BILL NUMBER: SB 917 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 131
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 26, 2011
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JULY 26, 2011
PASSED THE SENATE MAY 27, 2011
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JULY 11, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 16, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Lieu
(Coauthors: Senators Hancock and Strickland)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Smyth, Solorio, and Williams)
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Section 597 of, and to add Section 597.4 to, the
Penal Code, relating to animals.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 917, Lieu. Animal abuse.
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.
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 or give away as part of a commercial
transaction, a live animal on any street, highway, public
right-of-way, parking lot, carnival, or boardwalk, or to display or
offer for sale, or display or offer to give away as part of a
commercial transaction, a live animal if the act of selling or giving
away the live animal is to occur on any street, highway, public
right-of-way, parking lot, 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.
This bill would incorporate changes to Section 597 of the Penal
Code made by AB 109, which has been chaptered but is not operative,
to become operative only if AB 109 becomes operative.
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.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 597 of the Penal Code, as amended by Section 1
of Chapter 450 of the Statutes of 1998, 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 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 each offense, guilty of a crime punishable
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 (e), is guilty of a crime punishable
pursuant to subdivision (d).
(d) A violation of subdivision (a), (b), or (c) is punishable as a
felony by imprisonment in the state prison, or by a fine of not more
than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or by both that fine and
imprisonment, or alternatively, as a misdemeanor 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 that fine and
imprisonment.
(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.
(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 (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.
(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.
(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 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 in a county jail when 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. 1.5. Section 597 of the Penal Code, as amended by Section 410
of Chapter 15 of the Statutes of 2011, 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 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 each offense, guilty of a crime punishable
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 (e), is guilty of a crime punishable
pursuant to subdivision (d).
(d) A violation of subdivision (a), (b), or (c) is punishable as
a felony by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170,
or by a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or
by both that fine and imprisonment, or alternatively, as a
misdemeanor 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 that fine and imprisonment.
(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.
(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 (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.
(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.
(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 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 pursuant
to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 or county jail when 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. Section 597.4 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
597.4. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully do
either of the following:
(1) Sell or give away as part of a commercial transaction, a live
animal on any street, highway, public right-of-way, parking lot,
carnival, or boardwalk.
(2) Display or offer for sale, or display or offer to give away as
part of a commercial transaction, a live animal, if the act of
selling or giving away the live animal is to occur on any street,
highway, public right-of-way, parking lot, 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 equines 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 or registered aquaculture facility, at a pier or wharf, or at
a farmer's market by any licensed commercial fisherman or an owner or
employee of a registered aquaculture facility 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) The show's sponsor or permittee ensures compliance 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.
(9) A pet store as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 122350 of
the Health and Safety Code.
(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. 3. Section 1.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to
Section 597 of the Penal Code proposed by both this bill and AB 109,
which has been chaptered but is not operative. Section 1.5 shall
become operative only if (1) this bill is enacted and becomes
effective on or before January 1, 2012, (2) this bill amends Section
597 of the Penal Code, and (3) AB 109 becomes operative, in which
case Section 597 of the Penal Code, as amended by Section 1 of this
bill, shall remain operative only until the operative date of AB 109,
at which time Section 1.5 of this bill shall become operative.
SEC. 4. 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.