HOUSE BILL No. 6301

 

 

September 5, 2018, Introduced by Rep. LaFave and referred to the Committee on Local Government.

 

     A bill to amend 1919 PA 339, entitled

 

"Dog law of 1919,"

 

by amending the title and sections 1, 2, 4, 10b, 19, 26a, 26b, and

 

27 (MCL 287.261, 287.262, 287.264, 287.270b, 287.279, 287.286a,

 

287.286b, and 287.287), section 1 as amended by 1996 PA 63; and to

 

repeal acts and parts of acts.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

TITLE

 

     An act relating to dogs and the protection of live stock

 

livestock and poultry from damage by dogs; providing for the

 

licensing of dogs; regulating to regulate the keeping of dogs, and

 

authorizing authorize their destruction in certain cases; providing

 

to provide for the determination and payment of damages done by

 

dogs to live stock livestock and poultry; imposing to provide for

 

the powers and duties on of certain state, county, city, and


township officers and employes, and employees; to repeal Act No.

 

347 of the Public Acts of 1917, and providing provide penalties for

 

the violation of this act; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.

 

     Sec. 1. (1) This act shall be known and may be cited as the

 

"dog law of 1919".

 

     (2) For the purpose of As used in this act:

 

     (a) "Livestock" means horses, stallions, colts, geldings,

 

mares, sheep, rams, lambs, bulls, bullocks, steers, heifers, cows,

 

calves, mules, jacks, jennets, burros, goats, kids and swine, and

 

fur-bearing animals being raised in captivity.

 

     (b) "Poultry" means all domestic fowl, ornamental birds, and

 

game birds possessed or being reared under authority of a breeder's

 

license pursuant to part 427 (breeders and dealers) of the natural

 

resources and environmental protection act, Act No. 451 of the

 

Public Acts of 1994 PA 451, being sections MCL 324.42701 to

 

324.42714. of the Michigan Compiled Laws.

 

     (c) "Owner" when applied to the proprietorship of a dog means

 

every person having a right of property in the dog, and every

 

person who keeps or harbors the dog or has it in his or her care,

 

and every person who permits the dog to remain on or about any

 

premises occupied by him or her.

 

     (d) "Kennel" means any establishment wherein or whereon dogs

 

are kept for the purpose of breeding, sale, or sporting purposes.

 

     (d) (e) "Law enforcement officer" means any person employed or

 

elected by the people of the state, or by any municipality, county,

 

or township, whose duty it is to preserve peace or to make arrests

 

or to enforce the law, and includes conservation officers and


members of the state police.

 

     (e) (f) "Hunting" means allowing a dog to range freely within

 

sight or sound of its owner while in the course of hunting legal

 

game or an unprotected animal.

 

     (f) "Service animal" means that term as defined in 28 CFR

 

36.104.

 

     Sec. 2. It shall be unlawful for any person to own any dog 6

 

months old or over, unless the dog is licensed as hereinafter

 

provided, or to own any dog 6 months old or over that does not at

 

all times wear a collar with a tag approved by the director of

 

agriculture, attached as hereinafter provided, except when engaged

 

in lawful hunting accompanied by its owner or custodian; or for any

 

owner of any female dog to permit the female dog to go beyond the

 

premises of such owner when she is in heat, unless the female dog

 

is held properly in leash; or for any person except the owner or

 

authorized agent, to remove any license tag from a dog; or for any

 

An owner to allow any of a dog must not allow the dog, except

 

working dogs such as leader dogs, guard dogs, farm dogs, hunting

 

dogs, and other such dogs, when accompanied by their owner or his

 

or her authorized agent, while actively engaged in activities for

 

which such the working dogs are trained, to stray unless held

 

properly in leash.

 

     Sec. 4. The state livestock sanitary commission shall have the

 

general supervision over the licensing and regulation of dogs and

 

the protection of livestock and poultry from dogs, and may employ

 

all proper means for the enforcement of this act and all police

 

officers of the state, county, municipality or township shall be at


its disposal for that purpose. An animal control officer or a law

 

enforcement officer of the this state shall issue a citation,

 

summons, or appearance ticket for a violation of this act.

