| 1 | 1 | | General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7008 |
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| 2 | 2 | | January Session, 2015 LCO No. 5103 |
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| 3 | 3 | | *05103_______PS_* |
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| 4 | 4 | | Referred to Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY |
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| 5 | 5 | | Introduced by: |
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| 6 | 6 | | (PS) |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | General Assembly |
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| 9 | 9 | | |
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| 10 | 10 | | Raised Bill No. 7008 |
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| 11 | 11 | | |
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| 12 | 12 | | January Session, 2015 |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | LCO No. 5103 |
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| 15 | 15 | | |
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| 16 | 16 | | *05103_______PS_* |
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| 17 | 17 | | |
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| 18 | 18 | | Referred to Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY |
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| 19 | 19 | | |
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| 20 | 20 | | Introduced by: |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | (PS) |
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| 23 | 23 | | |
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| 24 | 24 | | AN ACT CONCERNING LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A POLICE DOG. |
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| 25 | 25 | | |
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| 26 | 26 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: |
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| 27 | 27 | | |
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| 28 | 28 | | Section 1. Section 22-357 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015): |
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| 29 | 29 | | |
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| 30 | 30 | | If any dog does any damage to either the body or property of any person, the owner or keeper, or, if the owner or keeper is a minor, the parent or guardian of such minor, shall be liable for the amount of such damage, except when such damage has been occasioned to the body or property of a person who, at the time such damage was sustained, was committing a trespass or other tort, or was teasing, tormenting or abusing such dog. If a minor, on whose behalf an action under this section is brought, was under seven years of age at the time such damage was done, it shall be presumed that such minor was not committing a trespass or other tort, or teasing, tormenting or abusing such dog, and the burden of proof thereof shall be upon the defendant in such action. In an action under this section against a household member of a law enforcement officer to whom has been assigned a dog owned by a law enforcement agency of the state, any political subdivision of the state or the federal government for damage done by such dog, it shall be presumed that such household member is not a keeper of such dog and the burden of proof shall be upon the plaintiff to establish that such household member was a keeper of such dog and had exclusive control of such dog at the time such damage was sustained. For the purposes of this section, "property" includes, but is not limited to, a companion animal, as defined in section 22-351a, and "the amount of such damage", with respect to a companion animal, includes expenses of veterinary care, the fair monetary value of the companion animal and burial expenses for the companion animal. |
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| 31 | 31 | | |
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| 32 | 32 | | |
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| 33 | 33 | | |
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| 34 | 34 | | |
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| 35 | 35 | | This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: |
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| 36 | 36 | | Section 1 October 1, 2015 22-357 |
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| 37 | 37 | | |
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| 38 | 38 | | This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: |
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| 39 | 39 | | |
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| 40 | 40 | | Section 1 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | October 1, 2015 |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | 22-357 |
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| 45 | 45 | | |
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| 46 | 46 | | Statement of Purpose: |
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| 47 | 47 | | |
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| 48 | 48 | | To create a rebuttable presumption that a household member of a police officer who is assigned a police service dog is not the keeper of such police service dog under the dog bite statute. |
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| 49 | 49 | | |
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| 50 | 50 | | [Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.] |
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