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2018 SESSION

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HB 271 Dogs, dangerous and vicious; requirements of an owner.

Introduced by: Mark L. Cole (by request) | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Control of dangerous and vicious dogs. Alters the requirements of an owner of a dog that is determined to be dangerous or vicious. The bill establishes requirements for the pre-trial confinement of a dog believed to be dangerous and requires a court, once it has determined that a dog is dangerous or vicious or that the owner of a dangerous dog has violated the dangerous dog statute, to order the owner to pay the expenses of caring for the dog from the time it was taken into custody. The bill also sets conditions on the ownership of a dangerous dog, including by requiring the owner to obtain a registration certificate prior to the return of the animal, raising the registration renewal fee from $85 to $150, and removing the option of the owner to show that the dog is muzzled and confined in a fenced yard until the proper enclosure is constructed. The bill requires that (i) the mandatory warning signs at an owner's residence be visible from any place along the residence's property line, (ii) the animal be fitted with a GPS tracking device, (iii) satisfactory confinement be padlocked, and (iv) the dog's leash while off its owner's property be no more than six feet long and held by a person capable of controlling the dog. The bill raises the minimum liability insurance coverage or bond amount for the owner of a dangerous dog from $100,000 to $300,000.


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