BILL NUMBER: SB 1373 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 2, 2002
INTRODUCED BY Senator O'Connell
FEBRUARY 7, 2002
An act to add Sections 1730 and 1731 ,
1731, and 1732 to the Civil Code, and to amend Section
30502 of, and to add Section 30802.5 to, the Food and Agricultural
Code, relating to animals.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1373, as amended, O'Connell. Dogs and cats: registration and
microchipping.
Existing law provides for the regulation and licensure of dogs and
cats, as specified.
This bill would enact civil provisions , operative July 1,
2003, that would prohibit a seller or breeder of a dog or cat
from selling a dog or cat that is less than one year old unless a
registration fee for the sale has been paid to the county, city, or
city and county providing animal control services. The bill
would authorize those local entities to establish and impose a fine
upon any seller or breeder who violates this provision.
The bill would require local agencies to issue, upon payment of
the registration fee, a registration number or numbers to the seller
or breeder. The bill would provide that the
authorize a county, city, or city and county may
to establish a fee for each
registration fees and civil penalties to administer
and enforce these provisions . The bill would express the
intent of the Legislature that these fees and fines
imposed pursuant to these provisions would civil
penalties be used only for specified purposes, including the
costs of administering the bill's provisions. The bill would also
require the registration fee receipt number to be displayed in any
advertisement for the sale of the a dog
or cat. The bill would require local officials to maintain
records regarding the number and type of dogs and cats sold pursuant
to these provisions. The bill would require that these records be
open to public inspection, as specified.
The bill would also require the seller of any dog or cat to ensure
that the dog or cat has been microchipped.
The bill would also require local ordinances governing the
issuance of dog license tags to require the owner of a dog to notify
animal control when he or she transfers the dog to a new owner and to
provide contact information for the new owner of record.
The bill would provide that a valid local ordinance that imposes
more restrictive requirements than these provisions would prevail
over these provisions.
By imposing new duties on local officials, the 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. Section 1730 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1730. (a) No seller or breeder of a dog or cat may sell a dog or
cat less than one year old unless a registration fee for the sale
has been paid to the county, city, or city and county agency
providing animal control services . A seller or breeder who
violates this subdivision is subject to a fine as provided in
subdivision (e). according to the provisions of
Section 1732. Upon payment of the registration fee, the local agency
shall issue a registration number or numbers to the seller or
breeder as determined by the agency.
(b) The registration fee receipt number or
numbers issued by the local agency pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be displayed in any advertisement for the sale of the dog or
cat.
(c) The local agency shall obtain from the seller or breeder of a
dog or cat the age, sex, color, and breed of the dog or cat
and the street address and telephone number of the seller
and the number of dogs and cats offered for sale .
(d) The county, city, or city and county may establish a fee for
each registration to sell a dog or cat that is less than one year
old. It is the intent of the Legislature that the proceeds from this
fee be used to supplement, rather than supplant, existing funding
for the purposes described in subdivision (f).
(e) The county, city, or city and county may establish and impose
a fine upon any seller or breeder who violates subdivision (a) of
this section.
(f) The fees and fines imposed pursuant to this section may be
used only for the following purposes:
(1) The costs of administering the provisions of this section.
(2) A program to spay or neuter dogs or cats.
(3) The safe and sanitary shelter of dogs and cats.
(4) Programs to encourage the adoption of dogs and cats.
(5) The costs of microchipping dogs and cats.
(6) A public education program to prevent overpopulation of dogs
and cats.
(g) The county clerk or the agency or entity providing animal
control services shall maintain records regarding the number and type
of dogs and cats sold and the source that sold the dogs and cats.
The records shall be open to public inspection. The name and address
of the seller may not be open to public inspection.
(h) Any agency or entity that provides animal control services to
any county, city, or city and county may enter into cooperative
agreements with each other in carrying out this section.
(i)
(d) For the purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(1) "Advertising" "Advertisement"
includes, but is not limited to, advertising in newspapers, flyers,
newsletters, magazines, periodicals, or other publications,
electronic media, Internet Web sites, oral offers, or the display of
a dog or cat.
(2) "Seller" does not include nonprofit organizations, as defined
in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, animal rescue or
adoption organizations registered with a local agency ,
shelters operated by local agencies or societies for the
prevention of cruelty to animals, and humane shelters that contract
with a local agency to perform public animal control
services as long as none of the organizations breed dogs or
cats.
(3) "Local agency" means a city, county, or city and county agency
providing animal control services or any agency or entity that
provides animal control services to any city, county, or city and
county that has entered into a cooperative agreement to carry out
this section and Sections 1731 and 1732 .
SEC. 2. Section 1731 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1731. The seller of any dog or cat shall ensure that the dog or
cat has been microchipped and the owner's identification has been
entered into a local registry maintained by a county, city, or city
and county agency providing animal control services or into a
national registry.
SEC. 3. Section 30502 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended
to read:
30502. Any dog license tag that is issued by any city and county
or city constitutes compliance with this division if it is issued
pursuant to an ordinance that does all of the following:
(a) Substantially complies with this division.
(b) Provides for the wearing of the license tag upon the collar of
the dog.
(c) Provides for the keeping of a record which shall establish the
identity of the person that owns or harbors the dog.
(d) Requires the owner of the dog to notify animal control when he
or she transfers the dog to a new owner and to provide contact
information for the new owner of record.
SEC. 4. Section 30802.5 is added to the Food and Agricultural
Code, to read:
30802.5. Any dog license tag that is issued by any county
constitutes compliance with this division if it is issued pursuant to
an ordinance that requires the owner of the dog to notify animal
control when he or she transfers the dog to a new owner and to
provide contact information for the new owner of record.
SEC. 5.
SEC. 3. Section 1732 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1732. In order to administer and enforce Sections 1730 and 1731,
a county, city, or city and county may establish fees and civil
penalties. It is the intent of the Legislature that the proceeds
from these fees and civil penalties be used to supplement, rather
than supplant, existing funding for the following purposes:
(1) The costs of administering and enforcing the provisions of
Sections 1730 and 1731.
(2) A program to spay or neuter dogs and cats.
(3) The safe and sanitary shelter of dogs and cats.
(4) Programs to encourage the adoption of dogs and cats.
(5) The costs of microchipping dogs and cats.
(6) Public education programs to prevent overpopulation of dogs
and cats.
SEC. 4. Any valid local ordinance that imposes more
restrictive requirements than the provisions of Sections 1730 and
1731 of the Civil Code and Sections 30502 and 20802.5 of the
Food and Agricultural Code shall prevail over these
sections.
SEC. 5. The provisions of this act shall become operative on July
1, 2003.
SEC. 6. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a
local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.