Assembly Judiciary Committee advances amended bill to strengthen animal-cruelty penalties

The Assembly Judiciary Committee voted to amend and do pass Assembly Bill 381, a measure that would revise Nevada law on animal cruelty, change timelines for forfeiture and disposition of animals, and increase criminal penalties and post-conviction restrictions.

Assembly Chair Miller told committee members the bill — sponsored in the Assembly by Assemblymember Hardy — had been substantially revised in recent days and would be considered in amended form. Committee policy analyst Cesar Mogul Rejo said staff would upload the full work-session document after the hearing and noted, “as nonpartisan staff of the LCB, I can neither support nor oppose any of the measures that come before this committee.”

The committee approved a package of conceptual amendments, several of which were drafted in part by the Nevada District Attorneys Association and others prepared by the chair and committee members. Key changes described during the work session include: a deletion of the bill’s original sections that defined “torture” and “cruelty to animals” and set criteria for responsibility; removal of language that would have allowed peace officers to unilaterally euthanize animals; a requirement that an animal be forfeited to local government if an owner does not request a hearing or cannot be located within five business days of posted notice; and new criminal categorizations and post-conviction bans on animal ownership.

Chair Miller said the committee’s revisions added a specific five-business-day timeline where the earlier proposal had referred only to “days,” and noted a liability provision was removed when the committee eliminated officers’ authority to euthanize animals in the field. Assemblymember Hardy, citing a specific cruelty case referenced during the meeting, said the bill’s intent was to “seek justice for Reba and to be the voice for the voiceless” and to provide accountability for people who harm animals.

The amendments specify that a person who willfully tortures or unjustifiably maims or mutilates an animal would face a category C felony under NRS 193.13; a killing under circumstances showing malice aforethought would be a category B felony; certain offenses would carry future bans on animal ownership (seven years for a misdemeanor, 15 years for a category C felony, and lifetime for a category B felony). The package also adds an affirmative defense if a person reasonably believed their actions were reasonable discipline, and authorizes courts to issue protective orders granting a petitioner exclusive custody of an animal, to require counseling, education or rehabilitation, to place animals in foster care, and to order psychological evaluations and related counseling for defendants.

Committee members moved to “amend and do pass” the bill as described in the work-session packet. Vice Chair Marzola made the motion and Assemblymember Cole seconded. The motion passed on a voice vote; the committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript. Chair Miller assigned the committee’s floor statement to Assemblymember Hardy.

Committee staff identified the Nevada District Attorneys Association as a contributor of one conceptual amendment and said the final work-session document would be posted following the meeting. The committee closed public comment; no callers spoke from either Carson City or Las Vegas during the allotted public-comment period.

The bill will proceed to the Assembly floor as amended; if it passes the Assembly it would then proceed to the Senate for further consideration.