HB5379 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB101 16931 CMG 66331 b

101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB5379

Introduced , by Rep. Terri Bryant - Grant Wehrli

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

510 ILCS 70/7.2 new
720 ILCS 5/21-1	from Ch. 38, par. 21-1
720 ILCS 5/21-2	from Ch. 38, par. 21-2

Amends the Humane Care for Animals Act and the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that a person is immune from criminal liability for criminal damage to property and criminal trespass to vehicles resulting from his or her forcible entry into a vehicle and from civil liability for property damage if the person: (1) determines the vehicle is locked or there is otherwise no reasonable method for a dog or cat to exit the vehicle; (2) has a good faith belief that forcible entry into the vehicle is necessary because the dog or cat is in imminent danger of suffering harm if not immediately removed from the vehicle, and based upon the circumstances known to the person at the time, the belief is a reasonable one; (3) has made a good faith effort to contact a 9-1-1 emergency telephone system operator, law enforcement, or the fire department, and if contact is not possible prior to forcibly entering the vehicle, the person makes contact as soon as possible after forcibly entering the vehicle; (4) makes a good a faith effort to place a notice on the vehicle's windshield with the person's contact information, the reason entry was made, the location of the dog or cat, and the fact that authorities have been notified; (5) remains with the dog or cat in a safe location until law enforcement or emergency responders arrive; and (6) uses no more force than necessary to enter the vehicle to remove the dog or cat. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning animals.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Humane Care for Animals Act is amended by adding Section 7.2 as follows:

(510 ILCS 70/7.2 new)

Sec. 7.2. Persons removing a dog or cat from a locked vehicle exempt from civil liability.

(a) In this Section, "harm" means injury or death.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Section, a person is immune from civil liability for property damage to a locked vehicle when the damage results from forcible entry of the vehicle to remove a dog or cat from the vehicle if the person:

(1) determines the vehicle is locked or there is otherwise no reasonable method for the dog or cat to exit the vehicle;

(2) has a good faith belief that forcible entry into the vehicle is necessary because the dog or cat is in imminent danger of suffering harm if not immediately removed from the vehicle, and based upon the circumstances known to the person at the time, the belief is a reasonable one;

(3) has made a good faith effort to contact a 9-1-1 emergency telephone system operator, law enforcement, animal control, or the fire department, and if contact is not possible prior to forcibly entering the vehicle, the person makes contact as soon as possible after forcibly entering the vehicle;

(4) makes a good a faith effort to place a notice on the vehicle's windshield with the person's contact information, the reason entry was made, the location of the dog or cat, and the fact that authorities have been notified;

(5) remains with the dog or cat in a safe location until the owner arrives, at which time the owner shall take immediate custody of the dog or cat. If the owner does not arrive before a law enforcement officer, emergency responder, or animal control officer, the person shall surrender the dog or cat to the law enforcement officer, emergency responder, or animal control officer who shall seek veterinary care if he or she deems necessary. If veterinary care is not deemed necessary, the law enforcement officer, emergency responder, or animal control officer shall attempt to locate the owner and if located, shall surrender the dog or cat to the owner. If the law enforcement officer, emergency responder, or animal control officer cannot locate the owner, animal control shall take custody of the dog or cat under Section 9 of the Animal Control Act and notice shall be placed on the vehicle's windshield with information of where the dog or cat is located;

(6) uses no more force than necessary to enter the vehicle to remove the dog or cat; and

(7) provides the person's name, address, telephone number, and any other pertinent contact information to the law enforcement officer, emergency responder, or animal control officer.

(c) A person shall not be immune from civil liability for any damage or deprivation of property resulting from the forcible entry of a vehicle for the purpose of removing a dog or cat from the vehicle if the person's actions constitute recklessness or willful or wanton misconduct with regard to the entry of the vehicle.

Section 10. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by changing Sections 21-1 and 21-2 as follows:

(720 ILCS 5/21-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 21-1)

Sec. 21-1. Criminal damage to property.

