BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1162
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1162 (Runner)
As Amended August 22, 2012
2/3 vote. Urgency
SENATE VOTE :38-0
PUBLIC SAFETY 4-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Knight, Hagman, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, |
| |Skinner | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| | | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Davis, Donnelly, Fuentes, |
| | | |Hall, Hill, Cedillo, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Solorio, Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes an animal control officer or humane officer to
possess and administer a tranquilizer that contains a controlled
substance to a wild, stray, or abandoned animal, as specified, with
indirect supervision as determined by a licensed veterinarian,
provided that the officer meets prescribed training and other
requirements. Specifically, this bill states that if an animal
control officer or humane officer, when necessary to protect the
health and safety of a wild, stray, or abandoned animal or the
health and safety of others, seeks to administer a tranquilizer that
contains a controlled substance to gain control of that animal, he
or she may possess and administer that tranquilizer with direct or
indirect supervision as determined by a licensed veterinarian,
provided that the officer has met each of the following
requirements:
1)Has received training in the administration of tranquilizers from
a licensed veterinarian. The training shall be approved by the
California Veterinary Medical Board.
2)Has successfully completed the firearms component of a course
relating to the exercise of police powers, as specified.
3)Is authorized by his or her agency or organization to possess and
administer the tranquilizer in accordance with a policy
established by the agency or organization and approved by the
veterinarian who obtained the controlled substance.
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4)Has successfully completed the euthanasia training as specified.
5)Has completed a state and federal fingerprinting background check
and does not have any drug- or alcohol-related convictions.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes any peace officer, humane society officer, or animal
control officer to take possession of a stray or abandoned animal
and to provide care and treatment for the animal until the animal
is deemed to be in suitable condition to be returned to the owner
and also authorizes the officer to immediately seize the animal,
as specified, if the officer has reasonable grounds to believe
that very prompt action is required to protect the health or
safety of the animal or the health or safety of others.
2)Authorizes an officer to take charge of any animal, including a
dog or cat, that by reason of lameness, sickness, feebleness, or
neglect, is unfit for the labor it is performing, or that in any
manner is being cruelly treated, and provide care and treatment
for the animal until it is deemed to be in a suitable condition to
be returned to the owner.
3)Provides that every sick, disabled, infirm, or crippled animal,
except a dog or cat, that is abandoned in any city, county, city
and county, or judicial district may be killed by the officer if,
after a reasonable search, no owner of the animal can be found.
However, it shall be the duty of all officers to cause the animal
to be killed or rehabilitated and placed in a suitable home on
information that the animal is a stray or abandoned.
4)Provides that any officer shall convey all injured cats and dogs
found without their owners in a public place directly to a
veterinarian for a determination of whether the animal shall be
immediately and humanely destroyed or shall be hospitalized under
proper care and given emergency treatment.
5)Provides that any peace officer, humane society officer, or any
animal control officer may, with the approval of his or her
immediate superior, humanely destroy any stray or abandoned animal
in the field in any case where the animal is too severely injured
to move or where a veterinarian is not available and it would be
more humane to dispose of the animal.
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6)Provides that animal control officers are not peace officers but
may exercise the powers of arrest, serve warrants, or carry and
use firearms if they receive the appropriate training as
specified. "Firearms" includes capture guns, blowguns, carbon
dioxide operated rifles and pistols, air guns, handguns, rifles
and shotguns.
7)Establishes the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act which
regulates controlled substances which are classified according to
the degrees of medical usefulness and are subject to restrictions
on their use and administration.
8)Provides that except in the regular practice of his or her
profession (as a practitioner), no person shall knowingly
prescribe, administer, dispense, or furnish a controlled substance
to or for any person or animal, which is not under his or her
treatment for a pathology or condition other than addiction to a
controlled substance, except as otherwise provided, and that no
person shall knowingly solicit, direct, induce, aid, or encourage
a practitioner authorized to write a prescription to unlawfully
prescribe, administer, dispense, or furnish a controlled
substance.
9)Defines a "practitioner" as:
a) A physician, dentist, veterinarian, podiatrist, pharmacist,
a registered or advanced registered nurse, physician assistant,
or optometrist acting within their scope of practice as
provided under the Business and Professions Code;
b) A pharmacy, hospital, or other institution licensed,
registered, or otherwise permitted to distribute, dispense,
conduct research with respect to, or to administer, a
controlled substance in the course of professional practice or
research in California;
c) A scientific investigator, or other person licensed,
registered, or otherwise permitted, to distribute, dispense,
conduct research with respect to, or administer, a controlled
substance in the course of professional practice or research in
California; and,
d) Specifies that only a practitioner including a naturopathic
doctor may write or issue a prescription as permitted under the
Business and Professions Code.
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10)Provides that a prescription for a controlled substance shall
only be issued for a legitimate medical purpose by an individual
practitioner acting in the usual course of his or her professional
practice. The responsibility for the proper prescribing and
dispensing of controlled substances is upon the prescribing
practitioner.
11)Makes possession of a controlled substance a felony unless upon
the written prescription of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, or
veterinarian licensed to practice in California.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
negligible state cost. Any training and background checks will be a
local responsibility and do not constitute a mandate, as the bill is
permissive.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "When necessary to protect an
animal or the safety of the public, animal control officers are
required to take possession of any stray or abandoned animal and
provide care and treatment for the animal.
"Local animal control officers must sometimes use a controlled
substance to tranquilize and gain control an animal. California law
requires that such drugs be stored in a central location and
officers obtain contemporaneous authorization from a licensed
veterinarian prior to administering any drugs. In practice,
however, a licensed veterinarian is not always available and the
necessity of having a veterinarian supervise when administering the
drugs could jeopardize public safety.
"A recent Attorney General's decision indicates that prior
consultation with a licensed veterinarian is insufficient. (Opinion
08-505, 12/23/11) Moreover, the AG's opinion finds that 'the duties
of local animal control officers, which consist of protecting
animals and the public through the enforcement of local animal
control laws,' does not fit within the context of current law.
"Animal control and humane officers must act quickly when there is
an emergency situation in the field in order to capture injured
animals or to protect the public from dangerous animals. It is not
always possible to immediately determine whether or an animal is
stray, abandoned or wild. While animal control officers have general
authority to kill an injured animal or one posing an immediate
threat to public safety, this is a remedy of last resort. In the
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case of a protected species, like a mountain lion, a depredation
permit may be required before killing the animal, which causes
further concerns.
"Limited authorization to use tranquilizers would be more humane and
would better protect public safety."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of
this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0005322