HB2573 - 521R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 11-1008, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE11-1008. License fees for dogs; issuance of dog tags; exception; violation; classification

A. The board of supervisors of each county may set a license fee that shall be paid for each dog three months of age or over older that is kept, harbored or maintained within the boundaries of the state for at least thirty consecutive days of each calendar year. License fees shall become payable at the discretion of the board of supervisors of each county. The licensing period shall not exceed the period of time for revaccination as designated by the state veterinarian. License fees shall be paid within ninety days to the board of supervisors. A penalty fee of two dollars shall be paid if the license application is made less than one year subsequent to the date on which the dog is required to be licensed under this article. If the license application is made one year or later from the date on which the dog is required to be licensed, an additional penalty fee of ten dollars shall be paid for each subsequent year up to a maximum of twenty‑two dollars. This penalty shall not be assessed against applicants who provide adequate proof that the dog to be licensed has been in their possession in Arizona this state less than thirty consecutive days.

B. If the board of supervisors adopts a license fee, the board shall provide durable dog tags. Each dog licensed under the terms of this article shall receive, at the time of licensing, such a tag on which shall be inscribed the name of the county, the number of the license and the year in which it expires a distinct tag number assigned to the dog, a county contact telephone number and any other information required by the board of supervisors. The tag shall be attached to a collar or harness that shall be worn by the dog at all times, except as otherwise provided in this article. Whenever a dog tag is lost, a duplicate replacement tag shall be issued on application by the owner and payment of a fee established by the board of supervisors.

C. The board of supervisors may set license fees that are lower for dogs permanently incapable of procreation. An applicant for a license for a dog claimed to be incapable of procreation shall provide adequate proof satisfactory to the county enforcement agent that such the dog has been surgically altered to be permanently incapable of procreation.

D. All fees and penalties shall be deposited in the rabies control fund pursuant to section 11‑1011.

E. Any person who knowingly fails within fifteen days after written notification from the county enforcement agent to obtain a license for a dog required to be licensed, counterfeits an official dog tag, removes such tag from any dog for the purpose of intentional and malicious mischief or places a dog tag upon on a dog unless the tag was issued for that particular dog is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor petty offense.

F. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, the board of supervisors of each county may not charge an individual who has a disability and who uses a service animal as defined in section 11‑1024 or an individual who uses a search or rescue dog a license fee for that dog. An applicant for a license for a:

1. Search or and rescue dog shall provide adequate proof satisfactory to the county enforcement agent that the dog is a search or and rescue dog.

2. Service animal shall sign a written statement that the dog is a service animal as defined in section 11‑1024. A person who makes a false statement pursuant to this paragraph is guilty of a petty offense, and is subject to a fine that shall does not exceed fifty dollars. The statement to be signed shall be substantially in the following form:

By signing this document, I declare that the dog to be licensed is a service animal as defined in section 11‑1024, Arizona Revised Statutes, and I understand that a person who makes a false statement pursuant to section 11‑1008, Arizona Revised Statutes, is guilty of a petty offense, and is subject to a fine that does not exceed fifty dollars. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 11-1010, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE11-1010. Anti-rabies vaccination; violation; classification

A. All dogs three months of age or older shall be vaccinated against rabies by a veterinarian who is licensed to practice in a jurisdiction of the United States. Before a license is issued for any dog, The owner or a veterinarian must present a paper or electronic copy or telefacsimile fax of the vaccination certificate signed by a veterinarian or submit information online through a website maintained by the county stating the owner's name, telephone number and address, and giving the dog's description, the date of vaccination, the manufacturer and serial number of the vaccine used, the name and contact information of the veterinarian who administered the vaccination and the date revaccination is due. A duplicate of each rabies vaccination certificate issued shall be transmitted to the county enforcement agent within two weeks of after the date the dog was vaccinated. No dog shall be licensed unless it is vaccinated in accordance with the provisions of this article and the regulations promulgated pursuant to this article.

B. A dog vaccinated in any other state prior to entry into Arizona may be licensed in Arizona provided that, at the time of licensing, the owner of the dog presents a vaccination certificate, signed by a veterinarian licensed to practice in that state or a veterinarian employed by a governmental agency in that state, stating the owner's name and address, and giving the dog's description, date of vaccination and type, manufacturer and serial number of the vaccine used. The vaccination must be in conformity with the provisions of this article and the regulations promulgated pursuant to this article.

C. B. The county enforcement agent shall make provisions for vaccination clinics as deemed necessary. The vaccination shall be performed by a veterinarian pursuant to title 32, chapter 21, article 3.

c. Any person who knowingly fails to vaccinate a dog against rabies is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 11-1013, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE11-1013. Establishment of county pounds; impounding and disposing of dogs and cats; reclaiming impounded dogs and cats

A. The board of supervisors in each county may provide or authorize a county pound or pounds or enter into a cooperative agreement with a city, a veterinarian or an Arizona incorporated humane society for the establishment and operation of a county pound.

B. Any stray dog shall be impounded. All dogs and cats impounded shall be given proper care and maintenance.

C. Each stray dog or any cat impounded shall be kept and maintained at the county pound for a minimum of seventy-two hours or one hundred twenty hours for an animal that is wearing a license, unless claimed or surrendered by its owner. Any person may purchase such a dog or cat on expiration of the impoundment period, if the person pays all pound fees established by the county board of supervisors and complies with the licensing and vaccinating provisions of this article. If such the dog or cat is to be used for medical research, no a license or vaccination shall be is not required.

