ANIMAL ADOPTION BACKGROUND CHECK H.B. 4353 (S-1):
SUMMARY OF BILL
REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE
House Bill 4353 (Substitute S-1 as reported)
Sponsor: Representative Harvey Santana
CONTENT
The bill would add Section 8c to Public Act 287 of 1969, which regulates pet shops, animal control shelters, and animal protection shelters, to do the following:
-- Allow an animal control shelter or animal protection shelter to consider an individual's criminal history when deciding whether to allow the individual to adopt an animal.
-- Provide that a shelter could not allow a person to adopt an animal for at least five years after he or she had been convicted of an animal abuse offense (as defined in the bill).
-- Permit a shelter to choose not to allow a person to adopt an animal if he or she had been charged with committing an animal abuse offense and entered a plea to another crime in exchange for dismissal of the animal abuse charge.
Section 8c could be referred to as the "Animal Adoption Protection Act".
The bill also would refer to an animal, rather than a dog, cat, or ferret, in the Act's definition of "adoption". The bill would define "animal" as a vertebrate other than a human being. Currently, "animal" means a mammal, except livestock and rodents.
The bill would take effect 90 days after its enactment.
MCL 287.331 et al. Legislative Analyst: Patrick Affholter
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have a minimal fiscal impact on local units of government that operate animal shelters. The bill would impose the added administrative responsibility to determine whether to allow an individual to adopt an animal on the basis of that individual's criminal history, if known, through the Internet Criminal History Access Tool maintained by the State Police (ICHAT). For 2013, statewide estimated animal abuse charges numbered 194 and convictions numbered 148.
The bill would have no fiscal impact on the State.
Date Completed: 2-22-16 Fiscal Analyst: Bruce Baker
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.