BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE SB 1785
Office of Senate Floor Analyses
1020 N Street, Suite 524
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
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Bill No: SB 1785
Author: Hayden (D), et al
Amended: 8/24/98
Vote: 21
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SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 6-2, 4/21/98
AYES: Burton, Calderon, Lockyer, O'Connell, Schiff, Sher
NOES: Leslie, Wright
NOT VOTING: Haynes
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-1, 5/18/98
AYES: Alpert, Dills, Johnson, Kelley, Leslie, McPherson,
Mountjoy
NOES: Johnston
NOT VOTING: Burton, Calderon, Hughes, Karnette,
Vasconcellos
SENATE FLOOR : 24-5, 5/20/98
AYES: Alpert, Ayala, Burton, Costa, Dills, Greene, Hayden,
Hughes, Johannessen, Johnston, Kelley, Kopp, Lockyer,
McPherson, O'Connell, Peace, Polanco, Rosenthal, Schiff,
Sher, Solis, Thompson, Vasconcellos, Watson
NOES: Haynes, Hurtt, Knight, Monteith, Wright
NOT VOTING: Brulte, Calderon, Craven, Johnson, Karnette,
Leslie, Lewis, Maddy, Mountjoy, Rainey
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-3, 8/26/98 - See last page for vote
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SUBJECT : Stray animals: duties of pounds and shelters
SOURCE : Author
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DIGEST : This bill provides that public and private
animal shelters are subject to the same anti-cruelty
statutes as private citizens who take possession of a stray
dog or cat. It also requires that animal shelters:
1.Keep animals for a minimum of three business days before
they are put up for adoption and a minimum of six
business days before they are euthanized.
2.Make animals available to non-profit rescue societies or
adoption organizations free of charge, excluding
reasonable spay or neuter costs.
3.Maintain accurate records of all animals turned over to
the shelter, from the time of possession.
4.Keep and provide for any legally ownable pet.
5.Make reasonable efforts to contact the owner of an animal
in its possession and to inform him or her of recovery
procedures.
In addition, this bill provides that it is the policy of
the state that no adoptable animal should be euthanized.
Assembly Amendments :
1.Delete $20,000 penalty for violation of the provisions of
this bill.
2.Add clarifying language relative to liability.
3.Allow a shelter to charge an adoption fee for a cat.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that a stray dog or cat
that is impounded must be held for 72 hours before it may
be killed.
This bill provides that:
1.Any impounded animal that may be legally owned must be
held for six business days before it may be killed. It
provides that an impounded animal would be available for
owner redemption during the first three business days and
for adoption or owner redemption during the following
three business days.
2.It is the policy of the state that no adoptable animal
should be euthanized if it can be adopted into a suitable
home and that no treatable animal should be euthanized.
It defines "adoptable" and "treatable". The above, by
itself, shall not be the basis of liability for damages
regarding euthanasia.
3.Any stray dog or cat that is impounded shall, prior to
the killing of that animal for any reason other than
irremediable suffering, be released to a nonprofit animal
rescue or adoption organization if requested by the
organization prior to the scheduled killing of that
animal. The pound or shelter may charge an adoption fee
not to exceed the standard adoption fee.
The bill provides that any rabbit, guinea pig, hamster,
gerbil, pot-bellied pig, lizard, snake, turtle or
tortoise, legally allowed as personal property, fall
under the same provisions as for the cats and dogs
specified above.
4.Requires any owner relinquished to be kept for two
business days before it may be killed. This particular
provision sunsets on January 1, 2001.
Existing law provides that an animal control agency must
keep records of the whereabouts of any animal in its
possession for 72 hours and must make those records
available for inspection by the public upon request.
This bill provides that an animal control agency or private
animal shelter must keep accurate records on each animal
that is taken, medically treated, euthanized, or impounded.
It requires that those records include the circumstances
under which the animal was taken up, medically treated,
euthanized, or impounded, the names of the personnel who
took up, medically treated, euthanized, or impounded the
animal, a description of any medical treatment provided,
the name of the veterinarian of record, the final
disposition of the animal, (including the name of the
person who euthanized the animal or the names of parties
who adopted the animal). This bill requires the
maintenance of those records from the time the agency or
shelter takes possession of the animal.
Existing law provides that all animal control agencies and
private animal shelters must provide owners of lost animals
and those who find lost animals with a list of lost and
found animals maintained by the shelter. It also requires
that they provide the telephone numbers and addresses of
other animal control agencies and private animal shelters
in the area. These provisions carry neither civil nor
criminal penalties.
This bill also requires that animal control agencies and
private animal shelters make reasonable efforts to contact
the owner of an animal in its possession and to inform him
or her of recovery procedures. It requires that animal
shelters keep records of such efforts. In addition, this
bill provides that violations of the above cited existing
law are a cause of action for damages against a public
entity, employee of a public entity, or any other person.
Existing law provides that local governments may, but are
not required to, adopt statutory language requiring animal
control centers to conduct postseizure hearings to
determine whether the seizure or impounding of an animal
was lawful. Existing case law [Carrera v. Bertaini Civ.
No. 2713. Fifth Dist. Nov. 12, 1976.] provides that animal
control centers must conduct postseizure hearings.
This bill codifies existing case law to provide that animal
control centers must conduct postseizure hearings.
