(Amended by Ord. No. 144,751 Eff. 7/1/73.)
(a) Equine Defined. As used in this section, the word “equine” shall mean any horse, pony, donkey, burro, or mule, twelve months of age or older. (Amended by Ord. No. 144,751, Eff. 7/1/73.)
(b) License Fee. (Amended by Ord. No. 182,380, Eff. 2/28/13.) Any person owning or having custody of any equine shall pay for the privilege of keeping such equine a license fee of $14.00 per year, as discounted herein. The Department shall also issue multi-year licenses. The licensing fee shall be discounted 20% for a two-year license, 30% for a three-year license, 40% for a four-year license and 50% for a five-year license. The license fee for the selected period shall be paid in advance to the Department and shall be due and payable on or before the expiration date of the license.
A renewal license may have a retroactive start date in order to expire upon the anniversary of the expiration date of the previously issued license. The cost of the license shall not be prorated. In the event a license has been previously issued, subsequent licenses shall expire on the anniversary date of the expiration of such previously issued license.
(c) Fee Modification. The license fee may be modified by the City Council, by ordinance, based on recommendations of the Finance and Revenue Committee of the Council, which shall hold hearings at which equine-related organizations may attend and present information relative to the determination, of a proper fee. (Amended by Ord. No. 161,728, Eff. 12/8/86.)
(d) Annual Fee Administration. (Amended by Ord. No. 165,487, Eff. 3/5/90.) Receipts of the license fees collected pursuant to Subsection (b) of this section shall be deposited in the Equestrian Facilities Trust Fund.
The Department, however, may enter into a contract that provides for a contractor to collect equine license fees, to remit all its fee collections to the Department for deposit in the City Treasury, and to be paid for its services a sum equivalent to a percentage of the collected fees as agreed to in the contract. In the event of such a contract and upon receipt of such collected equine license fees, the Department shall (1) cause a portion of such fees equal to the contract amount due the contractor for its collection services to be deposited into the General Fund, (2) cause the contractor to be paid for its services in said amount, and (3) cause the remaining balance of the collected fees received by the Department to be deposited into the Equestrian Facilities Trust Fund.
(e) Identification Tags. (Amended by Ord. No. 151,852, Eff. 2/19/79, Oper. 3/1/79.)
1. The Department shall keep a record of the name and address of the person to whom each identification tag is issued, the number of such tag, and date of issuance thereof and a description of the equine for which issued.
2. Each equine identification tag shall consist of a metal tag with the number affixed together with the words “L.A. City.”
3. No unauthorized person shall remove from any equine any identification tag issued by the Department of Animal Services.
4. No person shall attach to or keep upon any equine, or make or have in his possession any counterfeit or imitation of any tag provided for in this article except that the Department may, upon statement of loss and receipt of $1.00 issue a replacement equine license number and tag. (Amended by Ord. No. 157,035, Eff. 10/4/82, Oper. 11/1/82.)
(f) Exceptions: (Amended by Ord. No. 144,751, Eff. 7/1/73.)
1. This fee shall not apply to persons who bring equines into the City for a period of less than 30 days.
2. This fee shall not apply to any equine maintained in any boarding stable, riding academy, livery stable, pony ring, pony ride, horse market or mule market under permit from the Department so long as such equine is the property of the permit holder.
(g) Penalty. In the event any license fee required by this section is not paid within 30 days after the date of expiration of any previously issued license, or within 30 days after the date of mailing of notice to secure a license to the owner or custodian of any previously unlicensed equine, a late payment collection fee of $5.00 shall be charged in addition to such other fee. (Added by Ord. No. 161,728, Eff. 12/8/86.)