2026 -- S 2298

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LC003950

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

     Introduced By: Senators Dimitri, Thompson, Urso, Tikoian, Murray, Famiglietti,
Patalano, Burke, Appollonio, and Vargas

     Date Introduced: January 23, 2026

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 4-1-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 4-1 entitled "Cruelty to

Animals" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     4-1-2. Overwork, mistreatment, or failure to feed animals — Shelter defined.

     (a) Whoever overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks, tortures, torments,

deprives of necessary sustenance, cruelly beats, mutilates, or cruelly kills, or causes or procures to

be so overdriven, overloaded, driven when overloaded, overworked, tortured, tormented, deprived

of necessary sustenance, cruelly beaten, or mutilated, any animal, and whoever, having the charge

or custody of any animal, either as owner or otherwise, inflicts cruelty upon that animal, or willfully

fails to provide that animal with proper food, drink, shelter, or protection from the weather, shall,

for each offense, be imprisoned not exceeding eleven (11) twelve (12) months, or be fined not less

than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), or both. If the offense

described in this section results in the death of the animal, the person shall be punished in the

manner provided in § 4-1-5.

     (b) Any person who has been previously convicted of an offense provided for in chapter 1

of title 4 shall, upon conviction of a second or subsequent violation within a ten-year (10) period,

be imprisoned for a period not exceeding six (6) years, or fined not less than five hundred dollars

($500) and not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both. In addition, every person

convicted under chapter 1 of title 4 of a second or subsequent offense shall be required to serve one

hundred (100) hours of community restitution. The community restitution penalty shall not be

suspended or deferred and is mandatory.

     (c) Every owner, possessor, or person having charge of any animal may, upon conviction

of a violation of this section, be ordered to forfeit all rights to ownership of the animal to the animal-

control officer of the city or town in which the offense occurred or to a humane society that owns

and operates the shelter that provided the subject animal shelter subsequent to any confiscation of

that animal pursuant to this section.

     (d) Shelter means a structure used to house any animal that will provide sufficient

protection from inclement elements for the health and well being of the animal.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

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     This act would increase the penalty for cruelty to animals, first offense, from eleven months

to twelve months incarceration.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC003950

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