Sec. 22-380e. Definitions. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 22-380e. Definitions. As used in sections 22-380e to 22-380m, inclusive:

      (1) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture;

      (2) "Program" means the animal population control program;

      (3) "Account" means the animal population control account;

      (4) "Participating veterinarian" means any veterinarian who has been certified to participate in the program by the commissioner;

      (5) "Pound" means any state or municipal facility where impounded, quarantined or stray dogs and cats are kept or any veterinary hospital or commercial kennel where such dogs or cats are kept by order of a municipality;

      (6) "Eligible owner" means a person who has purchased or adopted a dog or cat from a pound and who is a resident of this state;

      (7) "Medically unfit" means (A) unsuitable for a surgical procedure due to any medical condition that may place a dog or cat at life-threatening risk if a surgical procedure is performed on such animal, as determined by a participating veterinarian, or (B) unsuitable for sterilization due to insufficiency in age, as determined by a participating veterinarian, of a dog or cat under the age of six months;

      (8) "Neuter" means the surgical procedure of castration on a male dog or cat;

      (9) "Spay" means the surgical procedure of ovariohysterectomy on a female dog or cat;

      (10) "Voucher" means a nontransferable document provided by the commissioner and issued by a pound to an eligible owner authorizing payment of a predetermined amount from the animal population control account to a participating veterinarian;

      (11) "Feral cat" means a cat of the species Felis catus that is unowned, that exists in a wild or untamed state or has returned to an untamed state from domestication and whose behavior is suggestive of a wild animal; and

      (12) "Low-income person" means a recipient of or a person eligible for one of the following public assistance programs:

      (A) The food stamp program authorized by Title XIII of the federal Food and Agriculture Act of 1977, 7 USC 2011 et seq.;

      (B) The federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Act authorized by 42 USC 601 et seq.;

      (C) The Medicaid program authorized by Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act;

      (D) The HUSKY Plan Part A;

      (E) The medical assistance or cash assistance components of the state-administered general assistance program;

      (F) The state supplement program; or

      (G) Any other public assistance program that the commissioner determines to qualify a person as a low-income person.

      (P.A. 92-187, S. 1, 10; P.A. 01-87, S. 1; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(e); P.A. 04-189, S. 1; P.A. 07-105, S. 2; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5, S. 35.)

      History: (Revisor's note: In 1995 references to "fund" in Subdiv. (3) were replaced editorially by the Revisors with references to "account" to conform section with Sec. 22-380g as amended by P.A. 94-95); P.A. 01-87 redefined "participating veterinarian" and defined "medically unfit", "neuter", "spay" and "voucher"; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 replaced Commissioner of Agriculture with Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 07-105 added new Subdivs. (11) and (12) defining "feral cat" and "low-income person"; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5 made technical changes in Subdiv. (12).