The bill makes the following declarations and findings:
1. Public and private shelters and humane organizations
share a common purpose in saving animals' lives,
preventing animal suffering, and eliminating animal
abandonment.
2. Public and private shelters and humane groups should
work together to end euthanasia of adoptable and
treatable animals by 2010.
3. Redemption of owned pets and adoption of lost or stray
adoptable animals is preferable to incurring social and
economic costs of euthanasia.
4. Shelters should be open during hours that permit
working pet owners to redeem pets during non-working
hours.
5. Shelters should aggressively promote spay and neuter
programs to reduce pet overpopulation.
6. Shelters should not adopt out animals that are not
spayed or neutered.
7. Public shelters should work with humane animal
adoption organizations to the fullest extent possible
to promote the adoption of animals and to reduce the
rate of killing.
8. The intent of this act is to do all of the following:
A. Increase the focus of shelters to owner
redemption and adoption by making record keeping
mandatory to aid in owner redemption, providing owner
relinquished pets the same holding period as stray
animals to allow for adoption, and providing for an
explicit adoption period.
B. Consolidate and list clear guidelines for care
and treatment for animals held in shelters.
C. Extend public shelter responsibilities from dogs
and cats to other specified pets.
D. Make shelters accountable to pet owners and the
public for records and the care of animals in their
possession.
E. Make clear shelter responsibilities are the same
as those legally assumed by a person who voluntarily
picks up an animal.
9. Statutory law prescribes the type of treatment that
private citizens must extend to stray animals they
voluntarily pick up and that public and private animal
shelters should be held to the same legal duties as
those that exist for private citizens.
10. It is better to have public and private shelters pick
up or take in animals than private citizens. The
Legislature further finds that the taking in of animals
is important for public health and safety, to aid in
the return of the animal to its owner, and to prevent
inhumane conditions for lost or free roaming animals.
11. Shelters should be required by law to take in lost
animals and properly care for them with prompt
veterinary care, adequate nutrition, shelter, exercise,
and water.
12. Shelters receiving animals that have identification
should make reasonable attempts to notify the owner of
the animal's location.
13. The duties of shelters to properly care for an animal
do not cease if the owner of a lost animal does not
claim the animal; and the shelter should have the duty
to make the animal available for adoption for a
reasonable period of time and to care properly for the
animal during this period.
14. The Legislature finds and declares that lost animals
should be held for a period of time to ensure that the
owner has proper access to redeem the animal.
The bill provides that the duties imposed by this bill are
mandatory duties for public entities and for all private
entities with which the public entity has contracted to
perform those duties.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/19/98) (Unable to reverify at time
of writing)
The Humane Society of the United States
Friends of Animals
The Fund for Animals, Inc.
In Defense of Animals
Animal Emancipation, Inc.
Animal Legislative Action Network
Orange County People for Animals
The Cat and Dog Rescue Association
Cats at the Studios, Inc.
Doris Day Animal League
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/19/98) (Unable to reverify at
time of writing)
California Animal Control Directors Association
California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers
Association
City of Los Angeles
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
the purpose of this bill is:
1.To make it clear that animal shelters and private
individuals have the same responsibility to animals under
their care.
2.To reduce the number of adoptable animals euthanized at
shelters by shifting the focus of shelters from killing
to owner redemption and adoption.
3.To give owner relinquished pets the same chance to live
as stray animals by providing for uniform holding
periods.
4.To establish clearer guidelines for the care and
treatment of animals in shelters.
5.To require shelters to care for all pets.
The author's office argues that too many adoptable animals
are euthanized by shelters and that the proposed changes
will decrease the frequency of this tragedy. Further, the
author argues that taxpayers who own legally allowed pets
other than cats and dogs should be treated the same as
taxpayers who own cats and dogs.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The principal opponents of this
bill, the California Association of Animal Control
Directors and The California Agricultural Commissioners and
Sealers Association have expressed numerous concerns.
Opponents argue that the provisions in this bill which
require that shelters keep animals for a minimum of six
business days would dramatically increase operating costs.
Pat Claerbout, Director of El Dorado County Animal Control,
points out that the six business day requirement would
necessitate the holding of animals for a minimum of up to
eight days, since weekends do not constitute business days.
During the holidays, shelters could be required to hold
animals for as long as eleven or twelve days. Claerbout
argues that in order to meet this provision, most shelters
would be forced to expand their facilities and hire
additional staff.
Opponents further argue that the requirement that shelters
release animals to rescue societies as soon as they are
available for adoption will create a "cherry picking
problem" whereby rescue societies and adoption
organizations could frequently remove all easily adoptable
animals from the shelters, leaving only unadoptable animals
in the shelters. Claerbout argues that shelters need to be
able to retain some of the easily adoptable animals so that
they can entice the public to visit shelters. Higher
numbers of visitors results in more frequent adoptions of
less easily adoptable animals. Further, opponents of the
bill argue that the requirement that shelters release
animals to rescue societies and adoption organizations for
free will decrease their revenues.
Opponents are concerned that the requirement that animal
control centers conduct postseizure hearings will increase
operating costs.
Opponents also argue that shelters currently maintain
adequate records of impounded animals and that they are
already subject to anti- cruelty
statutes.
RJG:cm 8/27/98 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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