New Jersey-2024-A1094-Introduced

An Act concerning the assets of county societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals and amending and supplementing P.L.2005, c.372.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 4 of P.L.2005, c.372 (C.4:22-11.4) is amended to read as follows:

4. The board of trustees of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shall:

a. Establish any bylaws or regulations as may be deemed necessary for governance and operation of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals;

b. Promote the interests of, and protect and care for, animals within the State;

c. Have the authority to grant county society for the prevention of cruelty to animals charters for the formation of county societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals in a county;

d. Have the authority, upon a majority vote of the board of trustees, to revoke, cancel, or suspend the charter of a county society for the prevention of cruelty to animals for the cause of failing to comply with any requirement of this act pertaining to the establishment or operation of a county society;

e. Appoint agents for enforcing all laws and ordinances enacted for the protection of animals and for the investigation of alleged acts of cruelty to animals within the State; appoint agents for commission as humane law enforcement officers in accordance with the provisions of sections 9 and 10 of P.L.2005, c.372 (C.4:22-11.9 and C.4:22-11.10) for the purpose of enforcing all laws and ordinances enacted for the protection of animals and for the investigation of alleged acts of cruelty to animals within the State; appoint a Chief Humane Law Enforcement Officer from among the appointed humane law enforcement officers; and adopt a badge which shall be authority for making arrests;

f. Establish, or make arrangements for the provision of, mandatory annual training courses for all humane law enforcement officers and agents of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and of the county societies, which courses shall be subject to the approval of the Police Training Commission;

g. Make, alter, and use a common seal;

h. Have the authority to sue and be sued in all courts, and all actions brought by or against the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shall be in its corporate name;

i. Purchase and hold any real estate as may be expedient for the advancement of the purposes of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and take by devise or gift all real estate or personal property that is devised or given to it, or to a county society in a county where a chartered county society does not exist, without regard to value. The title to any real estate shall be taken in the corporate name of the society; and

j. [Hold in escrow any assets, after payment of any outstanding debts, of a county society that dissolves or has its charter revoked, canceled, or suspended for any reason until a new county society for that county is formed and chartered or the revoked, canceled, or suspended charter for the county is restored, at which time the board of trustees shall transfer those assets to the newly formed and chartered county society or the county society whose revoked, canceled, or suspended charter has been restored, as the case may be; and] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

k. Assist persons in counties without a chartered county society to obtain a charter.

(cf: P.L.2005, c.372, s.4)

2. Section 7 of P.L.2005, c.372 (C.4:22-11.7) is amended to read as follows:

7. A county society for the prevention of cruelty to animals continued or established in accordance with section 6 of P.L.2005, c.372 (C.4:22-11.6) shall:

a. Elect its own board of trustees from the members of the county society for the prevention of cruelty to animals who reside within the county or who choose to be affiliated with that county society;

b. Establish bylaws or regulations necessary for the governance and operation of the county society;

c. Enforce all laws and ordinances enacted for the protection of animals;

d. Promote the interests of, and protect and care for, animals within the State;

e. Appoint agents for enforcing all laws and ordinances enacted for the protection of animals and for the investigation of alleged acts of cruelty to animals within the State; appoint up to, but not more than, three agents for commission as humane law enforcement officers in accordance with the provisions of sections 9 and 10 of P.L.2005, c.372 (C.4:22-11.9 and C.4:22-11.10) for the purpose of enforcing all laws and ordinances enacted for the protection of animals and for the investigation of alleged acts of cruelty to animals within the State, and, with the concurrence of the county prosecutor, authorize the commission of such additional humane law enforcement officers over that established maximum as may be necessary based upon population or the number, degree, or complexity of animal cruelty complaints; and appoint a Chief Humane Law Enforcement Officer from among the appointed humane law enforcement officers;

f. Investigate alleged acts of cruelty to animals and, when necessary, request legal assistance from the office of the appropriate county or municipal prosecutor, which the county or municipal prosecutor, as the case may be, shall make every reasonable effort to provide;

g. Adopt a badge, which shall be authority for making arrests and which shall be easily distinguishable from the badge adopted by the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals;

h. Have the authority to sue and be sued in all courts, and all actions brought by or against the county society shall be in its corporate name; [and]

i. Purchase and hold any real estate as may be expedient for the advancement of the purposes of the county society, and take by devise or gift all real estate or personal property that is devised or given to it, without regard to value. The title to any real estate shall be taken in the corporate name of the county society ; and

j. Provide in its bylaws for the disposition, after payment of any outstanding debts, of its assets should it dissolve or have its charter revoked, canceled, or suspended for any reason, to the Coalition of County SPCAs for distribution by the coalition to an appropriate entity or entities within the same county with a similar mission or purpose of promoting the interests of, and protecting and caring for, animals .

(cf: P.L.2005, c.372, s.7)

3. (New section) a. If a county society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shall dissolve or have its charter revoked, canceled, or suspended for any reason, the assets of the county society shall be disposed of as provided by the applicable bylaws of the county society adopted for that purpose pursuant to subsection j. of section 7 of P.L.2005, c.372 (C.4:22-11.7).

b. The New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shall have (1) no claim whatsoever to the assets of any county society, and (2) no authority to determine the disposition of the assets of any county society that has dissolved or has had its charter revoked, canceled, or suspended for any reason.

4. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would revise the law concerning the disposition of assets of a county society for the prevention of cruelty to animals (county society) that has dissolved or has had its charter revoked, canceled, or suspended.

Specifically, this bill would require each county society to provide in its bylaws for the disposition, after payment of any outstanding debts, of its assets should it dissolve or have its charter revoked, canceled, or suspended for any reason, to the Coalition of County SPCAs for distribution by the coalition to an appropriate entity or entities within the same county with a similar mission of promoting the interests of, and protecting and caring for, animals. The bill would require the assets of a county society that is dissolved or has its charter revoked, cancelled, or suspended, to be disposed of as provided by the applicable bylaws adopted for that purpose, and it would further specify that the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has (a) no claim whatsoever to the assets of such county society, and (b) no authority to determine the disposition of the county society's assets.