H426 - Chamberlin's Law

• Changes the mental state requirement in animal cruelty statutes from "intentionally" to "recklessly" for general animal abuse offenses (overdrive, overload, wound, injure, torment, kill, or deprive of sustenance), maintaining Class 1 misdemeanor penalties.

• Elevates intentional deprivation of necessary sustenance causing death from misdemeanor to Class H felony, while changing the required mental state from "maliciously" to "recklessly."

• Adds malicious or intentional torture, mutilation, maiming, cruel beating, disfigurement, poisoning, or killing as Class H felony with new sentencing options including animal custody prohibitions/restrictions and mandatory psychiatric or psychological evaluation and treatment at the offender's expense.

• Creates new offense of failing to provide adequate shelter to dogs (defined as waterproof artificial shelter protecting from adverse weather), establishing it as a Class 1 misdemeanor with intentional conduct requirement.

• Effective December 1, 2011 for offenses committed on or after that date, with no abatement of prosecutions for prior offenses.