 

     Sec. 10b. Any A city, township, or village having in its

 

employment a full-time animal control officer may adopt an

 

ordinance providing for the issuance of kennel licenses by the

 

animal control officer. on the same terms, conditions and fees as

 

is provided in section 10. Upon the adoption of the ordinance the

 

city, township or village shall be excepted from the provisions of

 

sections 10 and 11 of this act.

 

     Sec. 19. Any A person, including a law enforcement officer,

 

may kill any a dog which that is not a service animal if he or she

 

sees that dog in the act of pursuing, worrying, or wounding any

 

livestock or poultry, or any dog that he or she sees in the act of

 

attacking persons, and there shall be no liability on such a

 

person. A person who kills a dog pursuant to this section is not

 

liable in damages or otherwise, for such killing. Any The entry of

 

a dog that enters any unaccompanied by the owner or the owner's

 

agent onto a field or enclosure which that is owned by or leased by

 

a person producing livestock or poultry , outside of a city ,

 

unaccompanied by his owner or his owner's agent, shall constitute

 

is a trespass, and the owner shall be is liable in for damages.

 

Except as provided in this section, it shall be unlawful for any

 

person, other than a law enforcement officer, to kill or injure or

 

attempt to kill or injure any dog which bears a license tag for the

 

current year.

 

     Sec. 26a. (1) A district court magistrate or the district or


common pleas court shall issue a summons similar to the summons

 

provided for described in section 20 for the dog owner to show

 

cause why a dog should not be killed, upon a sworn complaint that

 

any of the following exist:

 

     (a) After January 10 and before June 15 in each year a dog

 

over 6 months old is running at large unaccompanied by its owner or

 

is engaged in lawful hunting and is not under the reasonable

 

control of its owner without a license attached to the collar of

 

the dog.

 

     (a) (b) A The dog , licensed or unlicensed, has destroyed

 

property or habitually causes damage by trespassing on the property

 

of a person who is not the owner.

 

     (b) (c) A The dog , licensed or unlicensed, has attacked or

 

bitten a person.

 

     (c) (d) A The dog has shown vicious habits or has molested a

 

person when lawfully on the public highway.

 

     (e) A dog duly licensed and wearing a license tag has run at

 

large contrary to this act.

 

     (2) After a hearing the district court magistrate or the

 

district or common pleas held pursuant to subsection (1), the court

 

may either order the dog killed, or confined to the premises of the

 

owner. If the owner disobeys this order the owner may be punished

 

under section 26. Costs as in a civil case shall must be taxed

 

against the owner of the dog, and collected by the county. The

 

county board of commissioners shall audit and pay claims for

 

services of officers rendered pursuant to this section, unless the

 

claims are paid by the owner of the dog.


     Sec. 26b. (1) Any A person who shall not steal, or confine and

 

secrete any a dog licensed under this act or kept under a kennel

 

license, unless legally authorized to do so, or unless such

 

confining be is justifiable in for the protection of a person,

 

property, or game. , shall be

 

     (2) A person who violates this section is guilty of a

 

misdemeanor , and upon conviction thereof shall be subject to a

 

fine of not less than $50.00 nor more than $100.00, or punishable

 

by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than 60 nor days or

 

more than 90 days , or a fine of not more than $100.00, or both. in

 

the discretion of the court.

 

     Sec. 27. Nothing in this This act shall be construed to does

 

not prevent the owner of a licensed dog from recovery, by action at

 

law, from any a police officer or other person, the value of any a

 

dog illegally killed by such police officer or other person.

 

     Enacting section 1. Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9a, 10, 11, 12,

 

13, 14, 14a, 15, 16, 17, and 29 of the dog law of 1919, 1919 PA

 

339, MCL 287.265, 287.266, 287.267, 287.268, 287.269, 287.269a,

 

287.270, 287.271, 287.272, 287.273, 287.274, 287.274a, 287.275,

 

287.276, 287.277, and 287.289, are repealed.

 

     Enacting section 2. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.

 

     Enacting section 3. This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless all of the following bills of the 99th Legislature are

 

enacted into law:

 

     (a) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 6297 (request no.

 

01879'17 a).


     (b) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 6298 (request no.

 

01879'17 b).