H. B. 2485
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss (By Request))
[Introduced February 22, 2001; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections two and five, article twenty,
chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said
article by adding thereto a new section, designated section
three-a, all relating to providing for mandatory registration
of cats; providing for the assessment and collection of a head
tax on cats; providing that cats six months old or older for
whom an owner has failed to pay the tax shall be impounded by
the dog warden or sheriff; authorizing sale or destruction of
cat by sheriff; requiring mandatory registration of cats six
months old or older; allowing commission to assessor who
collects head tax on cats; providing that head tax collected for cats is accredited to the dog and kennel fund provided for
in the article; providing for the registration of catteries;
and limiting the number of cats a person may own or possess at
a single location.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections two and five, article twenty, chapter nineteen
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be
further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
three-a, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 20. DOGS AND CATS.
§19-20-2. Collection of head tax on dogs and cats; duties of
assessor and sheriff; registration of dogs and cats;
disposition of head tax; taxes on dogs and cats not
collected by assessor.
It shall be the duty of the county assessor and his or her
deputies of each county within this state, at the time they are
making assessment of the personal property within such county, to
assess and collect a head tax of three dollars on each dog and cat,
male or female; and in addition to the above, the assessor and his
or her deputies shall have the further duty of collecting any such
head tax on dogs and cats as may be levied by the ordinances of each and every municipality within the county. However, no head
tax may be levied against any guide or support dog especially
trained for the purpose of serving as a guide, leader, listener or
support for a blind person, deaf person or a person who is
physically or mentally disabled because of any neurological,
muscular, skeletal or psychological disorder that causes weakness
or inability to perform any function. Guide or support dogs must
be registered as provided by this section. In the event that the
owner, keeper or person having in his or her possession or allowing
to remain on any premises under his or her control any dog or cat
above the age of six months, shall refuse or fail to pay such tax,
when the same is assessed or within fifteen days thereafter, to the
assessor or deputy assessor, then such assessor or deputy assessor
shall certify such tax to the county dog warden; if there be no
county dog warden he or she shall certify such tax to the county
sheriff, who shall take charge of the dog or cat for which the tax
is delinquent and impound the same for a period of fifteen days,
for which service he or she shall be allowed a fee of one dollar
and fifty cents to be charged against such delinquent taxpayer in
addition to the taxes herein provided for. In case the tax and
impounding charge herein provided for shall not have been paid within the period of fifteen days, then the sheriff may sell the
impounded dog or cat and deduct the impounding charge and the
delinquent tax from the amount received therefor, and return the
balance, if any, to the delinquent taxpayer. Should the sheriff
fail to sell the dog or cat so impounded within the time specified
herein, he or she shall kill such dog or cat and dispose of its
body.
At the same time as the head tax is assessed, the assessor and
his or her deputies shall, on the forms prescribed under section
four of this article, take down the age, sex, color, character of
hair (long or short) and breed (if known) and the name and address
of the owner, keeper or harborer thereof. When the head tax, and
extra charges, if any, are paid, the officer to whom payment is
made shall issue a certificate of registration and a registration
tag for such dog or cat.
In addition to the assessment and registration above provided
for, whenever a dog or cat either is acquired or becomes six months
of age after the assessment of the personal property of the owner,
keeper or harborer thereof, the said owner, keeper or harborer of
said dog or cat shall, within ten days after the acquisition or
maturation, register the said dog or cat with the assessor, and pay the head tax thereon unless the prior owner, keeper or harborer
paid the head tax.
All certificates of registration and registration tags issued
pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be issued for the
fiscal year and shall be valid from the date on which issued until
the thirtieth day of June of that fiscal year, or until reissued by
the assessor or his or her deputy in the regular performance of his
or her duties, but in no case shall previous registration tags be
valid after September thirtieth of the next ensuing fiscal year.
The assessor collecting the head tax on dogs and cats shall be
allowed a commission of ten percent upon all such taxes collected
by him or her, and shall turn in to the county treasury ninety
percent of such taxes so collected, as are levied by this section;
and the assessor shall turn over to the treasurer or other proper
officer of each and every municipality within the county ninety
percent of such taxes levied by the ordinances of such
municipality. All such dog and cat taxes, except those belonging
to municipalities, shall be accredited to the dog and kennel fund
provided for in section ten of this article. Such dog and cat
taxes as are collected for and turned over to municipalities shall
be deposited by the proper officer of such municipalities to such fund and shall be expended in such manner as the law of such
municipality may provide. All taxes on dogs and cats not collected
by the assessor shall be collected by the regular tax collecting
officer of the county and placed to the credit of the dog and
kennel fund.
§19-20-3a. Registration of catteries; application; fee; expiration
of certificate of registration; cat owners limited to
five cats.
(a) Every owner or operator of a cattery, wherein cats are
bred, kept, boarded or sold as a commercial venture for profit
shall annually, between the first day of July and the thirtieth day
of September of each year, file with the assessor of the county in
which such cattery is located, kept or maintained, an application
for the registration of the cattery for the fiscal year. The
application shall state the location of the cattery, the name and
address of the person actually in charge of and supervising it, and
the name and address of the owner of the cattery. Upon the filing
of such application, together with the payment to the assessor of
a fee of ten dollars the assessor shall issue a certificate of
registration for the cattery. The registration of a cattery, as
herein provided, shall entitle the registrant to register and
receive certificates and tags for not more than five cats without the payment of a separate head tax on the cats. The head tax
provided for in section two of this article shall, on the five or
less cats, be included in and charged against the cattery
registration fee herein provided.
Every person upon becoming the owner or operator of a cattery
after the thirtieth day of September of any year shall, within
three days after becoming such owner or operator, register the
cattery for the remainder of the current fiscal year in the manner,
and upon the payment of the registration fee, herein provided.
All certificates of registration issued pursuant to the
provisions of this section shall be issued for the fiscal year, and
shall be valid from the date on which issued until the thirtieth
day of June of that fiscal year.
(b) Other than persons operating catteries, no person may own
or possess more than five cats at a single location. Any person
violating this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than fifty dollars.
§19-20-5. Wearing of registration tag by dog or cat.
Every registered dog and cat shall at all times wear a valid
registration tag issued as provided in this article. The failure
to have displayed or worn on any dog or cat, at any time, of such valid tag shall be prima facie evidence that such dog or cat is not
registered and such dog or cat shall be subject to be, and shall
be, impounded, sold or destroyed as hereinbefore or hereinafter
provided.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
provide for the mandatory
registration of cats. In requiring registration the bill also
provides for the following: (1) The assessment and collection of
a head tax on cats; (2) that cats six months old or older for whom
an owner has failed to pay the tax shall be impounded by the dog
warden or sheriff; (3) authorizing the sale or destruction of cats
by the sheriff; (4) requiring mandatory registration of cats six
months old or older; (5) allowing a commission to the assessor who
collects the head tax on cats; (6) that the head tax collected for
cats is accredited to the dog and kennel fund provided for in the
article; (7) the registration of catteries; and (8) limiting the
number of cats a person may own or possess at a single location.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§19-20-3a is new, therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.