BILL NUMBER: AB 2052 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 17, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Williams
FEBRUARY 17, 2016
An act to amend Section 597 of add Section
597.8 to the Penal Code, relating to crimes.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2052, as amended, Williams. Animal cruelty.
Existing law makes it a crime, punishable as specified, to commit
various forms of animal abuse, including maliciously or intentionally
maiming or killing an animal and dogfighting.
This bill would require, upon conviction of specified types of
animal abuse but prior to sentencing, the court to order the person
convicted to submit to a psychiatric or psychological examination, to
be provided and paid for by the court. The bill would require the
court to consider the result of the examination in determining a
sentence.
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
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 597.8 is added to the
Penal Code , to read:
597.8. Upon conviction pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) of
Section 597 or Section 597a, 597b, 597h, 597j, 597s, or 597.1, but
prior to sentencing, the court shall order the person convicted to
submit to a psychiatric or psychological examination. All
examinations shall be provided and paid for by the court. The results
of the examination shall be sent by the examining psychologist or
psychiatrist to the court and to the attorneys for the prosecution
and the defense. The court shall consider the results of the
examination in determining a sentence.
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, 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), a
person who overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks,
tortures, torments, deprives of necessary sustenance, drink, or
shelter, cruelly beats, mutilates, or cruelly kills an animal, or
causes or procures 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 an animal, either as owner or otherwise, subjects an
animal to needless suffering, or inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon
the animal, or in any manner abuses 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 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 a mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian,
or fish 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 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 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 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 a term of
imprisonment and 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.