As Introduced

133rd General Assembly

Regular Session H. B. No. 350

2019-2020

A BILL

To amend sections 959.15, 959.21, and 959.99 of the Revised Code to re-enact provisions of law governing animal fighting and bestiality.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 959.15, 959.21, and 959.99 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 959.15. (A) No person shall knowingly ~~do either of the following:~~

~~(1) Engage~~ do either of the following:

(1) Engage in cockfighting, bearbaiting, or pitting an animal against another;

~~(2) Use~~(2) Use, train, or possess any animal for seizing, detaining, or maltreating a domestic animal.

~~(B) No person shall knowingly do either of the following:~~

~~(1) Be employed at cockfighting, bearbaiting, or pitting an animal against another;~~

~~(2) Do any of the following regarding an event involving cockfighting, bearbaiting, or pitting an animal against another:~~

~~(a) Wager money or anything else of value on the results of the event;~~

~~(b) Pay money or give anything else of value in exchange for admission to or being present at the event;~~

~~(c) Receive money or anything else of value in exchange for the admission of another person to the event or for another person to be present at the event;~~

~~(d) Use, possess, or permit or cause to be present at the event any device or substance intended to enhance an animal's ability to fight or to inflict injury on another animal;~~

(e) Permit or cause a minor to be present at the event if any person present at or involved with the event is conducting any of the activities described in division (B)(1) or (B)(2)(a), (b), (c), or (d) of this section.

(C) A person who knowingly witnesses cockfighting, bearbaiting, or an event in which one animal is pitted against another when a violation of division (B) of this section is occurring at the cockfighting, bearbaiting, or event is an aider and abettor and has committed a violation of this division.(B) No person shall knowingly do either of the following:

(1) Be employed at cockfighting, bearbaiting, or pitting an animal against another;

(2) Do any of the following regarding an event involving cockfighting, bearbaiting, or pitting an animal against another:

(a) Wager money or anything else of value on the results of the event;

(b) Pay money or give anything else of value in exchange for admission to or being present at the event;

(c) Receive money or anything else of value in exchange for the admission of another person to the event or for another person to be present at the event;

(d) Use, possess, or permit or cause to be present at the event any device or substance intended to enhance an animal's ability to fight or to inflict injury on another animal;

Sec. 959.21. ~~(A) As used in this section:~~

~~(1) "Animal" means a nonhuman mammal, bird, reptile, or amphibian, either dead or alive.~~

~~(2) "Offense" means a violation of this section or an attempt, in violation of section 2923.02 of the Revised Code, to violate this section.~~

~~(3) "Officer" has the same meaning as in section 959.132 of the Revised Code.~~

~~(4) "Sexual conduct" means either of the following committed for the purpose of sexual gratification:~~

(a) Any act done between a person and animal that involves contact of the penis of one and the vulva of the other, the penis of one and the penis of the other, the penis of one and the anus of the other, the mouth of one and the penis of the other, the mouth of one and the anus of the other, the vulva of one and the vulva of the other, the mouth of one and the vulva of the other, any other contact between a reproductive organ of one and a reproductive organ of the other, or any other insertion of a reproductive organ of one into an orifice of the other;

(b) Without a bona fide veterinary or animal husbandry purpose to do so, the insertion, however slight, of any part of a person's body or any instrument, apparatus, or other object into the vaginal, anal, or reproductive opening of an animal.

~~(B) No person shall knowingly engage in sexual conduct with an animal or knowingly possess, sell, or purchase an animal~~ ~~with the intent that it be subjected to sexual conduct.~~

~~(C) No person shall knowingly organize, promote, aid, or abet in the conduct of an act involving any sexual conduct with an animal.~~

(D) An officer may seize and cause to be impounded at an impounding agency an animal that the officer has probable cause to believe is the subject of an offense. With respect to an animal so seized and impounded, all procedures and requirements that are established in section 959.132 of the Revised Code, and all other provisions of that section, apply to the seizure, impoundment, and disposition of the animal. References in section 959.132 of the Revised Code to "section 959.131 of the Revised Code," "companion animal," and "offense" shall be construed, respectively, as being references to "section 959.21 ~~of the Revised Code" and to "animal" and "offense" as defined in this section, for purposes of application under this section only.~~(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Animal" means a nonhuman mammal, bird, reptile, or amphibian, either dead or alive.

(2) "Offense" means a violation of this section or an attempt, in violation of section 2923.02 of the Revised Code, to violate this section.

(3) "Officer" has the same meaning as in section 959.132 of the Revised Code.

