HOUSE BILL 1106
48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2007
INTRODUCED BY
Joni Marie Gutierrez
AN ACT
RELATING TO ANIMALS; ENACTING THE PET OWNER RESPONSIBILITY ACT; REQUIRING DOGS AND CATS TO BE SPAYED OR NEUTERED; PROVIDING EXCEPTIONS; IMPOSING PENALTIES; PROVIDING FOR A SPAY OR NEUTER AGREEMENT; PROVIDING SERVICES TO LOW-INCOME PERSONS; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Pet Owner Responsibility Act".
Section 2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Pet Owner Responsibility Act:
A. "animal control authority" means an entity authorized to enforce animal control laws of a municipality, county or the state, whether acting alone or in concert with other governmental or private entities. In those areas of the state where there is no separate entity authorized to enforce animal control laws, a sheriff or municipal law enforcement agency shall be the animal control authority;
B. "animal shelter" means a facility operated publicly or privately, in which abandoned, stray, lost or unwanted dogs and cats are temporarily housed;
C. "intact" means a dog or cat that has not been spayed or neutered;
D. "low-income person" means a person who possesses an electronic benefit transfer card issued by the state for food stamps or the temporary assistance for needy families program, a medicaid health benefit card or a person who submits an affidavit to an animal control authority that the person's income is fifty percent or less of the medium gross income for the state adjusted for family size and as determined by the United States department of housing and urban development;
E. "purebred dog or cat breeder" means a person whose dog or cat has produced multiple litters of puppies or kittens of a purebred breed of dog or cat sanctioned by a recognized national dog or cat registry;
F. "purebred dog or cat fancier" means a person having an intact dog or cat that has entered a show or event of a recognized national dog or cat registry at least once a year or has a dog or cat with a title from a recognized national dog or cat registry and that belongs to a kennel or cat fancier club with a code of ethics of a recognized national dog or cat registry;
G. "professional handler" means a person who trains, kennels or exhibits a customer's dog or cat as a source of income at events sanctioned by a recognized national dog or cat registry; and
H. "working dog" means:
(1) a dog used primarily for the purpose of driving, tending, working or protecting livestock;
(2) a police dog;
(3) a military dog;
(4) a search, rescue and recovery dog;
(5) a dog used in the work of a guide or outfitter registered pursuant to Sections 17-2A-1 through 17-2A-3 NMSA 1978; or
(6) a dog being trained for any of the purposes listed in this subsection.
Section 3. RESPONSIBILITY.--
A. Except as provided in Section 4 of the Pet Owner Responsibility Act, a person who owns an intact dog or cat older than six months shall have the dog or cat spayed or neutered.
B. The veterinarian spaying or neutering the dog or cat pursuant to Subsection A of this section shall issue a certificate, receipt or other documentation to the owner evidencing that the dog or cat has been spayed or neutered, and the owner shall retain the certificate, receipt or documentation as evidence of that fact.
Section 4. EXCEPTIONS.--Section 3 of the Pet Owner Responsibility Act does not apply when the person who owns an intact dog or cat:
A. has a certificate from a veterinarian licensed in this state certifying that the dog or cat is medically unfit to undergo the required spay or neuter procedure for a specific amount of time, including permanently, and the exception allowed by this subsection shall only be for that period of time;
B. is a purebred dog or cat breeder, purebred dog or cat fancier or professional handler;
C. owns a working dog;
D. is an animal shelter and is complying with the Pet Sterilization Act;
E. is a nonresident of this state and is in the state with a dog or cat for not more than thirty days within a calendar year;
F. has an intact animal permit issued pursuant to the Pet Owner Responsibility Act; or
G. has already registered as having intact animals in another jurisdiction within New Mexico.
Section 5. INTACT PERMIT.--A person who owns an intact dog or cat over the age of six months shall be exempt from the spay or neuter requirement in Section 3 of the Pet Owner Responsibility Act by annually applying for and receiving an intact dog or cat permit from the county clerk or animal control authority having jurisdiction over the residence of the dog or cat.
Section 6. ENFORCEMENT--CIVIL PENALTIES--WAIVER.--
A. Except as provided in Subsection C of this section, if an animal control authority discovers an intact dog or cat over the age of six months in violation of Section 3 of the Pet Owner Responsibility Act, the animal control authority shall assess the owner of the dog or cat a civil penalty of fifty dollars ($50.00) for a first violation and a civil penalty of one hundred dollars ($100) for a second and each subsequent violation unless the owner can prove an exemption pursuant to Section 4 of the Pet Owner Responsibility Act.
B. The animal control authority may bring an action in magistrate court for the collection of a civil penalty assessed pursuant to this section, and any penalty collected shall be credited to the general fund of the municipality, county or state that the animal control authority represents.
C. Upon a first violation, the civil penalty shall be waived if the dog or cat owner agrees in writing with the animal control authority at the time of the discovery of the violation to have the dog or cat spayed or neutered within thirty days of the violation. If the owner breaches the agreement, the civil penalty shall be reinstated. The municipality, county or state having jurisdiction over the animal control authority shall pay the cost of spaying or neutering a dog or cat for a low-income person.
Section 7. NO PREEMPTION.--The Pet Owner Responsibility Act does not preempt a local ordinance or resolution that mandates the spaying or neutering of dogs or cats.
Section 8. APPROPRIATION.--One million dollars ($1,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the animal care and facility fund contingent upon the adoption of Senate Bill 458 or House Bill 453 during the first session of the forty-eighth legislature or, if neither bill is adopted, to the local government division of the department of finance and administration for expenditure in fiscal year 2008 for distribution to municipalities and counties to fund spay and neuter services for animals of low-income persons. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2008 shall revert to the general fund.
Section 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of Sections 1 through 5, 7 and 8 of this act is July 1, 2007. The effective date of the provisions of Section 6 of this act is July 1, 2008.
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