Full Text of HB4484 100th General Assembly
HB4484 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018 HB4484 Introduced , by Rep. John M. Cabello SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 510 ILCS 5/15 | from Ch. 8, par. 365 | 510 ILCS 5/15.1 | |
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Amends the Animal Control Act. Provides that if the Administrator, State's Attorney, or Director has investigated and reasonably determines that a dog is a vicious dog, that official may file a complaint in the circuit court in the name of the People of the State of Illinois to deem a dog to be a vicious dog. Deletes language providing that a citizen of the county in which the dog exists may file a complaint to commence a hearing to deem a dog to be a vicious dog. Provides that the changes are only effective to causes of actions accruing on or after the effective date of the bill. Provides that after a thorough investigation including: sending, within 10 business days of the Administrator or Director becoming aware of the alleged infraction, notifications to the owner of the alleged infractions, the fact of the initiation of an investigation, and affording the owner an opportunity to meet with the Administrator or Director prior to the making of a determination; gathering of any medical or veterinary evidence; interviewing witnesses; and making a detailed written report, an animal control warden, deputy administrator, or law enforcement agent may, after determining that there exists probable cause to believe that a dog is a dangerous dog, ask the Administrator, or his or her designee, or the Director, to deem a dog to be "dangerous". Effective immediately.
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| | 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 15.1 as follows:
| 6 | | (510 ILCS 5/15) (from Ch. 8, par. 365)
| 7 | | Sec. 15. Vicious Dogs. | 8 | | (a) In order to have a dog deemed "vicious", the | 9 | | Administrator,
Deputy
Administrator,
or law enforcement | 10 | | officer must give notice of the
infraction that
is the basis of | 11 | | the investigation to the owner, conduct a thorough
| 12 | | investigation, interview
any witnesses, including the owner, | 13 | | gather any existing medical records,
veterinary
medical | 14 | | records or behavioral evidence, and make a detailed report | 15 | | recommending
a
finding that the dog is a vicious dog and give | 16 | | the report to the State's
Attorney's Office and the
owner. If | 17 | | the The Administrator, State's Attorney, or Director has | 18 | | investigated and reasonably determines that a dog is a vicious | 19 | | dog as defined under Section 2.19b of this Act, that official | 20 | | or any citizen of the
county in
which the dog exists may file a | 21 | | complaint in the circuit court of the county in which the dog | 22 | | exists in the name of
the People of the
State of
Illinois to | 23 | | deem a dog to be a vicious dog. Testimony of a certified |
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| 1 | | applied
behaviorist, a
board certified veterinary behaviorist, | 2 | | or another recognized expert may be
relevant to the
court's | 3 | | determination of whether the dog's behavior was justified. The
| 4 | | petitioner must
prove the dog is a vicious dog by clear and | 5 | | convincing evidence. The
Administrator shall determine where | 6 | | the animal shall be confined during the
pendency of the case.
| 7 | | A dog may not be declared vicious if the court determines | 8 | | the conduct of
the
dog was
justified because:
| 9 | | (1) the threat, injury, or death was sustained by a | 10 | | person who at the time
was
committing a crime or offense | 11 | | upon the owner or custodian of the dog, or was committing a | 12 | | willful trespass or other tort upon the premises or | 13 | | property owned or occupied by the owner of the animal;
| 14 | | (2) the injured, threatened, or killed person was | 15 | | abusing,
assaulting,
or physically threatening the dog or | 16 | | its offspring, or has in the past
abused,
assaulted, or | 17 | | physically threatened the dog or its offspring; or
| 18 | | (3) the dog was responding to pain or injury, or was | 19 | | protecting itself, its
owner,
custodian, or member of its | 20 | | household, kennel, or offspring.
| 21 | | No dog shall be deemed "vicious" if it is a professionally | 22 | | trained dog for
law
enforcement or guard duties. Vicious dogs | 23 | | shall not be classified
in a manner that is specific as to | 24 | | breed.
| 25 | | If the burden of proof has been met, the court shall deem | 26 | | the dog to be a
vicious dog.
