Full Text of HB1080 97th General Assembly
HB1080 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012 HB1080 Introduced 02/03/11, by Rep. John E. Bradley SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 510 ILCS 5/15 | from Ch. 8, par. 365 | 510 ILCS 5/24 | from Ch. 8, par. 374 |
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Amends the Animal Control Act. Removes the ban on classifying vicious dogs based on breed. Effective immediately.
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| | | HOME RULE NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning animals.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Animal Control Act is amended by changing | 5 | | Sections 15 and 24 as follows:
| 6 | | (510 ILCS 5/15) (from Ch. 8, par. 365)
| 7 | | 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
| 11 | | 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
| 17 | | 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
| 19 | | 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 | | the
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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| 1 | | by clear and convincing evidence. The
Administrator shall | 2 | | determine where the animal shall be confined during the
| 3 | | pendency of the case.
| 4 | | A dog may not be declared vicious if the court determines | 5 | | the conduct of
the
dog was
justified because:
| 6 | | (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;
| 11 | | (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
| 15 | | (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.
| 18 | | 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.
| 22 | | If the burden of proof has been met, the court shall deem | 23 | | the dog to be a
vicious dog.
| 24 | | 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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| 1 | | days of the finding at the expense of its
owner and | 2 | | microchipped, if not already, and the dog is subject to
| 3 | | 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
| 14 | | County
Animal Control where he or she has relocated and the | 15 | | Administrator of County
Animal Control where he or she formerly | 16 | | resided.
| 17 | | (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 | | is
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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| 1 | | of the owner or keeper of the dog or muzzled in its residence.
| 2 | | 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.
| 6 | | 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.
| 10 | | 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.
| 14 | | 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
| 19 | | exemption under this Section, each such dog shall be currently
| 20 | | 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
| 22 | | 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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| 1 | | notify such departments of any address changes reported to him.
| 2 | | (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.
| 24 | | (Source: P.A. 96-1171, eff. 7-22-10.)
| 25 | | (510 ILCS 5/24) (from Ch. 8, par. 374)
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| 1 | | Sec. 24.
Nothing in this Act shall be held to limit in any | 2 | | manner the power
of any municipality or other political | 3 | | subdivision to prohibit animals from
running at large, nor | 4 | | shall anything in this Act be construed to, in any
manner, | 5 | | limit the power of any municipality or other political | 6 | | subdivision
to further control and regulate dogs, cats or other | 7 | | animals in such
municipality or other political subdivision | 8 | | provided that no regulation or
ordinance is
specific to breed .
| 9 | | (Source: P.A. 93-548, eff. 8-19-03.)
| 10 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 11 | | becoming law.
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