California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1543

Introduced by Assembly Member Brough

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Hadley)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Harper and O'Donnell)

(Coauthor: Senator Bates)

May 20, 2015

An act to amend Section 597 of the Penal Code, relating to animals, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1543, as introduced, Brough. Animals: abuse.

Existing law prohibits, subject to exceptions, specified acts of animal abuse including, among others, the malicious and intentional maiming, mutilation, torture, or wounding of a living animal. Under existing law, a violation of those provisions is punishable as a felony by imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years, or by a fine of not more than $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 $20,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

This bill would require a person who violates the animal abuse prohibitions described above to be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000 for each violation, in addition to the fines described above. The bill would require those additional fines to be deposited into the Victims of Animal Abuse Fund, which would be established by the bill. The bill would require the Veterinary Medical Board to administer the fund, and would continuously appropriate all money deposited in the fund to the board for the bill’s purposes. The bill would generally require the board to use the money in the fund to compensate the owner or caretaker of an animal that requires medical care, rehabilitation, or recovery as a result of a violation of the animal abuse prohibitions described above for the costs incurred by the owner or caretaker for the animal’s medical care, rehabilitation, or recovery. The bill would also require, in addition to any other penalty provided by law, a person who violates the animal abuse prohibitions described above in a rehabilitative facility for animals to pay for and successfully complete an appropriate counseling course, as determined by the court, designed to evaluate and treat behavior or conduct disorders. The bill would define “rehabilitative facility for animals” for these purposes as a facility at which medical care or rehabilitative services are provided to animals, including, but not limited to, an animal sanctuary, animal shelter, or aquarium. By increasing the penalties for existing crimes, the 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.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: yes. 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, begin delete every end delete begin insert a end insert 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), begin delete every end delete
begin insert a end insert person who overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded,
overworks, tortures, torments, deprives of necessary sustenance,
drink, or shelter, cruelly beats, mutilates, or cruelly kills begin delete any end delete begin insert an end insert
animal, or causes or procures begin delete any end delete begin insert an end insert 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 begin delete any end delete begin insert an end insert animal, either as begin insert an end insert owner or
otherwise, subjects begin delete any end delete begin insert an end insert animal to needless suffering, or inflicts
unnecessary cruelty upon the animal, or in any manner abuses begin delete any end delete
begin insert an end insert 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)  begin delete Every end delete begin insert A end insert person who maliciously and intentionally maims,
mutilates, or tortures begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, or
fish, as described in subdivision (e), is guilty of a crime punishable
pursuant to subdivision (d).

(d)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert 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.

begin insert

(2) (A) A person who violates subdivision (a), (b), or (c) shall,
in addition to the fines imposed pursuant to paragraph (1), be
punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000)
for each violation.

end insert begin insert

(B) The fines required by subparagraph (A) shall be deposited
into the Victims of Animal Abuse Fund, which is hereby established
in the State Treasury. For purposes of this paragraph, “fund”
means the Victims of Animal Abuse Fund.

end insert begin insert

(C) The Veterinary Medical Board shall administer the fund
consistent with this paragraph. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of
the Government Code, all money deposited in the fund is hereby
continuously appropriated to the Veterinary Medical Board,
without regard to fiscal years, for the purposes of this paragraph.

end insert begin insert

(D) Except as provided in subparagraph (E), the Veterinary
Medical Board shall use the money in the fund to compensate the
owner or caretaker, including a nonprofit organization, of an
animal that requires medical care, rehabilitation, or recovery as
a result of a violation of subdivision (a), (b), or (c) for the costs
incurred by the owner or caretaker for the animal’s medical care,
rehabilitation, or recovery.

end insert begin insert

(E) (i) If the owner or caretaker of an animal that requires
medical care, rehabilitation, or recovery as a result of a violation
of subdivision (a), (b), or (c) is the person who violated any of
those subdivisions, the owner or caretaker shall not receive money
from the fund, and instead, money in the fund may be used to
compensate another person, including a nonprofit organization,
who incurs costs for the animal’s medical care, rehabilitation, or
recovery.

end insert begin insert

(ii) If an animal that requires medical care, rehabilitation, or
recovery as a result of a violation of subdivision (a), (b), or (c)
has no identifiable owner or caretaker, money in the fund may be
used to compensate a person, including a nonprofit organization,
who incurs costs for the animal’s medical care, rehabilitation, or
recovery.

end insert begin insert

(F) The Veterinary Medical Board may promulgate regulations
to implement this paragraph.

end insert begin insert

(3) (A) Except as provided in subdivision (h), a person who
violates subdivision (a), (b), or (c) in a rehabilitative facility for
animals shall, in addition to any other penalty provided by law,
pay for and successfully complete an appropriate counseling
course, as determined by the court, designed to evaluate and treat
behavior or conduct disorders. If the court finds that a 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. If an indigent defendant cannot pay the
nominal fee, the fee shall be waived.

end insert begin insert

(B) For purposes of this paragraph, “rehabilitative facility for
animals” means a facility at which medical care or rehabilitative
services are provided to animals, including, but not limited to,
animal sanctuary, animal shelter, or an aquarium.

end insert

(e)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert Subdivision (c) applies to begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert mammal, bird, reptile,
amphibian, or fish begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert is a creature described as follows:

begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert (A) end insert  Endangered species or threatened species as described in
Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3 of the
Fish and Game Code.

begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (B) end insert  Fully protected birds described in Section 3511 of the Fish
and Game Code.

begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (C) end insert  Fully protected mammals described in Chapter 8
(commencing with Section 4700) of Part 3 of Division 4 of the
Fish and Game Code.

begin delete

(4)

end delete

begin insert (D) end insert  Fully protected reptiles and amphibians described in Chapter
2 (commencing with Section 5050) of Division 5 of the Fish and
Game Code.

begin delete

(5)

end delete

begin insert (E) end insert  Fully protected fish as described in Section 5515 of the Fish
and Game Code.

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert This subdivision does not supersede or affect any begin delete provisions
of end delete 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 begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert 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 begin delete provision of end delete 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 begin delete provision end delete begin insert subdivision end insert 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.  

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.

SEC. 3.  

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 provide victims of animal abuse with restitution for
the costs associated with medical care and recovery for animals
resulting from that abuse at the earliest possible time, it is necessary
for this act to take effect immediately.