Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends existing statues relating to treatment of animals, beginning July 1, 2011.

Highlights:

• Specifies that a person commits cruelty to animals if he or she (Sec. 1):
• Is the owner or has the charge and custody of any animal and unnecessarily fails to provide it with the proper food, drink, or protection from the weather;
• Fails to provide the animal with appropriate care in the case of immediate, obvious, or serious illness or injury;
• Is an animal hoarder; or
• Owns or operates a puppy mill.

• Establishes the "cruelty to animals protection account," which will reimburse county law enforcement agencies for eligible expenses regarding animal cruelty cases (Sec. 1).

• Defines "animal hoarder" as a person who (Sec. 1):
• Keeps any companion animal in an overcrowded environment; and
• Displays an inability to recognize or understand the nature of or has a reckless disregard for the conditions under which the companion animal is living and the harmful impact the person has on the animal's health, well-being, and safety.

• Defines "puppy mill" as a commercial breeding facility with substandard conditions including lack of proper food, drink, protection from the weather, or veterinary care (Sec. 1).

• Appropriates $50,000 from the general fund to the cruelty to animals protection account (Sec. 2).

Full Bill Text