Bill Text: NY A00299 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Increases the penalty for multiple convictions of torturing, killing or failing to provide sustenance to an animal to a felony, if convicted within five years from the date of a prior conviction.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to agriculture [A00299 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A00299-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           299
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. PAULIN, L. ROSENTHAL, GUNTHER, COLTON, GALEF,
          JAFFEE, ORTIZ, NORRIS --  Multi-Sponsored  by  --  M.  of  A.  ABBATE,
          CUSICK,  DINOWITZ, GLICK, RA, SCHIMMINGER, THIELE, WRIGHT -- read once
          and referred to the Committee on Agriculture
        AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to increas-
          ing the penalty for multiple convictions of torturing  or  failing  to
          provide sustenance to an animal
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 353 of the agriculture and markets law, as  amended
     2  by  chapter 458 of the laws of 1985 and the opening paragraph as amended
     3  by chapter 523 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
     4    § 353. Overdriving, torturing and injuring animals; failure to provide
     5  proper sustenance. 1. A person who overdrives,  overloads,  tortures  or
     6  cruelly  beats  or  unjustifiably injures, maims, mutilates or kills any
     7  animal, whether wild or tame, and whether belonging  to  himself  or  to
     8  another,  or deprives any animal of necessary sustenance, food or drink,
     9  or neglects or refuses to furnish it such sustenance or drink, or  caus-
    10  es,  procures  or  permits  any  animal  to  be  overdriven, overloaded,
    11  tortured, cruelly beaten, or unjustifiably injured, maimed, mutilated or
    12  killed, or to be deprived of necessary food or drink,  or  who  wilfully
    13  sets  on foot, instigates, engages in, or in any way furthers any act of
    14  cruelty to any animal, or any act tending to produce  such  cruelty,  is
    15  guilty  of  a  class  A misdemeanor and for purposes of paragraph (b) of
    16  subdivision one of section 160.10 of the criminal procedure  law,  shall
    17  be treated as a misdemeanor defined in the penal law.
    18    2.  A  second violation of subdivision one of this section within five
    19  years from the date of a prior conviction of any violation  of  subdivi-
    20  sion  one  of  this section, shall be a felony. A defendant convicted of
    21  this offense shall be sentenced pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03699-01-9
        A. 299                              2
     1  one of section 55.10 of the penal law provided, however, that  any  term
     2  of imprisonment imposed for a violation of this section shall be a defi-
     3  nite sentence, which may not exceed two years.
     4    3.  Nothing  herein contained shall be construed to prohibit or inter-
     5  fere with any properly conducted scientific tests, experiments or inves-
     6  tigations, involving the use of living animals, performed  or  conducted
     7  in  laboratories  or institutions, which are approved for these purposes
     8  by the state commissioner of health. The state  commissioner  of  health
     9  shall  prescribe  the rules under which such approvals shall be granted,
    10  including therein standards regarding the care and treatment of any such
    11  animals. Such rules shall be published and copies thereof  conspicuously
    12  posted in each such laboratory or institution. The state commissioner of
    13  health  or  his  duly  authorized representative shall have the power to
    14  inspect such laboratories or institutions to insure compliance with such
    15  rules and standards. Each such approval may be revoked at any  time  for
    16  failure  to comply with such rules and in any case the approval shall be
    17  limited to a period not exceeding one year.
    18    § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of December next succeed-
    19  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.