Full Text of HB1128 94th General Assembly
HB1128 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006 HB1128
Introduced 02/08/05, by Rep. Jerry L. Mitchell SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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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 a restriction that forbids classifying vicious dogs by breed. Allows municipalities and other political subdivisions to regulate animals specific to breed (now, they may not regulate specific to breed).
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A BILL FOR
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HB1128 |
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LRB094 09249 RCE 39483 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 |
| Sections 15 and 24 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,
animal control warden, or | 9 |
| law enforcement officer must give notice of the
infraction that
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| is the basis of the investigation to the owner, conduct a | 11 |
| thorough
investigation, interview
any witnesses, including the | 12 |
| owner, 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 | 24 |
| by clear and convincing evidence. The
Administrator shall | 25 |
| determine where the animal shall be confined during the
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| pendency of the case.
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| A dog shall not be declared vicious if the court determines | 28 |
| the conduct of
the
dog was
justified because:
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| (1) the threat, injury, or death was sustained by a | 30 |
| person who at the time
was
committing a crime or offense | 31 |
| upon the owner or custodian of the dog, or upon
the
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| property of the owner or custodian of the dog;
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HB1128 |
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LRB094 09249 RCE 39483 b |
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| (2) the injured, threatened, or killed person was | 2 |
| tormenting, abusing,
assaulting,
or physically threatening | 3 |
| the dog or its offspring, or has in the past
tormented, | 4 |
| abused,
assaulted, or physically threatened the dog or its | 5 |
| offspring; or
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| (3) the dog was responding to pain or injury, or was | 7 |
| protecting itself, its
owner,
custodian, or member of its | 8 |
| household, kennel, or offspring.
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| No dog shall be deemed "vicious" if it is a professionally | 10 |
| trained dog for
law
enforcement or guard duties. Vicious dogs | 11 |
| shall not be classified
in a manner that is specific as to | 12 |
| breed.
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| If the burden of proof has been met, the court shall deem | 14 |
| the dog to be a
vicious dog.
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| If a dog is found to be a vicious dog, the dog shall be | 16 |
| spayed or
neutered within 10 days of the finding at the expense | 17 |
| of its
owner and microchipped, if not already, and is subject | 18 |
| to
enclosure. A dog found to be a vicious dog shall not be | 19 |
| released to the
owner until the Administrator, an Animal | 20 |
| Control Warden, or the
Director approves the enclosure. No | 21 |
| owner or
keeper of a vicious dog shall sell or give away the | 22 |
| dog without court
approval. Whenever an owner of a vicious dog | 23 |
| 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 | 25 |
| Administrator of County
Animal Control where he or she formerly | 26 |
| resided.
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| (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or maintain | 28 |
| any dog
which has been found to be a vicious dog unless the dog | 29 |
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kept in an enclosure. The only times that a vicious dog may | 30 |
| be allowed out
of the enclosure are (1) if it is necessary for | 31 |
| the owner or keeper to
obtain veterinary care for the dog, (2) | 32 |
| in the case of an emergency or
natural disaster where the
dog's | 33 |
| life is threatened, or (3) to comply with the order of a
court | 34 |
| of competent jurisdiction, provided that the dog is securely | 35 |
| muzzled
and restrained with a leash not
exceeding 6 feet in | 36 |
| length, and shall be under the direct control and
supervision |
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LRB094 09249 RCE 39483 b |
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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, and sentry, guard, or
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| police-owned dogs are
exempt from this Section; provided, an | 17 |
| attack or injury to a person
occurs while the dog is performing | 18 |
| duties as expected. To qualify for
exemption under this | 19 |
| Section, each such dog shall be currently
inoculated against | 20 |
| rabies in accordance with Section 8
of this Act. It shall be | 21 |
| the duty of the owner of such exempted dog to
notify the | 22 |
| Administrator of changes of address. In the case of a sentry or
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| guard dog, the owner shall keep the Administrator advised of | 24 |
| 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 | 27 |
| notify such departments of any address changes reported to him.
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| (Source: P.A. 93-548, eff. 8-19-03.)
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| (510 ILCS 5/24) (from Ch. 8, par. 374)
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| Sec. 24. Nothing in this Act shall be held to limit in any | 31 |
| manner the power
of any municipality or other political | 32 |
| subdivision to prohibit animals from
running at large, nor | 33 |
| shall anything in this Act be construed to, in any
manner, | 34 |
| limit the power of any municipality or other political | 35 |
| subdivision
to further control and regulate dogs, cats or other |
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LRB094 09249 RCE 39483 b |
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| animals in such
municipality or other political subdivision , | 2 |
| including
provided that no regulation or
ordinance is
specific | 3 |
| to breed.
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| (Source: P.A. 93-548, eff. 8-19-03.)
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