BILL NUMBER: AB 2052	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Williams

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2016

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


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2052, as introduced, Williams. Animal cruelty.
   Existing law makes it a crime, punishable as specified, to
maliciously and intentionally maim, mutilate, torture, or wound a
living animal, or maliciously and intentionally kill an animal.
Existing law also makes it a crime, punishable as specified, to
overdrive, overload, drive when overloaded, overwork, torture,
torment, deprive of necessary sustenance, drink, or shelter, cruelly
beat, mutilate, or cruelly kill an animal.
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these
provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


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  a  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   a  person who overdrives,
overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks, tortures, torments,
deprives of necessary sustenance, drink, or shelter, cruelly beats,
mutilates, or cruelly kills  any   an 
animal, or causes or procures  any   an 
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
  an  animal, either as owner or otherwise,
subjects  any   an  animal to needless
suffering, or inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon the animal, or in any
manner abuses  any   an  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   a  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   a 
mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, or fish  which 
 that  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   a  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   a
 term of imprisonment and  any   a 
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.