(4) "Sexual conduct" means either of the following committed for the purpose of sexual gratification:

(B) No person shall knowingly engage in sexual conduct with an animal or knowingly possess, sell, or purchase an animal with the intent that it be subjected to sexual conduct.

(C) No person shall knowingly organize, promote, aid, or abet in the conduct of an act involving any sexual conduct with an animal.

(D) An officer may seize and cause to be impounded at an impounding agency an animal that the officer has probable cause to believe is the subject of an offense. With respect to an animal so seized and impounded, all procedures and requirements that are established in section 959.132 of the Revised Code, and all other provisions of that section, apply to the seizure, impoundment, and disposition of the animal. References in section 959.132 of the Revised Code to "section 959.131 of the Revised Code," "companion animal," and "offense" shall be construed, respectively, as being references to "section 959.21 of the Revised Code" and to "animal" and "offense" as defined in this section, for purposes of application under this section only.

Sec. 959.99. (A) Whoever violates section 959.18 or 959.19 of the Revised Code is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

(B) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever violates section 959.02 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree. If the value of the animal killed or the injury done amounts to three hundred dollars or more, whoever violates section 959.02 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

(C) Whoever violates section 959.03, 959.06, 959.12, or 959.17 ~~or division (A) of section 959.15~~ or division (A) of section 959.15 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

(D) Whoever violates division (A) of section 959.13 or ~~section 959.21~~ or section 959.21 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree. In addition, the court may order the offender to forfeit the animal or livestock and may provide for its disposition, including, but not limited to, the sale of the animal or livestock. If an animal or livestock is forfeited and sold pursuant to this division, the proceeds from the sale first shall be applied to pay the expenses incurred with regard to the care of the animal from the time it was taken from the custody of the former owner. The balance of the proceeds from the sale, if any, shall be paid to the former owner of the animal.

(E)(1) Whoever violates division (B) of section 959.131 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree on a first offense and a felony of the fifth degree on each subsequent offense.

(2) Whoever violates division (C) of section 959.131 of the Revised Code is guilty of a felony of the fifth degree.

(3) Whoever violates section 959.01 of the Revised Code or division (D) of section 959.131 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree on a first offense and a misdemeanor of the first degree on each subsequent offense.

(4) Whoever violates division (E) of section 959.131 of the Revised Code is guilty of a felony of the fifth degree.

(5) Whoever violates division (F) of section 959.131 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

(6)(a) A court may order a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of section 959.131 of the Revised Code to forfeit to an impounding agency, as defined in section 959.132 of the Revised Code, any or all of the companion animals in that person's ownership or care. The court also may prohibit or place limitations on the person's ability to own or care for any companion animals for a specified or indefinite period of time.

(b) A court may order a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of section 959.131 of the Revised Code to reimburse an impounding agency for the reasonably necessary costs incurred by the agency for the care of a companion animal that the agency impounded as a result of the investigation or prosecution of the violation, provided that the costs were not otherwise paid under section 959.132 of the Revised Code.

(7) If a court has reason to believe that a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of section 959.131 ~~or 959.21~~ or 959.21 of the Revised Code suffers from a mental or emotional disorder that contributed to the violation, the court may impose as a community control sanction or as a condition of probation a requirement that the offender undergo psychological evaluation or counseling. The court shall order the offender to pay the costs of the evaluation or counseling.

(F) Whoever violates section 959.14 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree on a first offense and a misdemeanor of the first degree on each subsequent offense.

(G) Whoever violates section 959.05 or 959.20 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

(H) Whoever violates section 959.16 of the Revised Code is guilty of a felony of the fourth degree for a first offense and a felony of the third degree on each subsequent offense.

~~(I) Whoever violates division (B) or (C) of section 959.15 of the Revised Code is guilty of a felony and shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars.~~ (I) Whoever violates division (B) or (C) of section 959.15 of the Revised Code is guilty of a felony and shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars.

Section 2. That existing sections 959.15, 959.21, and 959.99 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. Section 959.99 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Sub. H.B. 60 and Sub. S.B. 331 of the 131st General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the composite is the resulting version of the section in effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in this act.

Section 4. The amendments to sections 959.15, 959.21, and 959.99 of the Revised Code by this act are intended to re-enact the amendments to those sections made by Sub. S.B. 331 of the 131st General Assembly that were severed by the Sixth District Court of Appeals of Ohio in Toledo v. Ohio, 2018-Ohio-4534; 2018 Ohio App. LEXIS 4854 (6th Dist.) due to the determination that those provisions violated the one subject rule established under Article II, Section 15(D) of the Ohio Constitution.