Full Text of HB0638 100th General Assembly
HB0638eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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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. (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 State's
Attorney's Office and the
owner. If | 16 | | the The Administrator, State's Attorney, or Director has | 17 | | investigated and determined that there exists probable cause to | 18 | | believe that a dog is a vicious dog, that official or any | 19 | | citizen of the
county in
which the dog exists may file a | 20 | | complaint in the circuit court of the county in which the dog | 21 | | exists in the name of
the People of the
State of
Illinois to | 22 | | deem a dog to be a vicious dog. Testimony of a certified | 23 | | applied
behaviorist, a
board certified veterinary behaviorist, |
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| 1 | | or another recognized expert may be
relevant to the
court's | 2 | | determination of whether the dog's behavior was justified. The
| 3 | | petitioner must
prove the dog is a vicious dog by clear and | 4 | | convincing evidence. The
Administrator shall determine where | 5 | | the animal shall be confined during the
pendency of the case.
| 6 | | A dog may not be declared vicious if the court determines | 7 | | the conduct of
the
dog was
justified because:
| 8 | | (1) the threat, injury, or death was sustained by a | 9 | | person who at the time
was
committing a crime or offense | 10 | | upon the owner or custodian of the dog, or was committing a | 11 | | willful trespass or other tort upon the premises or | 12 | | property owned or occupied by the owner of the animal;
| 13 | | (2) the injured, threatened, or killed person was | 14 | | abusing,
assaulting,
or physically threatening the dog or | 15 | | its offspring, or has in the past
abused,
assaulted, or | 16 | | physically threatened the dog or its offspring; or
| 17 | | (3) the dog was responding to pain or injury, or was | 18 | | protecting itself, its
owner,
custodian, or member of its | 19 | | household, kennel, or offspring.
| 20 | | No dog shall be deemed "vicious" if it is a professionally | 21 | | trained dog for
law
enforcement or guard duties. Vicious dogs | 22 | | shall not be classified
in a manner that is specific as to | 23 | | breed.
| 24 | | If the burden of proof has been met, the court shall deem | 25 | | the dog to be a
vicious dog.
| 26 | | If a dog is found to be a vicious dog, the owner shall pay a |
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| 1 | | $100 public safety fine to be deposited into the Pet Population | 2 | | Control Fund, the dog shall be spayed or
neutered within 10 | 3 | | days of the finding at the expense of its
owner and | 4 | | microchipped, if not already, and the dog is subject to
| 5 | | enclosure. If an owner fails to comply with these requirements, | 6 | | the animal control agency shall impound the dog and the owner | 7 | | shall pay a $500 fine plus impoundment fees to the animal | 8 | | control agency impounding the dog. The judge has the discretion | 9 | | to order a vicious dog be euthanized. A dog found to be a | 10 | | vicious dog shall not be released to the
owner until the | 11 | | Administrator, an Animal Control Warden, or the
Director | 12 | | approves the enclosure. No owner or
keeper of a vicious dog | 13 | | shall sell or give away the dog without
approval from the | 14 | | Administrator or court. Whenever an owner of a vicious dog | 15 | | relocates, he or she shall notify
both the
Administrator of
| 16 | | County
Animal Control where he or she has relocated and the | 17 | | Administrator of County
Animal Control where he or she formerly | 18 | | resided.
| 19 | | (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or maintain | 20 | | any dog
which has been found to be a vicious dog unless the dog | 21 | | is
kept in an enclosure. The only times that a vicious dog may | 22 | | be allowed out
of the enclosure are (1) if it is necessary for | 23 | | the owner or keeper to
obtain veterinary care for the dog, (2) | 24 | | in the case of an emergency or
natural disaster where the
dog's | 25 | | life is threatened, or (3) to comply with the order of a
court | 26 | | of competent jurisdiction, provided that the dog is securely |
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| 1 | | muzzled
and restrained with a leash not
exceeding 6 feet in | 2 | | length, and shall be under the direct control and
supervision | 3 | | of the owner or keeper of the dog or muzzled in its residence.
