Full Text of HB4669 96th General Assembly
HB4669 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010 HB4669
Introduced , by Rep. Thomas Holbrook SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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510 ILCS 5/15 |
from Ch. 8, par. 365 |
510 ILCS 70/4.03 |
from Ch. 8, par. 704.03 |
510 ILCS 70/4.04 |
from Ch. 8, par. 704.04 |
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Amends the Animal Control Act. Exempts accelerant detection dogs from regulation as vicious dogs if certain requirements are met. Amends the Humane Care for Animals Act. Makes it unlawful for any
person to do any of the following to a canine used by a fire officer for arson investigations in the performance of his or her functions or while off duty: (i) to interfere or
meddle with the canine, (ii) to willfully and maliciously taunt, torment, tease, beat, strike, or
administer or subject any desensitizing drugs, chemicals, or substance to the canine, and (iii) to willfully or maliciously torture,
mutilate, injure, disable, poison, or kill the canine. Effective immediately.
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| CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
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A BILL FOR
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HB4669 |
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LRB096 15065 JDS 30064 b |
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| AN ACT concerning animals.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Animal Control Act is amended by changing | 5 |
| Section 15 as follows:
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| (510 ILCS 5/15) (from Ch. 8, par. 365)
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| Sec. 15. (a) In order to have a dog deemed "vicious", the | 8 |
| Administrator,
Deputy
Administrator,
or law enforcement | 9 |
| officer must give notice of the
infraction that
is the basis of | 10 |
| the investigation to the owner, conduct a thorough
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| investigation, interview
any witnesses, including the owner, | 12 |
| gather any existing medical records,
veterinary
medical | 13 |
| records or behavioral evidence, and make a detailed report | 14 |
| recommending
a
finding that the dog is a vicious dog and give | 15 |
| the report to the States
Attorney's Office and the
owner. The | 16 |
| Administrator, State's Attorney, Director or any citizen of the
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| county in
which the dog exists may file a complaint in the | 18 |
| circuit court in the name of
the People of the
State of
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| Illinois to deem a dog to be a vicious dog. Testimony of a | 20 |
| certified applied
behaviorist, a
board certified veterinary | 21 |
| behaviorist, or another recognized expert may be
relevant to | 22 |
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court's determination of whether the dog's behavior was | 23 |
| justified. The
petitioner must
prove the dog is a vicious dog |
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HB4669 |
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LRB096 15065 JDS 30064 b |
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| by clear and convincing evidence. The
Administrator shall | 2 |
| determine where the animal shall be confined during the
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| pendency of the case.
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| A dog may not be declared vicious if the court determines | 5 |
| the conduct of
the
dog was
justified because:
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| (1) the threat, injury, or death was sustained by a | 7 |
| person who at the time
was
committing a crime or offense | 8 |
| upon the owner or custodian of the dog, or was committing a | 9 |
| willful trespass or other tort upon the premises or | 10 |
| property owned or occupied by the owner of the animal;
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| (2) the injured, threatened, or killed person was | 12 |
| abusing,
assaulting,
or physically threatening the dog or | 13 |
| its offspring, or has in the past
abused,
assaulted, or | 14 |
| physically threatened the dog or its offspring; or
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| (3) the dog was responding to pain or injury, or was | 16 |
| protecting itself, its
owner,
custodian, or member of its | 17 |
| household, kennel, or offspring.
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| No dog shall be deemed "vicious" if it is a professionally | 19 |
| trained dog for
law
enforcement or guard duties. Vicious dogs | 20 |
| shall not be classified
in a manner that is specific as to | 21 |
| breed.
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| If the burden of proof has been met, the court shall deem | 23 |
| the dog to be a
vicious dog.
