Bill Text: CA AB1951 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Crimes: animal cruelty.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [AB1951 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB1951-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1951	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 17, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Salas

                        FEBRUARY 12, 2016

   An act to amend  Section 26   Sections 597,
597.5, and 600.5  of the Penal Code, relating to crimes.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1951, as amended, Salas. Crimes:  capacity. 
 animal cruelty.  
   Existing law makes it a crime 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 to
overdrive, overload, drive when overloaded, overwork, torture,
torment, deprive of necessary sustenance, drink, or shelter, cruelly
beat, mutilate, or cruelly kill an animal. Existing law makes these
crimes punishable as a felony by imprisonment in the county jail, or
as a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not
more than one year, or by a fine of not more than $20,000, or by both
that fine and either imprisonment.  
   This bill would instead make the above crimes punishable as a
felony by imprisonment in either the state prison or a county jail,
or as a misdemeanor in a county jail, or a fine of not more than
$20,000, or by both that fine and either the felony or misdemeanor
terms of imprisonment.  
   Existing law makes it a crime to own, possess, keep, or train any
dog with the intent that the dog shall be engaged in an exhibition of
fighting with another dog. Existing law additionally makes it a
crime to, for amusement or gain, cause any dog to fight with another
dog, or cause any dog to injure another dog. Existing law also makes
it a crime for a person to permit either of these acts to be done on
premises under his or her charge or control, or to aid or abet either
act. Existing law makes these crimes punishable as a felony by
imprisonment in a county jail, or by a fine not to exceed $50,000, or
by both that fine and imprisonment.  
   This bill would instead make these crimes punishable as a felony
by imprisonment in the state prison, or by a fine not to exceed
$50,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment.  
   Existing law makes any person who intentionally causes injury to
or the death of any guide, signal, or service dog, as defined, while
the dog is in discharge of its duties, guilty of a misdemeanor,
punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year,
or by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by both a fine and that
imprisonment.  
   This bill would instead make that crime punishable as a felony by
imprisonment in either the state prison or a county jail, or as a
misdemeanor in a county jail, or by a fine of not more than $20,000,
or by both that fine and either the felony or misdemeanor terms of
imprisonment.  
   By increasing the punishments for crimes, this bill would create 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.  
   Existing law provides that all persons are capable of committing
crimes except those belonging to specified classes, including, among
others, persons who are mentally incapacitated or who committed the
act charged without being conscious thereof.  
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those
provisions. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
  yes  . State-mandated local program:  no
  yes  .


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   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, every 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), every
person who overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks,
tortures, torments, deprives of necessary sustenance, drink, or
shelter, cruelly beats, mutilates, or cruelly kills any animal, or
causes or procures any 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 any animal, either as owner or otherwise, subjects any
animal to needless suffering, or inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon
the animal, or in any manner abuses any 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 any 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  in the state prison or  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 any mammal, bird, reptile,
amphibian, or fish which 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 provisions of
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
any 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 provision of 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 any term of imprisonment and any 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.
   SEC. 2.    Section 597.5 of the   Penal Code
  is amended to read: 
   597.5.  (a) Any person who does any of the following is guilty of
a felony and is punishable by imprisonment  pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170   in the state prison
 for 16 months, or two or three years, or by a fine not to
exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or by both that fine and
imprisonment:
   (1) Owns, possesses, keeps, or trains any dog, with the intent
that the dog shall be engaged in an exhibition of fighting with
another dog.
   (2) For amusement or gain, causes any dog to fight with another
dog, or causes any dogs to injure each other.
   (3) Permits any act in violation of paragraph (1) or (2) to be
done on any premises under his or her charge or control, or aids or
abets that act.
   (b) Any person who is knowingly present, as a spectator, at any
place, building, or tenement where preparations are being made for an
exhibition of the fighting of dogs, with the intent to be present at
those preparations, or is knowingly present at that exhibition or at
any other fighting or injuring as described in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a), with the intent to be present at that exhibition,
fighting, or injuring, is guilty of an offense punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine
not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both that
imprisonment and fine.
   (c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit any of the following:
   (1) The use of dogs in the management of livestock, as defined by
Section 14205 of the Food and Agricultural Code, by the owner of the
livestock or his or her employees or agents or other persons in
lawful custody thereof.
   (2) The use of dogs in hunting as permitted by the Fish and Game
Code, including, but not limited to, Sections 4002 and 4756, and by
the rules and regulations of the Fish and Game Commission.
   (3) The training of dogs or the use of equipment in the training
of dogs for any purpose not prohibited by law.
   SEC. 3.    Section 600.5 of the   Penal Code
  is amended to read: 
   600.5.  (a) Any person who intentionally causes injury to or the
death of any guide, signal, or service dog, as defined by Section
54.1 of the Civil Code, while the dog is in discharge of its duties,
is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable  as a felony by
imprisonment in the state prison or pursuant to subdiv  
ision (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 not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding  ten
  twenty  thousand dollars  ($10,000),
  ($20,000),  or by both a fine and imprisonment.
The court shall consider the costs ordered pursuant to subdivision
(b) when determining the amount of any fines.
   (b) In any case in which a defendant is convicted of a violation
of this section, the defendant shall be ordered to make restitution
to the person with a disability who has custody or ownership of the
dog for any veterinary bills and replacement costs of the dog if it
is disabled or killed, or other reasonable costs deemed appropriate
by the court. The costs ordered pursuant to this subdivision shall be
paid prior to any fines. The person with the disability may apply
for compensation by the California Victim Compensation and Government
Claims Board pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13950)
of Part 4 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, in an
amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
   SEC. 4.    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.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 26 of the Penal Code is
amended to read:
   26.  All persons are capable of committing crimes except those
belonging to the following classes:
   (a) Children under 14 years of age, in the absence of clear proof
that at the time of committing the act charged against them, they
knew its wrongfulness.
   (b) Persons who are mentally incapacitated.
   (c) Persons who committed the act or made the omission charged
under an ignorance or mistake of fact, which disproves any criminal
intent.
   (d) Persons who committed the act charged without being conscious
thereof.
   (e) Persons who committed the act or made the omission charged
through misfortune or by accident, when it appears that there was no
evil design, intention, or culpable negligence.
   (f) Unless the crime is punishable with death, persons who
committed the act or made the omission charged under threats or
menaces sufficient to show that they had reasonable cause to and did
believe their lives would be endangered if they refused.