BILL NUMBER: SB 945 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 1, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 9, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 25, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 29, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 7, 2016
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 amended, 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, sanitation, provision of enrichment devices or
activities, for the pet, health of the pet, and
safety. The bill would specifically authorize a city, county, or city
and county to adopt ordinances that establish additional standards
and requirements for a pet boarding facility. The bill would
require an animal control officer, a humane officer, or a peace
officer who detects a violation of specified provisions by a
pet boarding facility operator to issue a notice to correct and would
provide that if the operator complies with the notice to correct he
or she would not be subject to an infraction, except as provided. The
bill would provide that an operator that causes or allows harm or
injury to an animal or allows an animal to be subject to an
unreasonable risk of harm or injury is guilty of a misdemeanor.
The bill bill, except as provided,
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) "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.
(b) "Permanent or fixed enclosure" means a structure, including,
but not limited to, an exercise run, kennel, or room, used to
restrict a pet, that provides for the effective separation of a pet
from the pet's waste products.
(a)
(c) "Person" means an individual, partnership, firm,
limited liability company, joint-stock company, corporation,
association, trust, estate, or other legal entity.
(b)
(d) "Pet" means any nonhuman animal housed in the pet
boarding facility, including, but not limited to, mammals, birds,
reptiles, and amphibians. However, "pet" does not include a horse.
(c)
(e) "Pet boarding facility" means any lot, building,
structure, enclosure, or premises premises,
or a portion thereof, whereupon four or more dogs, cats, or
other pets in any combination are boarded for compensation.
at the request of, and in exchange for
compensation provided by, their owner. However, "pet boarding
facility" does not include a city, county, or city and county animal
control agency, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or
humane society that contracts for the care of stray or abandoned
animals, or the premises of a veterinary facility that is registered
pursuant to Section 4853 of the Business and Professions Code.
(d)
(f) "Pet boarding facility operator" or "operator"
means a person who owns or operates, or both, a pet boarding
facility.
(e) "Permanent or fixed enclosure" means a structure, including,
but not limited to, an exercise run, kennel, or room, used to
restrict a pet, that provides for the effective separation of a pet
from the pet's waste products.
(f)
(g) "Temporary enclosure" means a structure used to
restrict a pet, including, but not limited to, a crate or cage, that
does not provide for the effective separation of a pet from the pet's
waste products.
122381. Each pet boarding facility operator shall be responsible
for all of the following:
(a) Ensuring that the entire pet boarding facility, including all
equipment therein, is structurally sound and maintained in good
repair.
(b) Ensuring that pests do not inhabit any part of the pet
boarding facility in a number large enough to be harmful,
threatening, or annoying to the pets.
(c) Ensuring the containment of pets within the pet boarding
facility, and, in the event that a pet escapes, making reasonable
efforts to immediately capture the escaped pet.
(d) If an escaped pet has not been captured despite reasonable
efforts, ensuring that all material facts regarding the pet's escape
are reported to the local agency for animal control and to the owner.
(e) 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 sanitized.
(f) Ensuring that light, by natural or artificial means, is
distributed in a manner that permits routine inspection and cleaning,
and the proper care and maintenance of the pets.
(g) If pet grooming services are offered by a pet boarding
facility, separating the grooming work area from the pet boarding
facility's permanent or fixed and temporary enclosures and ensuring
that the grooming areas is are cleaned
and sanitized at least once daily.
(h) Storing food in an area separate from permanent or fixed
enclosures or temporary enclosures.
(i) Maintaining an area for isolating sick pets from healthy pets.
122382. (a) Each permanent or fixed and temporary enclosure shall
comply with all of the following standards:
(1) Be structurally sound and maintained in good repair to protect
the enclosed pet from injury, to contain the pet, to keep other
animals out, and to promote the health and well-being of the pet.
(2) Be maintained in a comfortable and sanitary manner. When 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.
(3) Be constructed of material suitable for regular cleaning and
sanitizing.
(4) As needed to ensure the comfort and well-being of the pet,
provide heating, cooling, lighting, ventilation, shade, and
protection from the elements, including, but not limited to, the sun,
wind, rain, and snow.
(5) Allow a pet to turn around freely, stand easily, and sit or
lie down in a comfortable position.
(b) Each enclosure is either a permanent or fixed enclosure or a
temporary enclosure.
(c) In addition to the requirements set forth in subdivision (a),
a permanent or fixed enclosure for a cat shall provide an elevated
platform appropriate for the size of the cat.
