WESTERN
RESERVE KENNEL CLUB - OHIO’S
PENDING LEGISLATION
These bills can be found at http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/search.cfm
Bill 14
deals with removing pit bulls as a vicious dog and more.
Bill 25 deals with sentencing for cruelty to animals.
Bill 108 deals those committing cruel treatment to companion
animals.
Bill 112 deals with
adding a bittering agent to antifreeze.
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2011 Passed by Senate - Bill
Analysis
Sub. H.B.
14 129th General Assembly
Reps. Sears,
Winburn, Garland
BILL SUMMARY
·
Defines a
"nuisance dog" as a dog that without provocation and while off the
premises of its owner, keeper, or harborer has chased or approached a person in
either a
menacing fashion or an apparent attitude of attack or has attempted to bite or otherwise endanger any person.
·
Defines a "dangerous dog"
as a dog that, without provocation, has caused injury, other than killing or serious injury, to any person; has killed another
dog; or has been the subject of a third violation of a certain
prohibition.
·
Defines a
"vicious dog" as a dog that, without provocation, has killed or
caused serious injury to any person.
·
Specifies that
an owner, keeper, or harborer of a dog who was required to comply with the requirements pertaining to a "vicious
dog" prior to the effective date of the bill
will be required to comply with the requirements pertaining to a
"dangerous dog" on or after the effective date of the bill.
·
Repeals the statement that the
ownership, keeping, or harboring of a pit bull dog is prima facie evidence
of the ownership, keeping, or harboring of a vicious dog.
·
Eliminates the option for a dangerous
dog to be tied with a leash or tether so that the dog is adequately restrained
while that dog is on the premises of the owner, keeper, or harborer under the
requirements for confinement of a dangerous dog, and eliminates all special
confinements for a vicious dog.
·
Requires a
person who has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to three violations of a certain prohibition involving the
same dog and the owner, keeper, or harborer of a "dangerous
dog" to obtain liability insurance with an insurer authorized to write liability
insurance in this state providing coverage in each occurrence because of damage
or bodily injury to or death of a person caused by the dangerous dog if so
ordered by a court.
·
Requires a person required to have
the liability insurance described in the preceding dot point to provide proof
of the liability insurance upon request to any law enforcement officer, county
dog warden, or public health official, and specifies that failure to do so is a
minor misdemeanor.
·
Eliminates all requirements for an
owner, keeper, or harborer of a vicious dog to obtain liability insurance.
·
Requires a person who has been
convicted of or pleaded guilty to three violations of a certain prohibition involving the same dog and the owner, keeper, or
harborer of a "dangerous dog" to do the following:
·
Notify the local dog warden
immediately if the dog is loose or unconfined, the dog bites a person (unless the dog is on the dog owner's property, and the
person who is bitten is unlawfully
trespassing or committing a criminal act within the boundaries of that
property), or the dog attacks another animal while the dog is off the dog
owner's property.
·
Notify the county auditor of the
sale, transfer, or death of the dog.
·
Requires a person who has been
convicted of or pleaded guilty to three violations of a certain prohibition involving the same dog and the owner, keeper, or
harborer of a "dangerous dog" to obtain a dangerous dog
registration certificate from the county auditor,
affix a tag that identifies the dog as a dangerous dog to the dog's collar, and
ensure that the dog wears the collar and tag at all times, and specifies
that failure to do so is a fourth degree misdemeanor.
·
Requires the county auditor to issue
a dangerous dog registration certificate to a person who is the owner of a dog,
who is 18 years of age or older, and who provides a fee of $50 and certain
specified information.
·
Requires the owner of a dangerous dog
to renew the dog's registration certificate annually for the same fee and in
the same manner as the initial certificate was obtained, and sets up notification procedures for owners who move to new
addresses.
·
Requires the owner of a dangerous dog
to present the dangerous dog registration certificate upon being requested to
do so by any law enforcement officer, dogwarden, or
public health official, and specifies that failure to do so is a minor
misdemeanor.