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| If a dog is found to be a vicious dog, the owner shall pay a | 25 |
| $100 public safety fine to be deposited into the Pet Population | 26 |
| Control Fund, the dog shall be spayed or
neutered within 10 |
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| days of the finding at the expense of its
owner and | 2 |
| microchipped, if not already, and the dog is subject to
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| enclosure. If an owner fails to comply with these requirements, | 4 |
| the animal control agency shall impound the dog and the owner | 5 |
| shall pay a $500 fine plus impoundment fees to the animal | 6 |
| control agency impounding the dog. The judge has the discretion | 7 |
| to order a vicious dog be euthanized. A dog found to be a | 8 |
| vicious dog shall not be released to the
owner until the | 9 |
| Administrator, an Animal Control Warden, or the
Director | 10 |
| approves the enclosure. No owner or
keeper of a vicious dog | 11 |
| shall sell or give away the dog without
approval from the | 12 |
| Administrator or court. Whenever an owner of a vicious dog | 13 |
| relocates, he or she shall notify
both the
Administrator of
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| County
Animal Control where he or she has relocated and the | 15 |
| Administrator of County
Animal Control where he or she formerly | 16 |
| resided.
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| (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or maintain | 18 |
| any dog
which has been found to be a vicious dog unless the dog | 19 |
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kept in an enclosure. The only times that a vicious dog may | 20 |
| be allowed out
of the enclosure are (1) if it is necessary for | 21 |
| the owner or keeper to
obtain veterinary care for the dog, (2) | 22 |
| in the case of an emergency or
natural disaster where the
dog's | 23 |
| life is threatened, or (3) to comply with the order of a
court | 24 |
| of competent jurisdiction, provided that the dog is securely | 25 |
| muzzled
and restrained with a leash not
exceeding 6 feet in | 26 |
| length, and shall be under the direct control and
supervision |
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| of the owner or keeper of the dog or muzzled in its residence.
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| Any dog which has been found to be a vicious dog and which | 3 |
| is not
confined to an enclosure shall be impounded by the | 4 |
| Administrator, an Animal
Control Warden, or the law enforcement | 5 |
| authority having jurisdiction in
such area.
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| If the owner of the dog has not appealed the impoundment | 7 |
| order to the
circuit court in the county in which the animal | 8 |
| was impounded within 15
working days, the dog may be | 9 |
| euthanized.
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| Upon filing a notice of appeal, the order of euthanasia | 11 |
| shall be
automatically stayed pending the outcome of the | 12 |
| appeal. The owner shall bear
the burden of timely notification | 13 |
| to animal control in writing.
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| Guide dogs for the blind or hearing impaired, support dogs | 15 |
| for the
physically handicapped, accelerant detection dogs, and | 16 |
| sentry, guard, or
police-owned dogs are
exempt from this | 17 |
| Section; provided, an attack or injury to a person
occurs while | 18 |
| the dog is performing duties as expected. To qualify for
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| exemption under this Section, each such dog shall be currently
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| inoculated against rabies in accordance with Section 8
of this | 21 |
| Act. It shall be the duty of the owner of such exempted dog to
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| notify the Administrator of changes of address. In the case of | 23 |
| a sentry or
guard dog, the owner shall keep the Administrator | 24 |
| advised of the location
where such dog will be stationed. The | 25 |
| Administrator shall provide police
and fire departments with a | 26 |
| categorized list of such exempted dogs, and
shall promptly |
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| notify such departments of any address changes reported to him.