| 4 | | Any dog which has been found to be a vicious dog and which | 5 | | is not
confined to an enclosure shall be impounded by the | 6 | | Administrator, an Animal
Control Warden, or the law enforcement | 7 | | authority having jurisdiction in
such area.
| 8 | | If the owner of the dog has not appealed the impoundment | 9 | | order to the
circuit court in the county in which the animal | 10 | | was impounded within 15
working days, the dog may be | 11 | | euthanized.
| 12 | | Upon filing a notice of appeal, the order of euthanasia | 13 | | shall be
automatically stayed pending the outcome of the | 14 | | appeal. The owner shall bear
the burden of timely notification | 15 | | to animal control in writing.
| 16 | | Guide dogs for the blind or hearing impaired, support dogs | 17 | | for persons with physical disabilities, accelerant detection | 18 | | dogs, and sentry, guard, or
police-owned dogs are
exempt from | 19 | | this Section; provided, an attack or injury to a person
occurs | 20 | | while the dog is performing duties as expected. To qualify for
| 21 | | exemption under this Section, each such dog shall be currently
| 22 | | inoculated against rabies in accordance with Section 8
of this | 23 | | Act. It shall be the duty of the owner of such exempted dog to
| 24 | | notify the Administrator of changes of address. In the case of | 25 | | a sentry or
guard dog, the owner shall keep the Administrator | 26 | | advised of the location
where such dog will be stationed. The |
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| 1 | | Administrator shall provide police
and fire departments with a | 2 | | categorized list of such exempted dogs, and
shall promptly | 3 | | notify such departments of any address changes reported to him.
| 4 | | (c) If the animal control agency has custody of the dog, | 5 | | the agency may file a petition with the court requesting that | 6 | | the owner be ordered to post security. The security must be in | 7 | | an amount sufficient to secure payment of all reasonable | 8 | | expenses expected to be incurred by the animal control agency | 9 | | or animal shelter in caring for and providing for the dog | 10 | | pending the determination. Reasonable expenses include, but | 11 | | are not limited to, estimated medical care and boarding of the | 12 | | animal for 30 days. If security has been posted in accordance | 13 | | with this Section, the animal control agency may draw from the | 14 | | security the actual costs incurred by the agency in caring for | 15 | | the dog. | 16 | | (d) Upon receipt of a petition, the court must set a | 17 | | hearing on the petition, to be conducted within 5 business days | 18 | | after the petition is filed. The petitioner must serve a true | 19 | | copy of the petition upon the defendant. | 20 | | (e) If the court orders the posting of security, the | 21 | | security must be posted with the clerk of the court within 5 | 22 | | business days after the hearing. If the person ordered to post | 23 | | security does not do so, the dog is forfeited by operation of | 24 | | law and the animal control agency must dispose of the animal | 25 | | through adoption or humane euthanization.
| 26 | | (f) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act |
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| 1 | | of the 100th General Assembly apply only to causes of action | 2 | | accruing on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act | 3 | | of the 100th General Assembly. | 4 | | (Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)
| 5 | | (510 ILCS 5/15.1)
| 6 | | Sec. 15.1. Dangerous dog determination.
| 7 | | (a) After a thorough investigation including: sending, | 8 | | within 10 business days of the Administrator or Director | 9 | | becoming
aware of the alleged infraction,
notifications to the | 10 | | owner of the alleged infractions, the fact of the
initiation of | 11 | | an investigation,
and
affording the owner an opportunity to | 12 | | meet with the Administrator or
Director prior to the making of | 13 | | a determination;
gathering of
any medical or veterinary | 14 | | evidence; interviewing witnesses; and making a
detailed
| 15 | | written report, an animal control warden, deputy | 16 | | administrator, or law
enforcement agent
may , after determining | 17 | | that there exists probable cause to believe that a dog is a | 18 | | dangerous dog, ask the Administrator, or his or her designee, | 19 | | or the Director, to deem a
dog to be
"dangerous". No dog shall | 20 | | be deemed a "dangerous dog" unless shown to be a dangerous dog | 21 | | by a preponderance of evidence. The owner shall be sent | 22 | | immediate notification of the determination
by registered or | 23 | | certified mail that includes a complete description of the
| 24 | | appeal
process.