·
Prohibits a
person who has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a felony offense of violence or a felony violation of any provision of Chapter
959. (offenses relating to domestic animals), 2923. (conspiracy, attempt,
and complicity; weapons control; corrupt
activity), or 2925. (drug offenses) to knowingly own, possess, have custody of, or reside in a residence with an unspayed or unneutered dog older than 12 weeks of age, or
any dog that has been determined to be a "dangerous dog" for a period
of ten years commencing upon the date of release of the person from any
period of incarceration imposed for the conviction, and specifies that a
violation of this prohibition is a first degree misdemeanor.
·
Requires a person described in the preceding dot point to
microchip for permanent identification any dog owned,
possessed by, or in the custody of the person, and specifies that failure to do
so is a first degree misdemeanor.
·
Amends the penalties for failure to
properly confine a "nuisance dog," "dangerous dog," or "vicious dog," and for
possession of dogs that have been surgically silenced or debarked under
certain circumstances.
·
Requires that a dog that is subject to any of the
violations listed in the preceding dot point, at the discretion of the dog warden, be confined
or restrained in accordance with the provisions describing confinement of
"dangerous dogs" or at the county dog
pound at the owner's expense until the court makes a final determination and
during the pendency of any appeal of any of those violations.
·
Requires the owner of a dog that has
been confined at the county dog pound as a result
of being the subject of a court determination on whether the dog has committed
a violation of R.C. 955.22(C) involving a "dangerous dog" or a
"vicious dog," or certain
violations involving a dog that has been debarked or surgically silenced
provide a security of $100 to the county dog warden to secure payment of all
reasonable expenses incurred in keeping the dog during the pendency of the proceedings or appeal, and specifies that failure
to provide this security will result in forfeiture of the dog.
·
Specifies that,
at the end of the confinement period of a dog described in the preceding dot point and upon the release of the dog to the
owner, if applicable, the dog warden must provide the owner with the actual
cost of the confinement of the dog; if the
actual cost is more than $100, the owner must provide the difference to the dog warden, and if the actual cost is less than
$100, the dog warden must provide the difference to the owner.Requires a person who is authorized to enforce Ohio's
dog laws and who has reasonable cause to
believe that a dog in the person's jurisdiction is a nuisance dog, dangerous dog, or vicious dog to notify the owner,
keeper, or harborer of that dog, by
certified mail or in person, that the person has designated the dog a nuisance dog,
dangerous dog, or vicious dog, as applicable, and that the owner, keeper, or
harborer of the dog may request a hearing regarding the designation.
·
Specifies that
the municipal court or county court that has territorial jurisdiction over the residence of the owner,
keeper, or harborer of a dog must conduct any hearing concerning the designation of the dog as a
nuisance dog, dangerous dog, or vicious
dog.
·
Permits a court, upon motion of an
owner, keeper, or harborer or an attorney representing the owner, keeper, or
harborer, to order that the dog designated as a nuisance dog, dangerous dog, or vicious dog be held in the possession of
the owner, keeper, or harborer until the court makes a final
determination or during the pendency of an appeal, as applicable.
·
Increases the
fee for replacement of a lost metal tag from 25˘ to $5 and eliminates the option of paying an alternate fee for a duplicate tag set
by the board of county commissioners.
·
Increases the fee for recording a
transfer of ownership certificate with the county auditor from 25˘ to $5.
·
Requires fees
collected by the county auditor for dangerous dog registration certificates to be deposited in the dog and kennel fund of
the county.
2011 Senate Passed this Bill - - Bill
Analysis
Sub.
H.B. 25 129th General Assembly
(As Reported by H. Criminal Justice)
Reps. Combs, Derickson, Grossman, Patmon, Pillich, Beck, Stinziano, Dovilla, Maag, Blair, Stebelton,
Rosenberger, Hackett, Ashford, Winburn, Garland,
Williams, Weddington, Bubp,
Blessing, Hayes, Slaby
BILL SUMMARY
·
Increases the penalty for committing
cruelty to animals for a second or subsequent violation from a second degree to
a first degree misdemeanor.