D. Any impounded licensed dog or any cat may be reclaimed by its owner or such the owner's agent provided that the person reclaiming the dog or cat furnishes proof of the person's right to do so. and pays The owner or owner's agent reclaiming a dog shall pay all pound fees established by the board of supervisors. The owner or owner's agent reclaiming a cat may not be charged any pound fees. Any person purchasing such a dog or cat shall pay all pound fees established by the board of supervisors.

E. If the dog or cat is not reclaimed within the impoundment period, the county enforcement agent shall take possession of and may place the dog or cat for sale or may dispose of the dog or cat in a humane manner. The county enforcement agent may destroy impounded sick or injured dogs or cats if destruction is necessary to prevent the dog or cat from suffering or to prevent the spread of disease.

Sec. 4. Section 11-1014, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE11-1014. Biting animals; reporting; handling and destruction; exception

A. An unvaccinated A dog or cat that bites any person shall be confined and quarantined in a manner and facility prescribed by the county enforcement agent. The county enforcement agent may require the animal to be confined at the home of the owner, in a county pound or, on request of and at the expense of the owner, at a veterinary hospital or in a boarding facility for a period of not less than at least ten days. The quarantine period shall start on the day of the bite incident. If the day of the bite is not known, the quarantine period shall start on the first day of impoundment. A dog properly vaccinated pursuant to this article that bites any person may be confined and quarantined at the home of the owner or wherever the dog is harbored and maintained with the consent of and in a manner prescribed by the county enforcement agent.

B. A dog or cat that is impounded as the result of biting any person shall not be released from the pound to its owner unless one of the following applies:

1. The dog has a current dog license pursuant to section 11‑1008 at the time the dog entered the pound.

2. The dog or cat has been previously spayed or neutered before impound or has been spayed or neutered and implanted with a microchip before release from the pound.

3. There is no veterinary facility capable of performing surgical sterilization within a twenty mile radius of the pound.

4. A veterinarian determines that a medical contraindication for surgery exists that reasonably requires postponement of the surgery until the surgery can be performed in a safe and humane manner.

5. The bite occurred in the premises of the owner and the victim is a member of the same household.

6. The owner pays a fifty dollar recovery fee, in addition to any fees or costs otherwise required pursuant to this article.

C. Any domestic animal, other than a dog, a cat or a caged or pet rodent or rabbit, that bites any person shall be confined and quarantined in a county pound or, on the request and at the expense of the owner, at a veterinary hospital for a period of not less than at least fourteen days. Livestock shall be confined and quarantined for the fourteen‑day period in a manner regulated by the Arizona department of agriculture. Caged or pet rodents or rabbits shall not be quarantined or laboratory tested.

D. With the exception of a wild rodent or rabbit, any wild animal that bites any person or directly exposes any person to its saliva may be killed and submitted to the county enforcement agent or the agent's deputies for transport to an appropriate diagnostic laboratory. A wild rodent or rabbit may be submitted for laboratory testing if the animal has bitten a person and either the animal's health or behavior indicates that the animal may have rabies or the bite occurred in an area that contains a rabies epizootic, as determined by the department of health services.

E. If an animal bites any person, the incident shall be reported to the county enforcement agent immediately by any person having direct knowledge.

F. The county enforcement agent may destroy any animal confined and quarantined pursuant to this section before the termination of the minimum confinement period for laboratory examination for rabies if:

1. The animal shows clear clinical signs of rabies.

2. The animal's owner consents to its destruction.

G. Any animal subject to licensing under this article found without a tag identifying its owner shall be deemed unowned.

H. The county enforcement agent shall destroy a vicious animal by order of a justice of the peace or a city magistrate. A justice of the peace or city magistrate may issue an order to destroy a vicious animal after notice to the owner, if any, and the person who was bitten, and a hearing. The justice of the peace or city magistrate may impose additional procedures and processes to protect all parties in the interest of justice, and any decision by the justice of the peace or magistrate may be appealed to the superior court.

I. The owner of a vicious animal shall be responsible for any fees incurred by the county enforcement agent for the impounding, sheltering and disposing of the vicious animal.

J. This section does not apply to A dog that is used by any federal, state, county, city or town law enforcement agency or a search and rescue dog whose owner has provided adequate proof to the county enforcement agent that the dog is a search and rescue dog pursuant to section 11-1008, subsection F and that bites any person if the bite occurs while the dog is under proper law enforcement or search and rescue supervision and the care of a licensed veterinarian, except that shall be placed under a working quarantine if the dog has a current anti-rabies vaccination pursuant to section 11-1010. The law enforcement agency or search and rescue organization shall notify the county enforcement agent if the dog exhibits any abnormal behavior, and make the dog available for examination at any reasonable time and immediately confine and quarantine the dog until a health assessment is made by a licensed veterinarian. If the bite occurred while the dog was not under proper law enforcement or search and rescue supervision or while the dog was not performing the duties it was trained for, the law enforcement agency or the search and rescue organization shall notify the county enforcement agent, and the county enforcement agent shall determine the manner of confinement and quarantine for the dog.END_STATUTE