Governor Doug Ducey signs 'hot car' bill

Published: May. 11, 2017 at 9:21 PM MST|Updated: May. 12, 2017 at 6:57 AM MST
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TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed House Bill 2494 known as the "hot car" bill on Thursday, May 11.

The bill allows people to use reasonable force to break into a car to save a child or pet locked in a hot car.

The governor first mentioned the bill in his state of the state address in January but it was not passed until the final day of the legislative session.

The governor signed it just hours after it landed on his desk.

Freshman Democratic lawmaker Kirsten Engle was one of the early and ardent supporters.

"If you take action to save somebody's life, you can break into property," she said. "I think most people think that's limited to human life and not necessarily saving a pet."

But under the law, all domesticated pets and children are treated the same. According to the bill "domesticated animal means a dog, cat or other animal that is domesticated and kept as a household pet."

The law requires certain things from the good Samaritan in order to avoid civil liability:

  1. The person must have a good faith belief the child or pet is in imminent danger.
  2. There is no other way to get into the vehicle.
  3. The person must call 911 or a first responder.
  4. The person must use no more force than is necessary to get into the vehicle.
  5. The person must say with the vehicle until first responders arrive.

Violating any one of those provisions can open a person up to civil liability.

452329 by Tucson News Now on Scribd

The bill takes effect Aug. 9.

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