extend beyond the remaining
period of validity for the current rabies vaccination. A dog owner
who complies with this subdivision shall be deemed to have complied
with the requirements of subdivision (a).
   (h) All information obtained from a dog owner by compliance with
this chapter is confidential to the dog owner and proprietary to the
veterinarian. This information shall not be used, distributed, or
released for any purpose, except to ensure compliance with existing
federal, state, county, or city laws or regulations.
  SEC. 2.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
   In order to ensure that local jurisdictions can immediately begin
to receive important rabies vaccination information in more
accessible formats to further protect the public health, it is
necessary that this act take effect immediately.