Judiciary committee reviews H.578 draft 3.1, narrows language on forfeiture, inspections and treatment requirements

The House Judiciary Committee spent its Feb. 12 working session reviewing draft 3.1 of H.578, a bill that revises penalties and procedures for animal-cruelty offenses and related civil forfeiture procedures. Committee counsel said the latest draft narrows the number of changes from earlier versions and focuses on consistency across misdemeanor and felony provisions.

Eric Fitzpatrick, with the Office of Legislative Council, told the committee the misdemeanor provision now makes it an offense for a person to possess, care for or work with an animal while prohibited from doing so by any court order — not only orders issued under the animal-cruelty chapter. Fitzpatrick said the draft also inserts a knowing mental element in several places, so that a defendant must "knowingly" refuse to comply with an order (for example, refusing unannounced visits) to be guilty of the misdemeanor offense.

The draft aligns language across sanctions: forfeiture of future rights to own, possess, care for or work with animals may last up to five years, but exemptions are clarified so that rights to work with livestock or poultry are not forfeited unless the offense involved those…