BILL NUMBER: SB 945 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Monning
FEBRUARY 3, 2016
An act to add Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 122380) to Part
6 of Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to pet
boarding facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 945, as introduced, Monning. Pet boarding facilities.
Existing law regulates the care and maintenance of animals in the
care of a pet store.
This bill would establish procedures for the care and maintenance
of pets boarded at a pet boarding facility, including, but not
limited to, size of enclosures, sanitation, provision of enrichment
devices, health of the pet, and safety. The bill would make a
violation of these provisions an infraction punishable by a fine not
to exceed $250 for the first violation and not to exceed $1,000 for
each subsequent violation. Because it would create a new crime, this
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 122380) is added to
Part 6 of Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER 11. PET BOARDING FACILITIES
122380. As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a) "Adequate space" means sufficient height and sufficient floor
space for a pet to stand up, sit down, turn about freely using normal
body movements without the head touching the top of the primary
enclosure, lie down with limbs outstretched, exercise normal postural
movement, move about freely as appropriate for the species, age,
size, and condition of the pet, and, when appropriate, to experience
socialization with other pets, if any, in the primary enclosure.
However, when freedom of movement would endanger the pet, temporarily
and appropriately restricting movement of the pet in a humane manner
is permitted.
(b) "Enrichment" means providing objects or activities,
appropriate to the needs of the species, as well as the age, size,
and condition of the pet that stimulate the pet and promote the pet's
well-being.
(c) "Impervious to moisture" means a surface that prevents the
absorption of fluids and that can be thoroughly and repeatedly
sanitized, will not retain odors, and from which fluids bead up and
run off or can be removed without being absorbed into the surface
material.
(d) "Intact" means a pet that retains its sexual organs or ability
to procreate and has not been sterilized.
(e) "Person" means an individual, partnership, firm, limited
liability company, joint-stock company, corporation, association,
trust, estate, or other legal entity.
(f) "Pet" means any nonhuman animal housed in the pet boarding
facility, including, but not limited to, mammals, birds, reptiles,
amphibians, and fish.
(g) "Pet boarding facility" means any lot, building, structure,
enclosure, or premises whereupon four or more dogs, cats, or other
pets in any combination are boarded for profit.
(h) "Pet boarding facility operator" or "operator" means a person
who owns, operates, or both, a pet boarding facility.
(i) "Primary enclosure" means a structure used to immediately
restrict a pet or pets to a limited amount of space, such as a room,
pen, cage, aquarium, terrarium, habitat compartment, or hutch, where
the pet or pets reside while they are being boarded.
(j) "Sanitize" means to make physically clean and to destroy, to
the extent practical, agents injurious to health.
(k) "Temporary enclosure" means a confined space used by the pet
boarding facility to house a pet when the pet is not in its primary
enclosure for a period not to exceed four consecutive hours. The
temporary enclosure shall allow the pet to stand up, lie down, and
turn around. An enclosure used by the pet boarding facility to house
an animal for longer than four consecutive hours shall meet the
requirements of a primary enclosure.
(l) "Veterinary treatment" means treatment by, or at the direction
of, a California-licensed veterinarian.
122381. Each pet boarding facility operator shall be responsible
for all of the following:
(a) Maintaining the entire pet boarding facility in good repair.
(b) Restricting the entry of pests from outside.
(c) Ensuring the containment of pets within the pet boarding
facility, and, in the event that a pet escapes, being responsible for
reporting this fact, as necessary, to local authorities and making
reasonable efforts to capture the pet that has escaped.
(d) Ensuring that the pet boarding facility's interior building
surfaces, including walls and floors, are constructed in a manner
that permits them to be readily cleaned and maintained.
(e) Uniformly distributing light, by natural or artificial means,
in a manner that permits routine inspection and cleaning, and the
proper care and maintenance of the pets.
(f) When pet grooming services are offered by a pet boarding
facility, separating the grooming work area from the pet boarding
facility's primary enclosures, pet food storage areas, and isolation
areas for housing sick pets. The grooming area shall be cleaned and
maintained at least once daily.
122382. (a) Primary and temporary enclosures shall comply with
all of the following structural standards:
(1) Primary and temporary enclosures shall be structurally sound
and maintained in good repair to protect the pets from injury, to
contain the pets, to keep other animals out, and to promote the
health and well-being of the enclosed pets. Primary enclosures shall
be constructed so they can be routinely maintained to allow pets to
stay clean.
(2) The floor of the primary enclosure shall be constructed to
prevent injury. A solid surface, platform, or shelf shall be provided
when a grid-flooring system is used.
(3) Primary enclosures shall be constructed of materials that are
impervious to moisture and can be sanitized.
