| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to animal control or cruelty |
| 3 | ordinances; amending s. 828.27, F.S.; requiring a |
| 4 | county or municipality enacting an ordinance relating |
| 5 | to animal control or cruelty to impose a specified |
| 6 | surcharge on the civil penalty for violations of the |
| 7 | ordinance; specifying use of the proceeds of the |
| 8 | surcharge; providing construction; providing an |
| 9 | effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section |
| 14 | 828.27, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 15 | 828.27 Local animal control or cruelty ordinances; |
| 16 | penalty.- |
| 17 | (4) |
| 18 | (b) The governing body of a county or municipality |
| 19 | enacting an ordinance relating to animal control or cruelty |
| 20 | shall may impose and collect a surcharge of $15 up to $5 upon |
| 21 | each civil penalty imposed for each violation of the an |
| 22 | ordinance relating to animal control or cruelty. One dollar of |
| 23 | the surcharge may be retained by the clerk of the court, $5 of |
| 24 | the surcharge proceeds from such surcharges shall be used to pay |
| 25 | the costs of training for animal control officers, and the |
| 26 | remainder of the surcharge shall be used to subsidize the costs |
| 27 | of spaying or neutering dogs and cats whose owners voluntarily |
| 28 | submit their animals for sterilization. Owners of such animals |
| 29 | may not be charged more for the spaying or neutering than the |
| 30 | cost of sterilization less the subsidy paid from the surcharge. |
| 31 | This paragraph does not require the governing body of a county |
| 32 | or municipality to enact such an ordinance. |
| 33 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012. |