| 25 | | (b) A dog shall not be declared dangerous if the |
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| 1 | | Administrator,
or his or her designee, or the Director | 2 | | determines the
conduct of the dog was justified because:
| 3 | | (1) the threat was sustained by a person
who at the | 4 | | time was committing a crime or offense upon the owner or
| 5 | | custodian of the dog or was committing a willful trespass | 6 | | or other tort upon the premises or property occupied by the | 7 | | owner of the animal;
| 8 | | (2) the threatened person was
abusing, assaulting, or | 9 | | physically threatening the dog or
its offspring;
| 10 | | (3) the injured, threatened, or killed companion | 11 | | animal
was attacking or threatening to attack the dog or | 12 | | its offspring; or
| 13 | | (4) the dog was responding to pain or injury or was
| 14 | | protecting itself, its owner, custodian, or a member of its | 15 | | household,
kennel, or offspring.
| 16 | | (c) Testimony of a certified applied behaviorist, a board | 17 | | certified
veterinary behaviorist, or another recognized expert | 18 | | may be relevant to
the determination of whether the dog's | 19 | | behavior was
justified pursuant to the provisions of this | 20 | | Section.
| 21 | | (d) If deemed dangerous, the Administrator, or his or her | 22 | | designee, or the
Director shall order (i) the dog's owner to | 23 | | pay a $50 public safety fine to be deposited into the Pet | 24 | | Population Control Fund, (ii) the dog to be spayed or neutered | 25 | | within
14
days
at the
owner's expense and microchipped, if not | 26 | | already, and (iii) one or more of the
following
as deemed |
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| 1 | | appropriate under
the
circumstances and necessary for the | 2 | | protection of the public:
| 3 | | (1) evaluation of the dog by a certified applied | 4 | | behaviorist, a
board certified veterinary behaviorist, or | 5 | | another recognized expert in
the field and completion of | 6 | | training or other treatment as deemed
appropriate by the | 7 | | expert. The owner of the dog shall be responsible
for all | 8 | | costs associated with evaluations and training ordered | 9 | | under
this subsection; or
| 10 | | (2) direct supervision by an adult 18 years of age or | 11 | | older
whenever the animal is on public premises.
| 12 | | (e) The Administrator may order a dangerous dog to be | 13 | | muzzled
whenever it is on public premises in a manner that
will | 14 | | prevent
it from biting any person or animal, but that shall not | 15 | | injure the dog or
interfere with its
vision or respiration.
| 16 | | (f) Guide dogs for the blind or hearing impaired, support | 17 | | dogs for persons with a physical disability, and sentry, guard, | 18 | | or
police-owned dogs are exempt from this Section; provided, an | 19 | | attack or injury
to a person occurs while the dog is performing | 20 | | duties as expected. To qualify
for exemption under this | 21 | | Section, each such dog shall be currently inoculated
against | 22 | | rabies in accordance with Section 8 of this Act and performing | 23 | | duties
as expected. It shall be the duty
of the owner of the | 24 | | exempted dog to notify the Administrator of changes of
address. | 25 | | In the case of a sentry or guard dog, the owner shall keep the
| 26 | | Administrator advised of the location where such dog will be |
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| 1 | | stationed. The
Administrator shall provide police and fire | 2 | | departments with a categorized list
of the exempted dogs, and | 3 | | shall promptly notify the departments of any
address changes | 4 | | reported to him or her.
| 5 | | (g) An animal control agency has the right to impound a | 6 | | dangerous dog if the owner fails to comply with the | 7 | | requirements of this Act.
| 8 | | (Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)
| 9 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 10 | | becoming law.
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