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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4346 FILED ON: 5/18/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3932 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | James K. Hawkins and Steven George Xiarhos |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act promoting safe dog ownership. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol5/18/2023Steven George Xiarhos5th Barnstable5/18/2023 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4346 FILED ON: 5/18/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3932 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representatives Hawkins of Attleboro and Xiarhos of Barnstable, a petition (subject to Joint |
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| 19 | 19 | | Rule 12) of James K. Hawkins and Steven George Xiarhos relative to liability for damage caused |
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| 20 | 20 | | by dogs. The Judiciary. |
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| 21 | 21 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 22 | 22 | | _______________ |
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| 23 | 23 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | An Act promoting safe dog ownership. |
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| 27 | 27 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 28 | 28 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 29 | 29 | | 1 Section 155 of Chapter 140 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official |
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| 30 | 30 | | 2Edition, is hereby amended by striking the section in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the |
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| 31 | 31 | | 3following: |
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| 32 | 32 | | 4 If any dog owner negligently permits their dog to cause damage to the property of any |
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| 33 | 33 | | 5person, including their pet, companion animal, or service animal, or to cause injury to any |
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| 34 | 34 | | 6person, then the owner or keeper thereof; or if the owner or keeper be a minor, the parent or |
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| 35 | 35 | | 7guardian of such owner or keeper thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than $2,500. |
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| 36 | 36 | | 8 A conviction or findings of sufficient facts on any charge brought under this section shall |
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| 37 | 37 | | 9be prima facie evidence of liability in any action brought in connection with the following: |
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| 38 | 38 | | 10 a. Any damage to any property, whether privately or publicly owned; 2 of 2 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 11 b. Any injury, illness, transmission of disease (such as rabies), or death to any person or |
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| 40 | 40 | | 12animal which is reasonably attributable to or caused by a violation of this section; |
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| 41 | 41 | | 13 But no such evidence of civil liability shall be found if such damage shall have been |
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| 42 | 42 | | 14occasioned to the body or property of a person who, at the time such damage was sustained, was |
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| 43 | 43 | | 15committing a trespass or other tort, or was teasing, tormenting, or abusing such dog. If a minor, |
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| 44 | 44 | | 16on whose behalf an action under this section is brought, is under seven years of age at the time |
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| 45 | 45 | | 17the damage was done, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that such minor was not |
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| 46 | 46 | | 18committing a trespass or other tort, or teasing, tormenting or abusing such dog. |
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