(4) All primary enclosures shall provide adequate space for the
pet or pets housed in the enclosure.
(5) Each primary enclosure shall provide each pet with an
enrichment device or devices appropriate for the species, age, size,
and condition of the pet.
(b) In addition to the requirements set forth in subdivision (a),
primary enclosures for cats shall provide an elevated platform as
appropriate for the size of the cat.
(c) In addition to the requirements set forth in subdivision (a),
primary enclosures for birds shall be designed to ensure all of the
following:
(1) A bird can fully extend both of its wings at the same time
without contacting the sides of the enclosure.
(2) Perches are provided in a diameter that is appropriate for the
species, age, size, and condition of the bird, and for the size of
the enclosure.
(3) There is sufficient space to enable each bird to fully extend
its wings in every direction while all birds are simultaneously
perched.
(d) Primary enclosures for prey species shall be located where
they cannot be directly seen by predator animals for that species.
122383. (a) When a primary or temporary enclosure is being
cleaned in a manner, or with a substance, that is or may be harmful
to a pet within the enclosure, that pet shall be removed from the
enclosure.
(b) Primary enclosures shall be observed at least once every eight
hours, and pet and food wastes, used bedding, debris, and any other
organic wastes shall be removed as necessary to prevent contamination
of the pets and to reduce disease hazards and odors.
(c) Pest control measures shall be implemented to effectively
control infestation of vermin, insects, or other pests.
122384. A pet boarding facility operator shall comply with all of
the following animal care requirements:
(a) House only compatible pets in the same enclosure.
(b) Observe each pet at regular intervals, but no less than once
every eight hours, in order to recognize and evaluate general
symptoms of sickness, injury, or abnormal behavior.
(c) Remove each dog from its primary enclosure at least once every
eight hours and enable the dog to remain outside the primary
enclosure for at least 15 minutes each time.
(d) Separately house intact mammals that have reached sexual
maturity in a manner to prevent unplanned reproduction.
(e) Provide potable water at all times, unless otherwise directed
by a veterinarian.
(f) Provide each pet with nutritious food in quantities and at
intervals suitable for that pet.
(g) Provide each pet with heating and ventilation suitable for
that pet.
(h) Maintain and abide by written animal husbandry procedures that
address animal care, management and safe handling, disease
prevention and control, routine care, preventative care, emergency
care, veterinary treatment, euthanasia, and disaster planning,
evacuation, and recovery that are applicable to the location of the
pet boarding facility. These procedures shall be reviewed with each
employee who provides animal care and shall be present, in writing,
either electronically or physically, in the facility and made
available to all employees.
(i) Isolate those pets that have or are suspected of having a
contagious condition.
(j) Have a documented program of routine care, preventative care,
emergency care, disease control and prevention, and veterinary
treatment, as outlined in subdivision (h), that is established and
maintained by the pet boarding facility in consultation with a
licensed veterinarian employed by the pet boarding facility or a
California-licensed veterinarian, to ensure adherence to the program
with respect to each pet. The program shall also include a documented
onsite visit to the pet boarding facility by a California-licensed
veterinarian at least once a year.
(k) Ensure that each diseased, ill, or injured pet is provided
without delay with veterinary treatment and notify the owner of the
pet as soon as is practicable.
(l) In the event of a natural disaster, an emergency evacuation,
or other similar occurrence, ensure that the humane care and
treatment of each animal is provided for, as required by this
chapter, to the extent access to the pet is reasonably available.
122385. (a) Each pet boarding facility operator shall ensure that
records of all veterinary visits to the pet boarding facility are
documented writing. Veterinary treatment records shall be kept for
each animal or group of animals that receives medications or
immunizations while in the care of the pet boarding facility. These
records shall include summaries of directions received orally from
veterinarians, and shall include all of the following, to the extent
it is provided by the veterinarian:
(1) Identification of the pet receiving medical treatment.
(2) Name of the medication or immunization used.
(3) Amount of medication used.
(4) Time and date on which the medication or immunization was
administered.
(b) Records required by subdivision (a) shall be provided to the
owner of the pet upon request.
(c) All records required by this section shall be maintained by
the pet boarding facility for two years from the date of boarding of
the pet, and shall be made available upon request to an appropriate
enforcement officer exercising his or her authority.
122386. A pet boarding facility operator who violates any
provision of this chapter is guilty of an infraction punishable by a
fine not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for the first
violation and by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)
for each subsequent violation. The court shall weigh the gravity of
the offense in setting the penalty.
122387. (a) Nothing in this chapter 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 Section 597 of the Penal Code.
(b) Nothing in this chapter limits, or authorizes any act or
omission that violates, Section 597 of the Penal Code, or any other
local, state, or federal law that protects animals or the rights of
consumers.
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.