(d) A pet may be contained in a temporary enclosure for a period
not to exceed 4 hours during the day and 12 hours at night or the
length of time that is humane for that particular pet, whichever is
less. However, the pet shall remain outside the temporary enclosure
for no less than the amount of time needed for the pet to eliminate
its waste.
122383. A pet boarding facility operator shall comply with all of
the following animal care requirements:
(a) House only one pet at a time in an enclosure unless otherwise
consented to by the owner.
(b) Observe each pet as necessary, but no less than once every 24
hours, in order to recognize the signs of sickness, injury, or
distress, and in order to ensure that the pet, food, and waste or
debris is removed as necessary to prevent contamination or injury.
(c) Provide each pet with easy and convenient access to potable
water at all times, or if the behavior of the pet makes unrestricted
access to water impracticable, offer water as often as necessary to
ensure the pet's health and well-being. However, water may be
restricted as directed by the owner or a licensed veterinarian.
(d) Provide each pet with nutritious food in quantities and at
intervals suitable for that pet.
(e) Provide each pet with at least one enrichment device or
activity that is appropriate for the age, size, and condition of the
pet unless otherwise directed in writing by the owner.
(e) Provide each pet daily with enrichment sufficient to maintain
the behavioral health of the pet.
(f) Maintain and abide by written policies and procedures that
address animal care, management and safe handling, disease prevention
and control, routine care, preventive care, emergency care,
veterinary treatment, 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.
(g) Isolate those pets that have or are suspected of having a
contagious condition.
(h) Ensure that each sick or injured pet is immediately provided
with appropriate care and, if prudent, veterinary treatment.
(i) Ensure that the owner of a pet is notified immediately that
his or her pet is sick or injured unless the owner has indicated in
writing that notification of any, or a particular, type of illness or
injury is not required.
(j) 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.
122384. (a) A pet boarding facility operator shall provide each
owner with written information describing all of the following:
(1) Days and times during which the pet boarding facility permits
pets to be dropped off and picked up.
(2) Days and times during which personnel are onsite.
(3) The square footage of the permanent or fixed and temporary
enclosures in which the species of pet that the owner is boarding is
customarily contained.
(4) General observation practices during each 24-hour period for
the species of pet that the owner is boarding is customarily observed
by personnel.
(5) The pet boarding facility's customary daily activity schedule
for the species of pet that the owner is boarding.
(b) If the pet boarding facility will materially deviate from the
customary practices described in the written information required by
subdivision (a) with respect to an owner's pet, the pet boarding
facility operator shall disclose those deviations to the owner or
patron, as appropriate.
122385. A pet boarding facility shall maintain either of the
following:
(a) A fire alarm system that is connected to a central reporting
station that alerts the local fire department in case of fire.
(b) A fire suppression sprinkler system.
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.
122386. (a) An animal control officer, as defined in Section
830.9 of the Penal Code, a humane officer qualified pursuant to
Section 14502 or 14503 of the Corporations Code, or a peace officer
who detects a violation of Sections 122380 to 122385, inclusive, if
he or she decides the violation warrants formal action, shall issue a
single notice to correct that shall contain all of the following
information:
(1) Specify each violation of this chapter found in the
inspection.
(2) Identify the corrective action for each violation.
(3) Include a specific period of time during which the listed
violation or violations are to be corrected.
(b) After issuing a notice to correct pursuant to this section,
the officer or another qualified officer of the issuing agency shall
verify compliance with this chapter by conducting a subsequent
investigation of the pet boarding facility within a reasonable period
of time.
(c) An exact, legible copy of the notice to correct shall be
delivered to the pet boarding facility operator at the time he or she
signs the notice. In the alternative, the issuing agency may
personally deliver the notice to the operator within 48 hours of its
issuance, excluding holidays and weekends. The signing of the notice
is an acknowledgment of receipt and does not constitute an admission
of guilt.
(d) A pet boarding facility operator who is verified to have
complied with a notice to correct shall not be subject to subdivision
(g).
(e) A pet boarding facility operator who violates the same
provision of this chapter on more than one occasion within a
five-year period is not eligible to receive a notice to correct, and
is guilty of an infraction on the second violation, and is guilty of
a misdemeanor on the third or subsequent violation.
(f) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a pet boarding facility
operator that causes or allows harm or injury to an animal, or allows
an animal to be subject to an unreasonable risk of harm or injury is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
(g) Except as provided in subdivisions (e) and (f), 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.
122388. Pursuant to Section 7 of Article XI of the California
Constitution, a city, county, or city and county may adopt ordinances
that establish additional standards and requirements for a pet
boarding facility.
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.