(a) A person commits criminal damage to property when he or she:

(1) knowingly damages any property of another;

(2) recklessly by means of fire or explosive damages property of another;

(3) knowingly starts a fire on the land of another;

(4) knowingly injures a domestic animal of another without his or her consent;

(5) knowingly deposits on the land or in the building of another any stink bomb or any offensive smelling compound and thereby intends to interfere with the use by another of the land or building;

(6) knowingly damages any property, other than as described in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Section 20-1, with intent to defraud an insurer;

(7) knowingly shoots a firearm at any portion of a railroad train;

(8) knowingly, without proper authorization, cuts, injures, damages, defaces, destroys, or tampers with any fire hydrant or any public or private fire fighting equipment, or any apparatus appertaining to fire fighting equipment; or

(9) intentionally, without proper authorization, opens any fire hydrant.

(b) When the charge of criminal damage to property exceeding a specified value is brought, the extent of the damage is an element of the offense to be resolved by the trier of fact as either exceeding or not exceeding the specified value.

(c) It is an affirmative defense to a violation of paragraph (1), (3), or (5) of subsection (a) of this Section that the owner of the property or land damaged consented to the damage.

(c-5) It is an affirmative defense to a violation of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Section when the damage to a locked vehicle results from forcible entry to remove a dog or cat from the vehicle if the person:

(1) determines the vehicle is locked or there is otherwise no reasonable method for the dog or cat to exit the vehicle;

(2) has a good faith belief that forcible entry into the vehicle is necessary because a dog or cat is in imminent danger of suffering harm if not immediately removed from the vehicle, and based upon the circumstances known to the person at the time, the belief is a reasonable one;

(3) has made a good faith effort to contact a 9-1-1 emergency telephone system operator, law enforcement, animal control, or the fire department, and if contact is not possible prior to forcibly entering the vehicle, the person makes contact as soon as possible after forcibly entering the vehicle;

(4) makes a good a faith effort to place a notice on the vehicle's windshield with the person's contact information, the reason entry was made, the location of the dog or cat, and the fact that authorities have been notified;

(5) remains with the dog or cat in a safe location until the owner arrives, at which time the owner shall take immediate custody of the dog or cat. If the owner does not arrive before a law enforcement officer, emergency responder, or animal control officer, the person shall surrender the dog or cat to the law enforcement officer, emergency responder, or animal control officer who shall seek veterinary care if he or she deems necessary. If veterinary care is not deemed necessary, the law enforcement officer, emergency responder, or animal control officer shall attempt to locate the owner and if located, shall surrender the dog or cat to the owner. If the law enforcement officer, emergency responder, or animal control officer cannot locate the owner, animal control shall take custody of the dog or cat under Section 9 of the Animal Control Act and notice shall be placed on the vehicle's windshield with information of where the dog or cat is located;

(6) uses no more force than necessary to enter the vehicle to remove the dog or cat; and

(7) provides the person's name, address, telephone number, and any other pertinent contact information to the law enforcement officer, emergency responder, or animal control officer.

(d) Sentence.

(1) A violation of subsection (a) shall have the following penalties:

(A) A violation of paragraph (8) or (9) is a Class B misdemeanor.

(B) A violation of paragraph (1), (2), (3), (5), or (6) is a Class A misdemeanor when the damage to property does not exceed $500.

(C) A violation of paragraph (1), (2), (3), (5), or (6) is a Class 4 felony when the damage to property does not exceed $500 and the damage occurs to property of a school or place of worship or to farm equipment or immovable items of agricultural production, including but not limited to grain elevators, grain bins, and barns or property which memorializes or honors an individual or group of police officers, fire fighters, members of the United States Armed Forces, National Guard, or veterans.

(D) A violation of paragraph (4) is a Class 4 felony when the damage to property does not exceed $10,000.

(E) A violation of paragraph (7) is a Class 4 felony.

(F) A violation of paragraph (1), (2), (3), (5) or (6) is a Class 4 felony when the damage to property exceeds $500 but does not exceed $10,000.

(G) A violation of paragraphs (1) through (6) is a Class 3 felony when the damage to property exceeds $500 but does not exceed $10,000 and the damage occurs to property of a school or place of worship or to farm equipment or immovable items of agricultural production, including but not limited to grain elevators, grain bins, and barns or property which memorializes or honors an individual or group of police officers, fire fighters, members of the United States Armed Forces, National Guard, or veterans.

(H) A violation of paragraphs (1) through (6) is a Class 3 felony when the damage to property exceeds $10,000 but does not exceed $100,000.