·
Requires a
court, in addition to any other sanctions for an offender who is not already undergoing counseling as a
condition of probation or as a community control sanction, to impose a term of
basic probation supervision or a term of intensive probation supervision on an offender who
commits a felony violation of the
prohibition against knowingly committing cruelty to a companion animal.
·
Requires a
juvenile court, in addition to any other disposition for a delinquent child, to require a child under 18 years of age who is
adjudicated a delinquent child for committing cruelty to a companion animal to
undergo psychological evaluation to determine
if the child needs individual or family counseling and, if recommended by
the evaluation, to undergo individual or family counseling.
·
Specifies that a
juvenile court that imposes a requirement as described in the preceding dot point may require the
parent, guardian, or other person having care of
the child to pay the costs of the evaluation, any counseling, or both.
·
Requires the State Board of
Psychology and the State Medical Board to approve one or more continuing
education courses related to the counseling of individuals who abuse animals.
·
Requires that the
professional standards committees of the Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family
Therapist Board approve one or more continuingeducation courses of study with regard to the counseling of
individuals who abuse animals.
·
Permits the court, when issuing a
criminal protection order, a criminal domestic violence temporary protection order, a civil stalking order, a sexually
oriented offense protection order,
or a civil domestic violence protection order or approving a civil
domestic violence consent agreement, to include within the scope of the protection order or consent agreement any
companion animal in the residence of the person to be protected.
·
Modifies one of the disposition
options available to the court when a child is adjudicated a delinquent child to permit the court to require the child
to not be absent without legitimate
excuse from the "school" the child is supposed to attend for a certain specified period of time, instead of
the "public school" the child is supposed to attend.
2011 Proposed House
Bill - Bill Analysis
H.B. 108 - 129th General Assembly
(As Introduced - In Committee)
Reps. Gerberry and Hagan
BILL
SUMMARY
·
Specifically
prohibits an owner of a registered kennel of dogs that confines or is the
custodian or caretaker of a companion animal, subject to specified exemptions,
from negligently committing specified
types of cruel treatment of a companion animal.
·
Specifies that a
violation of the prohibition described above is a fifth degree felony and provides additional sanctions that the sentencing
court may impose.
·
Grants a prosecutor the authority to
prosecute the owner of a kennel of dogs who violates
the prohibition described above either under an existing prohibition against negligent
cruel treatment of a companion animal under the Companion Animal Cruelty Law (second degree misdemeanor on first
offense, first degree misdemeanor on subsequent offenses) or the new
prohibition governing dog kennel owners described above (fifth degree felony).
2011 Proposed House Bill -
Bill Analysis
H.B. 112 129th General Assembly
(As Reported by H.
Transportation, Public Safety, and Homeland Security)
Reps. Grossman
and Letson, Murray, Stinziano,
Beck, Garland, Ruhl, Fedor,
Antonio, Carey,
Combs, Newbold, Stebelton, Fende
BILL SUMMARY
·
Requires engine
coolant or antifreeze that contains more than 10% ethylene glycol to include a
bittering agent to render the engine coolant or antifreeze unpalatable, and generally requires manufacturers, packagers, processors,
distributors, recyclers, and sellers of engine coolant or antifreeze to comply
with the requirement.
·
Requires a manufacturer or packager
of engine coolant or antifreeze to maintain a record
of the trade name, scientific name, and active ingredients of the bittering agent included in the engine coolant or antifreeze
and to furnish that information to members of the public upon request.
·
Exempts from the bill the sale of a
motor vehicle that contains engine coolant or antifreeze
and a wholesale container of engine coolant or antifreeze containing 55 or more
gallons of antifreeze.