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| (c) If the animal control agency has custody of the dog, | 3 |
| the agency may file a petition with the court requesting that | 4 |
| the owner be ordered to post security. The security must be in | 5 |
| an amount sufficient to secure payment of all reasonable | 6 |
| expenses expected to be incurred by the animal control agency | 7 |
| or animal shelter in caring for and providing for the dog | 8 |
| pending the determination. Reasonable expenses include, but | 9 |
| are not limited to, estimated medical care and boarding of the | 10 |
| animal for 30 days. If security has been posted in accordance | 11 |
| with this Section, the animal control agency may draw from the | 12 |
| security the actual costs incurred by the agency in caring for | 13 |
| the dog. | 14 |
| (d) Upon receipt of a petition, the court must set a | 15 |
| hearing on the petition, to be conducted within 5 business days | 16 |
| after the petition is filed. The petitioner must serve a true | 17 |
| copy of the petition upon the defendant. | 18 |
| (e) If the court orders the posting of security, the | 19 |
| security must be posted with the clerk of the court within 5 | 20 |
| business days after the hearing. If the person ordered to post | 21 |
| security does not do so, the dog is forfeited by operation of | 22 |
| law and the animal control agency must dispose of the animal | 23 |
| through adoption or humane euthanization.
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| (Source: P.A. 93-548, eff. 8-19-03; 94-639, eff. 8-22-05.)
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| Section 10. The Humane Care for Animals Act is amended by |
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| changing Sections 4.03 and 4.04 as follows:
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| (510 ILCS 70/4.03) (from Ch. 8, par. 704.03)
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| Sec. 4.03.
Teasing, striking or tampering with police | 4 |
| animals, service
animals, accelerant detection dogs, or search | 5 |
| and rescue dogs prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any
person | 6 |
| to willfully and maliciously taunt, torment, tease, beat, | 7 |
| strike, or
administer or subject any desensitizing drugs, | 8 |
| chemicals , or substance to (i)
any animal used by a law | 9 |
| enforcement officer in the performance of his or her
functions | 10 |
| or duties, or when placed in confinement off duty, (ii) any | 11 |
| service
animal, (iii) any search and rescue dog, or (iv) any | 12 |
| police, service, or search
and rescue animal in training , or | 13 |
| (v) any accelerant detection canine used by a fire officer for | 14 |
| arson investigations in the performance of his or her functions | 15 |
| or while off duty . It is unlawful for any person to interfere | 16 |
| or
meddle with (i) any animal used by a law enforcement | 17 |
| department or agency or
any handler thereof in the performance | 18 |
| of the functions or duties of the
department or agency, (ii) | 19 |
| any service animal, (iii) any search and rescue dog,
or (iv) | 20 |
| any law enforcement, service, or search and rescue animal in | 21 |
| training , or (v) any accelerant detection canine used by a fire | 22 |
| officer for arson investigations in the performance of his or | 23 |
| her functions or while off duty .
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| Any person convicted of violating this Section is guilty of | 25 |
| a Class A
misdemeanor. A second or subsequent violation is a |
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| Class 4 felony.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-454, eff. 1-1-02; 92-650, eff. 7-11-02.)
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| (510 ILCS 70/4.04) (from Ch. 8, par. 704.04)
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| Sec. 4.04. Injuring or killing police animals, service | 5 |
| animals, accelerant detection dogs, or search
and rescue dogs | 6 |
| prohibited.
It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully | 7 |
| or maliciously torture,
mutilate, injure, disable, poison, or | 8 |
| kill (i) any animal used by a law
enforcement department or | 9 |
| agency in the performance of the functions or duties
of the | 10 |
| department or agency or when placed in confinement off duty, | 11 |
| (ii) any
service animal, (iii) any search and rescue dog, or | 12 |
| (iv) any law enforcement,
service, or search and rescue animal | 13 |
| in training , or (v) any accelerant detection canine used by a | 14 |
| fire officer for arson investigations in the performance of his | 15 |
| or her functions or while off duty . However, a police officer | 16 |
| or
veterinarian may perform euthanasia in emergency situations | 17 |
| when delay would
cause the animal undue suffering and pain.
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| A person convicted of violating this Section is guilty of a | 19 |
| Class 4
felony if the animal is not killed or totally disabled; | 20 |
| if
the animal is killed or totally disabled, the person is | 21 |
| guilty of a Class 3 felony.
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| (Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 95-560, eff. 8-30-07.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 24 |
| becoming law.
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