Florida Senate - 2017                                    SB 1628
       
       
        
       By Senator Young
       
       
       
       
       
       18-01612C-17                                          20171628__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to animal abuser registration;
    3         creating s. 943.0425, F.S.; providing definitions;
    4         requiring the Department of Law Enforcement to post a
    5         publicly accessible registry list on its website of
    6         persons convicted of specified animal abuse offenses
    7         after a specified date; requiring the department to
    8         annually send a letter to certain registered breed
    9         associations; providing requirements for the registry
   10         list; specifying the time period for a listing;
   11         providing for removal of listing if a record of a
   12         conviction is expunged or sealed; requiring the
   13         department to send an annual animal abuse registry
   14         notice to specified entities; amending s. 828.12,
   15         F.S.; authorizing courts to prevent persons convicted
   16         of certain animal cruelty violations, to be prohibited
   17         from having certain responsibilities for or
   18         association with an animal as a condition of
   19         probation; providing an effective date.
   20          
   21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   22  
   23         Section 1. Section 943.0425, Florida Statutes, is created
   24  to read:
   25         943.0425Animal abuser registration.—
   26         (1)As used in this section, the term:
   27         (a)“Abuser” or “animal abuser” means a person who has been
   28  convicted in this state of committing an animal abuse offense.
   29         (b)“Animal” means a dog of the species Canis familiaris; a
   30  cat of the species Felis catus; a pet normally maintained in or
   31  near the household of its owner; a domesticated animal;
   32  previously captured wildlife; an exotic animal; or any other
   33  pet, including, but not limited to, a rabbit, chick, duck, or
   34  potbellied pig. The term does not include an equine; an animal
   35  that is being raised primarily for use as food or fiber for
   36  human utilization or consumption, including, but not limited to,
   37  cattle, sheep, swine, goats, and poultry; a wild vertebrate; or
   38  a mollusk, crustacean, or fish.
   39         (c)“Animal abuse offense” means a conviction for a felony
   40  violation of:
   41         1.Animal cruelty under s. 828.12.
   42         2.Animal fighting under s. 828.122.
   43         3.Sexual activities involving animals under s. 828.126.
   44         (d)“Conviction” has the same meaning as provided in s.
   45  775.21.
   46         (e)“Pet dealer” means:
   47         1.A pet dealer as defined in s. 828.29; or
   48         2.An animal shelter, humane organization, or animal
   49  control agency operated by a humane organization that receives
   50  funds from the state or from a political subdivision of the
   51  state and that, in the ordinary course of business, engages in
   52  the sale or adoption of animals.
   53         (f)“Registered breed association” means an association
   54  formed and perpetuated for the maintenance of records of
   55  purebreeding of animal species for a specific breed whose
   56  characteristics are set forth in constitutions, bylaws, or other
   57  rules of the association.
   58         (2)(a)Beginning January 1, 2018, the department shall post
   59  a publicly accessible registry list on its website of each
   60  person convicted of an animal abuse offense on or after that
   61  date.
   62         (b)1.The registry list must include a photograph of the
   63  convicted animal abuser taken as part of the booking process,
   64  the animal abuser’s full legal name, and other identifying data
   65  the department determines is necessary to properly identify the
   66  animal abuser and to exclude innocent persons.
   67         2.The registry list may not include the abuser’s social
   68  security number, driver license number, or any other state or
   69  federal identification number.
   70         (c)A court clerk shall forward a copy of the judgment and
   71  date of birth of each person convicted of an animal abuse
   72  offense to the department within 30 calendar days after the date
   73  of judgment.
   74         (d)Upon a person’s first conviction for an animal abuse
   75  offense, the department shall maintain the person’s name and
   76  other identifying information described in paragraph (b) on the
   77  registry list for 2 years after the date of conviction, after
   78  which time the department shall remove the person’s name and
   79  identifying information from the list if the person is not
   80  convicted of another animal abuse offense during that 2-year
   81  period.
   82         (e)Upon a person’s subsequent conviction for an animal
   83  abuse offense, the department shall maintain the person’s name
   84  and other identifying information described in paragraph (b) on
   85  the registry list for 5 years after the date of the most recent
   86  conviction, after which time the department shall remove the
   87  person’s name and identifying information from the list if the
   88  person is not convicted of another animal abuse offense during
   89  that 5-year period.
   90         (f)Beginning in 2019, the department shall annually send
   91  letters to the leading registered breed associations for animals
   92  covered by this section to inform them of the registry list and
   93  to encourage them to urge their members to not provide animals
   94  to persons on the registry.
   95         (3)The registry list shall remain on the department’s
   96  website for such time as determined by the executive director.
   97         (4)The department shall remove a person’s name and
   98  identifying information from the registry list if the record of
   99  the offense for which the person is subject to inclusion in the
  100  registry list is expunged or sealed pursuant to this chapter.
  101         (5)The department shall send a notice, as specified in
  102  subsection (6), on a yearly basis to:
  103         (a)All pet dealers, animal shelters, and humane
  104  organizations in the state; and
  105         (b)All animal control agencies operated by a humane
  106  organization that receives funds from the state or from a
  107  political subdivision of the state that, in the ordinary course
  108  of business, engages in the sale or adoption of animals.
  109         (6)The annual notice sent to the entities specified in
  110  subsection (5) shall notify such entities:
  111         (a)That an animal abuser registry exists that is
  112  maintained by the department; and
  113         (b)Of newly added offenders to the registry.
  114         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
  115  828.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  116         828.12 Cruelty to animals.—
  117         (2) A person who intentionally commits an act to any
  118  animal, or a person who owns or has the custody or control of
  119  any animal and fails to act, which results in the cruel death,
  120  or excessive or repeated infliction of unnecessary pain or
  121  suffering, or causes the same to be done, commits aggravated
  122  animal cruelty, a felony of the third degree, punishable as
  123  provided in s. 775.082 or by a fine of not more than $10,000, or
  124  both.
  125         (a) A person convicted of a violation of this subsection,
  126  where the finder of fact determines that the violation includes
  127  the knowing and intentional torture or torment of an animal that
  128  injures, mutilates, or kills the animal, shall be ordered to pay
  129  a minimum mandatory fine of $2,500 and undergo psychological
  130  counseling or complete an anger management treatment program. A
  131  court may also prohibit such person from owning, possessing,
  132  maintaining, having custody of, residing with, or caring for any
  133  animal as a condition of probation.
  134         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.