ND HB1301

Amends North Dakota Century Code section 36-21.2-07 to allow law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to petition courts for bond orders requiring animal owners to pay for care costs while criminal charges are pending.

Court must hold a hearing within twenty business days of petition filing and must provide notice to the owner at their last known address or post notice at the seizure location if owner cannot be determined.

If probable cause is found, owner must post bond within five business days covering all reasonable costs including food, water, shelter, and medical care for the first thirty days, with additional bonds required for each subsequent thirty-day period.

Law enforcement may sell the animal, place it for adoption, or humanely destroy it if the owner fails to post a required bond while charges are pending; owner is reimbursed for bond amounts if found not guilty.

Court may reduce or waive care costs for owners with two or more animals seized who can prove indigence at a hearing.