2018 -- S 2135

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LC004068

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2018

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

     

     Introduced By: Senators Ciccone, and Ruggerio

     Date Introduced: January 23, 2018

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 4-1-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 4-1 entitled "Cruelty to

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Animals" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     4-1-2. Overwork, mistreatment, or failure to feed animals -- Shelter defined.

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     (a) Whoever overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks, tortures,

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torments, deprives of necessary sustenance, cruelly beats, mutilates or cruelly kills, or causes or

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procures to be so overdriven, overloaded, driven when overloaded, overworked, tortured,

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tormented, deprived of necessary sustenance, cruelly beaten, or mutilated, any animal, and

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whoever, having the charge or custody of any animal, either as owner or otherwise, inflicts

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cruelty upon that animal, or willfully fails to provide that animal with proper food, drink, shelter,

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or protection from the weather, shall, for each offense, be imprisoned not exceeding eleven (11)

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months, or be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor exceeding five hundred dollars ($500),

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or both. If the offense described in this section results in the death of the animal, the person shall

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be punished in the manner provided in ยง 4-1-5. Any person who has been previously convicted of

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an offense provided for in chapter 1 of title 4 shall, upon conviction of a second violation within a

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ten (10) year period, be imprisoned for a period not exceeding six (6) years, or fined not less than

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five hundred dollars ($500) and not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both. In addition,

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every person convicted under chapter 1 of title 4 of a second or subsequent offense shall be

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required to serve one hundred (100) hours of community restitution. The community restitution

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penalty shall not be suspended or deferred and is mandatory.

 

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     (b) Every owner, possessor, or person having charge of any animal may, upon conviction

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of a violation of this section, be ordered to forfeit all rights to ownership of the animal to the

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animal-control officer of the city or town in which the offense occurred or to a humane society

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that owns and operates the shelter that provided the subject animal shelter subsequent to any

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confiscation of said animal pursuant to this section.

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     (c) Shelter means a structure used to house any animal that will provide sufficient

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protection from inclement elements for the health and well being of the animal.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

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     This act would increase the penalty for repeat convictions for animal cruelty to a

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maximum of six (6) years imprisonment or a fine of up to five thousand dollars ($5,000) and one

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hundred (100) hours community restitution.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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