(I) A violation of paragraphs (1) through (6) is a Class 2 felony when the damage to property exceeds $10,000 but does not exceed $100,000 and the damage occurs to property of a school or place of worship or to farm equipment or immovable items of agricultural production, including but not limited to grain elevators, grain bins, and barns or property which memorializes or honors an individual or group of police officers, fire fighters, members of the United States Armed Forces, National Guard, or veterans.

(J) A violation of paragraphs (1) through (6) is a Class 2 felony when the damage to property exceeds $100,000. A violation of paragraphs (1) through (6) is a Class 1 felony when the damage to property exceeds $100,000 and the damage occurs to property of a school or place of worship or to farm equipment or immovable items of agricultural production, including but not limited to grain elevators, grain bins, and barns or property which memorializes or honors an individual or group of police officers, fire fighters, members of the United States Armed Forces, National Guard, or veterans.

(2) When the damage to property exceeds $10,000, the court shall impose upon the offender a fine equal to the value of the damages to the property.

(3) In addition to any other sentence that may be imposed, a court shall order any person convicted of criminal damage to property to perform community service for not less than 30 and not more than 120 hours, if community service is available in the jurisdiction and is funded and approved by the county board of the county where the offense was committed. In addition, whenever any person is placed on supervision for an alleged offense under this Section, the supervision shall be conditioned upon the performance of the community service.

The community service requirement does not apply when the court imposes a sentence of incarceration.

(4) In addition to any criminal penalties imposed for a violation of this Section, if a person is convicted of or placed on supervision for knowingly damaging or destroying crops of another, including crops intended for personal, commercial, research, or developmental purposes, the person is liable in a civil action to the owner of any crops damaged or destroyed for money damages up to twice the market value of the crops damaged or destroyed.

(5) For the purposes of this subsection (d), "farm equipment" means machinery or other equipment used in farming.

(Source: P.A. 98-315, eff. 1-1-14; 99-631, eff. 1-1-17.)

(720 ILCS 5/21-2) (from Ch. 38, par. 21-2)

Sec. 21-2. Criminal trespass to vehicles.

(a) A person commits criminal trespass to vehicles when he or she knowingly and without authority enters any part of or operates any vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or snowmobile.

(a-5) It is an affirmative defense to a violation of this Section when entry to a locked vehicle is for removal of a dog or cat from the vehicle if the person:

(1) determines the vehicle is locked or there is otherwise no reasonable method for the dog or cat to exit the vehicle;

(2) has a good faith belief that forcible entry into the vehicle is necessary because a dog or cat is in imminent danger of suffering harm if not immediately removed from the vehicle, and based upon the circumstances known to the person at the time, the belief is a reasonable one;

(3) has made a good faith effort to contact a 9-1-1 emergency telephone system operator, law enforcement, animal control, or the fire department, and if contact is not possible prior to forcibly entering the vehicle, the person makes contact as soon as possible after forcibly entering the vehicle;

(4) makes a good a faith effort to place a notice on the vehicle's windshield with the person's contact information, the reason entry was made, the location of the dog or cat, and the fact that authorities have been notified;

(5) remains with the dog or cat in a safe location until the owner arrives, at which time the owner shall take immediate custody of the dog or cat. If the owner does not arrive before a law enforcement officer, emergency responder, or animal control officer, the person shall surrender the dog or cat to the law enforcement officer, emergency responder, or animal control officer who shall seek veterinary care if he or she deems necessary. If veterinary care is not deemed necessary, the law enforcement officer, emergency responder, or animal control officer shall attempt to locate the owner and if located, shall surrender the dog or cat to the owner. If the law enforcement officer, emergency responder, or animal control officer cannot locate the owner, animal control shall take custody of the dog or cat under Section 9 of the Animal Control Act and notice shall be placed on the vehicle's windshield with information of where the dog or cat is located;

(6) uses no more force than necessary to enter the vehicle to remove the dog or cat; and

(7) provides the person's name, address, telephone number, and any other pertinent contact information to the law enforcement officer, emergency responder, or animal control officer.

(b) Sentence. Criminal trespass to vehicles is a Class A misdemeanor.

(Source: P.A. 97-1108, eff. 1-1-13.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.