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| 1 | | If a dog is found to be a vicious dog, the owner shall pay a | 2 | | $100 public safety fine to be deposited into the Pet Population | 3 | | Control Fund, the dog shall be spayed or
neutered within 10 | 4 | | days of the finding at the expense of its
owner and | 5 | | microchipped, if not already, and the dog is subject to
| 6 | | enclosure. If an owner fails to comply with these requirements, | 7 | | the animal control agency shall impound the dog and the owner | 8 | | shall pay a $500 fine plus impoundment fees to the animal | 9 | | control agency impounding the dog. The judge has the discretion | 10 | | to order a vicious dog be euthanized. A dog found to be a | 11 | | vicious dog shall not be released to the
owner until the | 12 | | Administrator, an Animal Control Warden, or the
Director | 13 | | approves the enclosure. No owner or
keeper of a vicious dog | 14 | | shall sell or give away the dog without
approval from the | 15 | | Administrator or court. Whenever an owner of a vicious dog | 16 | | relocates, he or she shall notify
both the
Administrator of
| 17 | | County
Animal Control where he or she has relocated and the | 18 | | Administrator of County
Animal Control where he or she formerly | 19 | | resided.
| 20 | | (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or maintain | 21 | | any dog
which has been found to be a vicious dog unless the dog | 22 | | is
kept in an enclosure. The only times that a vicious dog may | 23 | | be allowed out
of the enclosure are (1) if it is necessary for | 24 | | the owner or keeper to
obtain veterinary care for the dog, (2) | 25 | | in the case of an emergency or
natural disaster where the
dog's | 26 | | life is threatened, or (3) to comply with the order of a
court |
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| 1 | | of competent jurisdiction, provided that the dog is securely | 2 | | muzzled
and restrained with a leash not
exceeding 6 feet in | 3 | | length, and shall be under the direct control and
supervision | 4 | | of the owner or keeper of the dog or muzzled in its residence.
| 5 | | Any dog which has been found to be a vicious dog and which | 6 | | is not
confined to an enclosure shall be impounded by the | 7 | | Administrator, an Animal
Control Warden, or the law enforcement | 8 | | authority having jurisdiction in
such area.
| 9 | | If the owner of the dog has not appealed the impoundment | 10 | | order to the
circuit court in the county in which the animal | 11 | | was impounded within 15
working days, the dog may be | 12 | | euthanized.
| 13 | | Upon filing a notice of appeal, the order of euthanasia | 14 | | shall be
automatically stayed pending the outcome of the | 15 | | appeal. The owner shall bear
the burden of timely notification | 16 | | to animal control in writing.
| 17 | | Guide dogs for the blind or hearing impaired, support dogs | 18 | | for persons with physical disabilities, accelerant detection | 19 | | dogs, and sentry, guard, or
police-owned dogs are
exempt from | 20 | | this Section; provided, an attack or injury to a person
occurs | 21 | | while the dog is performing duties as expected. To qualify for
| 22 | | exemption under this Section, each such dog shall be currently
| 23 | | inoculated against rabies in accordance with Section 8
of this | 24 | | Act. It shall be the duty of the owner of such exempted dog to
| 25 | | notify the Administrator of changes of address. In the case of | 26 | | a sentry or
guard dog, the owner shall keep the Administrator |
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| 1 | | advised of the location
where such dog will be stationed. The | 2 | | Administrator shall provide police
and fire departments with a | 3 | | categorized list of such exempted dogs, and
shall promptly | 4 | | notify such departments of any address changes reported to him.
| 5 | | (c) If the animal control agency has custody of the dog, | 6 | | the agency may file a petition with the court requesting that | 7 | | the owner be ordered to post security. The security must be in | 8 | | an amount sufficient to secure payment of all reasonable | 9 | | expenses expected to be incurred by the animal control agency | 10 | | or animal shelter in caring for and providing for the dog | 11 | | pending the determination. Reasonable expenses include, but | 12 | | are not limited to, estimated medical care and boarding of the | 13 | | animal for 30 days. If security has been posted in accordance | 14 | | with this Section, the animal control agency may draw from the | 15 | | security the actual costs incurred by the agency in caring for | 16 | | the dog. | 17 | | (d) Upon receipt of a petition, the court must set a | 18 | | hearing on the petition, to be conducted within 5 business days | 19 | | after the petition is filed. The petitioner must serve a true | 20 | | copy of the petition upon the defendant. | 21 | | (e) If the court orders the posting of security, the | 22 | | security must be posted with the clerk of the court within 5 | 23 | | business days after the hearing. If the person ordered to post | 24 | | security does not do so, the dog is forfeited by operation of | 25 | | law and the animal control agency must dispose of the animal | 26 | | through adoption or humane euthanization.
