BILL REQ. #: H-1150.1
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
AN ACT Relating to creation of an animal abuser registry; adding a new chapter to Title 16 RCW; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature finds that:
(1) Studies in psychology, sociology, and criminology have
demonstrated that violent offenders frequently have childhood and
adolescent histories of serious and repeated animal cruelty;
(2) The federal bureau of investigation has recognized this
connection since the 1970s, when its analysis of the lives of serial
killers suggested that most had killed or tortured animals during their
life;
(3) Other research has shown consistent patterns of animal cruelty
among perpetrators of more common forms of violence, including child
abuse, spouse abuse, and elder abuse, leading the American psychiatric
association to consider animal cruelty as one of the diagnostic
criteria of conduct disorder;
(4) It is a compelling and necessary public interest that the
public have information concerning persons convicted of severe animal
abuse offenses, to allow members of the public to adequately protect
themselves and their animals from these persons;
(5) In balancing the abuser's due process and other rights against
the interests of public security, the legislature finds that releasing
information about certain animal abusers under the circumstances
specified in this chapter will further the primary governmental
interest of protecting vulnerable populations from potential harm;
(6) To protect the safety and general welfare of the people of this
state, it is necessary to provide for registration of abusers and for
the public release of specified information regarding abusers. This
policy of authorizing the release of necessary and relevant information
about abusers to members of the public is a means of assuring public
protection and it is not intended that the information be used to
inflict retribution or additional punishment on those abusers.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 As used in this chapter, unless the context
otherwise requires:
(1) "Animal abuser" means a person over eighteen years of age or a
minor who has been tried as an adult who has been convicted of an
animal abuse offense;
(2) "Animal abuse offense" means the commission of any act that
constitutes the criminal offense of:
(a) Animal cruelty in the first degree (RCW 16.52.205);
(b) Animal cruelty in the second degree (RCW 16.52.207);
(c) Animal fighting (RCW 16.52.117); and
(d) Poisoning animals (RCW 16.52.190).
(3) "Conviction" means a judgment entered by a court upon a plea of
guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, or a finding of guilt by a jury or
the court, notwithstanding any pending appeal or habeas corpus
proceeding arising from the judgment. A conviction includes, but is
not limited to, a conviction by a federal court or military tribunal,
including a court-martial conducted by the armed forces of the United
States, and a conviction in any other state of the United States, other
jurisdiction, or other country. A conviction for an offense committed
in another jurisdiction that would be classified as an animal abuse
offense if committed in this state, shall be considered a conviction.
Conviction includes a deferred prosecution under chapter 10.05 RCW, or
an equivalent disposition from another jurisdiction;
(4) "Primary residence" means a place where the person abides,
lodges, resides, or establishes any other living accommodations in this
state for five consecutive days;
(5) "Resident" means any person who abides, lodges, resides, or
establishes any other living accommodations in this state;
(6) "Secondary residence" means a place where the person abides,
lodges, or resides, or establishes any other living accommodations in
this state for a period of fourteen or more days in the aggregate
during any calendar year, and that is not the person's primary
residence; for a person whose primary residence is not in this state,
a place where the person is employed, practices a vocation, or is
enrolled as a student for a period of fourteen or more days in the
aggregate during any calendar year; or a place where the person
routinely abides, lodges, or resides for a period of four or more
consecutive or nonconsecutive days in any month and that is not the
person's primary residence, including any out-of-state address;
(7) "Student" means a person who is enrolled on a full-time or
part-time basis, in any public or private educational institution,
including any secondary school, trade, or professional institution or
institution of higher learning;
(8) "Within forty-eight hours" means a continuous forty-eight hour
period, not including Saturdays, Sundays, or federal or state holidays.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 (1) The clerk of the court in which a
person's conviction for an animal abuse offense occurs shall forward,
electronically or otherwise, to the attorney general a copy of the
judgment document of the conviction, the animal abuser's home address,
and other information set out in subsection (3) of this section. The
information shall be forwarded to the attorney general within forty-five days of the date of judgment.
(2) The registry shall be maintained by the attorney general and
made available for public inquiry on the internet.
(3) The registry shall consist of the person's name, date of birth,
residential address, all animal abuse offense convictions, conviction
dates, county and state of convictions, the person's photograph and
such other identifying data as the attorney general determines is
necessary for the public to properly identify the person, but shall not
include the person's social security number. The attorney general may
use the driver's license photograph of the animal abuser maintained by
the department of licensing for the registry. If no driver's license
photograph is available, the attorney general shall use the photograph
taken at the animal abuser's booking.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 (1) Within forty-eight hours of changing a
primary or secondary residence, the animal abuser shall notify the
attorney general of the change of address.
(2) An animal abuser from another state, jurisdiction, or country
who has established a primary or secondary residence within this state,
or has established a physical presence at a particular location, shall,
within forty-eight hours of establishing residency or a physical
presence, notify the attorney general of the person's presence in this
state.
(3) An animal abuser from another state, jurisdiction, or country,
who is not a resident of this state, shall, within forty-eight hours of
employment, commencing practice of a vocation, or becoming a student in
this state, notify the attorney general of the person's presence in
this state.
(4) Animal abusers who do not maintain either a primary or
secondary residence, shall be considered homeless, and are subject to
the registration requirements of this chapter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 (1) Any animal abuser who is subject to
registration pursuant to this chapter shall be assessed a fee of fifty
dollars at the time of conviction.
(2) The fee shall be retained by the clerk transmitting the
information to the attorney general for the sole purpose of defraying
the costs of administering this chapter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 (1) The attorney general shall remove from
the registry the name and other identifying information of any person
who has not been convicted of an animal abuse offense for a period of
ten years from the date of the person's most recent conviction.
(2) Upon receipt of notice of the death of a registered animal
abuser, as evidenced by a death certificate, the attorney general shall
remove all data pertaining to the deceased animal abuser from the
registry.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 (1) It is an offense for an animal abuser to
knowingly violate this chapter. Violations shall include, but not be
limited to, the following:
(a) Falsification of information supplied to the attorney general;
(b) Failure to timely disclose required information to the attorney
general; and
(c) Failure to pay the initial registration fee, if financially
able;
(2) A violation of this chapter is a gross misdemeanor.
(3) A violation of this chapter is a continuing offense. If an
animal abuser is required to register pursuant to this chapter, venue
lies in any county in which the animal abuser may be found or in any
county where the violation occurred.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8 The attorney general shall adopt rules
necessary to implement and administer the provisions of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9 Sections 1 through 8 of this act constitute
a new chapter in Title