Bill Text: FL S0488 | 2012 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Animal Control or Cruelty Ordinances
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Failed) 2012-03-09 - Died in Messages [S0488 Detail]
Download: Florida-2012-S0488-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2012 CS for SB 488 By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senators Rich, Gaetz, and Sobel 578-01886-12 2012488c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to animal control or cruelty 3 ordinances; amending s. 828.27, F.S.; authorizing a 4 county or municipality enacting an ordinance relating 5 to animal control or cruelty to impose a specified 6 surcharge on the civil penalty for violations of the 7 ordinance; specifying use of the proceeds of the 8 surcharge; prohibiting the governing body of a county 9 or municipality from charging owners of animals more 10 than a certain amount for the spaying or neutering of 11 their animals in specified circumstances; authorizing 12 the animal control authority to allocate certain 13 excess funds to the program to spay and neuter cats 14 and dogs; providing for construction; providing an 15 effective date. 16 17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18 19 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 20 828.27, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraphs (c) and (d) 21 are added to that subsection, to read: 22 828.27 Local animal control or cruelty ordinances; 23 penalty.— 24 (4) 25 (b) The governing body of a county or municipality enacting 26 an ordinance relating to animal control or cruelty may impose 27 and collect a surcharge of up to $15$5upon each civil penalty 28 imposed for each violation of theanordinancerelating to29animal control or cruelty. One dollar of the surcharge may be 30 retained by the clerk of the court, up to the next $5 of the 31 surchargeproceedsfrom such surchargesshall be used to pay the 32 costs of training for animal control officers, and the remainder 33 of the surcharge shall be used to subsidize the costs to spay or 34 neuter dogs and cats in the possession of the animal control 35 authority or whose owners voluntarily submit their animals for 36 sterilization. An owner of an animal may not be charged more for 37 the spaying or neutering than the cost of sterilization less the 38 subsidy paid from the surcharge. 39 (c) If the surcharge funds collected to pay the costs of 40 training animal control officers exceed the amount needed to 41 conduct training for the animal control officers in a given 42 locality, the animal control authority may apply the excess 43 surcharge funds to the program to spay and neuter cats and dogs. 44 (d) This subsection does not require the governing body of 45 a county or municipality to enact an animal control or cruelty 46 ordinance. 47 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.