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| 1 | | (f) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act | 2 | | of the 100th General Assembly apply only to causes of action | 3 | | accruing on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act | 4 | | of the 100th General Assembly. | 5 | | (Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)
| 6 | | (510 ILCS 5/15.1)
| 7 | | Sec. 15.1. Dangerous dog determination.
| 8 | | (a) After a thorough investigation including: sending, | 9 | | within 10 business days of the Administrator or Director | 10 | | becoming
aware of the alleged infraction,
notifications to the | 11 | | owner of the alleged infractions, the fact of the
initiation of | 12 | | an investigation,
and
affording the owner an opportunity to | 13 | | meet with the Administrator or
Director prior to the making of | 14 | | a determination;
gathering of
any medical or veterinary | 15 | | evidence; interviewing witnesses; and making a
detailed
| 16 | | written report, an animal control warden, deputy | 17 | | administrator, or law
enforcement agent
may , after determining | 18 | | that there exists probable cause to believe that a dog is a | 19 | | dangerous dog, ask the Administrator, or his or her designee, | 20 | | or the Director, to deem a
dog to be
"dangerous". No dog shall | 21 | | be deemed a "dangerous dog" unless shown to be a dangerous dog | 22 | | by a preponderance of evidence. The owner shall be sent | 23 | | immediate notification of the determination
by registered or | 24 | | certified mail that includes a complete description of the
| 25 | | appeal
process.
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| 1 | | (b) A dog shall not be declared dangerous if the | 2 | | Administrator,
or his or her designee, or the Director | 3 | | determines the
conduct of the dog was justified because:
| 4 | | (1) the threat was sustained by a person
who at the | 5 | | time was committing a crime or offense upon the owner or
| 6 | | custodian of the dog or was committing a willful trespass | 7 | | or other tort upon the premises or property occupied by the | 8 | | owner of the animal;
| 9 | | (2) the threatened person was
abusing, assaulting, or | 10 | | physically threatening the dog or
its offspring;
| 11 | | (3) the injured, threatened, or killed companion | 12 | | animal
was attacking or threatening to attack the dog or | 13 | | its offspring; or
| 14 | | (4) the dog was responding to pain or injury or was
| 15 | | protecting itself, its owner, custodian, or a member of its | 16 | | household,
kennel, or offspring.
| 17 | | (c) Testimony of a certified applied behaviorist, a board | 18 | | certified
veterinary behaviorist, or another recognized expert | 19 | | may be relevant to
the determination of whether the dog's | 20 | | behavior was
justified pursuant to the provisions of this | 21 | | Section.
| 22 | | (d) If deemed dangerous, the Administrator, or his or her | 23 | | designee, or the
Director shall order (i) the dog's owner to | 24 | | pay a $50 public safety fine to be deposited into the Pet | 25 | | Population Control Fund, (ii) the dog to be spayed or neutered | 26 | | within
14
days
at the
owner's expense and microchipped, if not |
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| 1 | | already, and (iii) one or more of the
following
as deemed | 2 | | appropriate under
the
circumstances and necessary for the | 3 | | protection of the public:
| 4 | | (1) evaluation of the dog by a certified applied | 5 | | behaviorist, a
board certified veterinary behaviorist, or | 6 | | another recognized expert in
the field and completion of | 7 | | training or other treatment as deemed
appropriate by the | 8 | | expert. The owner of the dog shall be responsible
for all | 9 | | costs associated with evaluations and training ordered | 10 | | under
this subsection; or
| 11 | | (2) direct supervision by an adult 18 years of age or | 12 | | older
whenever the animal is on public premises.
| 13 | | (e) The Administrator may order a dangerous dog to be | 14 | | muzzled
whenever it is on public premises in a manner that
will | 15 | | prevent
it from biting any person or animal, but that shall not | 16 | | injure the dog or
interfere with its
vision or respiration.
| 17 | | (f) Guide dogs for the blind or hearing impaired, support | 18 | | dogs for persons with a physical disability, and sentry, guard, | 19 | | or
police-owned dogs are exempt from this Section; provided, an | 20 | | attack or injury
to a person occurs while the dog is performing | 21 | | duties as expected. To qualify
for exemption under this | 22 | | Section, each such dog shall be currently inoculated
against | 23 | | rabies in accordance with Section 8 of this Act and performing | 24 | | duties
as expected. It shall be the duty
of the owner of the | 25 | | exempted dog to notify the Administrator of changes of
address. | 26 | | In the case of a sentry or guard dog, the owner shall keep the
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| 1 | | Administrator advised of the location where such dog will be | 2 | | stationed. The
Administrator shall provide police and fire | 3 | | departments with a categorized list
of the exempted dogs, and | 4 | | shall promptly notify the departments of any
address changes | 5 | | reported to him or her.
| 6 | | (g) An animal control agency has the right to impound a | 7 | | dangerous dog if the owner fails to comply with the | 8 | | requirements of this Act.
| 9 | | (Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)
| 10 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 11 | | becoming law.
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