Bill Text: NY A00483 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the crimes of cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the second degree and cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the first degree when in the presence of a minor child.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to codes [A00483 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A00483-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 483 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 9, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, SEAWRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crimes of cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the second degree and first degree The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding two new sections 120.80 2 and 120.85 to read as follows: 3 § 120.80 Cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the 4 second degree. 5 1. A person is guilty of cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or 6 harass in the second degree when he or she intentionally injures or 7 kills, with no justifiable purpose, any companion animal with the intent 8 to threaten, intimidate, or harass a family or household member who he 9 or she knows or should have known owned, possessed, leased, kept, or 10 held such companion animal. 11 2. For purposes of this section: 12 (a) "Family or household member" shall have the same meaning as subdi- 13 vision two of section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services 14 law. 15 (b) "Companion animal" shall have the same meaning as subdivision five 16 of section three hundred fifty of the agriculture and markets law. 17 Cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the second 18 degree is a class D felony. 19 § 120.85 Cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the 20 first degree. 21 1. A person is guilty of cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or 22 harass in the first degree when he or she intentionally injures or 23 kills, with no justifiable purpose and in the presence of a minor child, 24 any companion animal with the intent to threaten, intimidate, or harass EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00779-01-3A. 483 2 1 a family or household member who he or she knows or should have known 2 owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held such companion animal. 3 2. For purposes of this section: 4 (a) "Family or household member" shall have the same meaning as subdi- 5 vision two of section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services 6 law. 7 (b) "Companion animal" shall have the same meaning as subdivision five 8 of section three hundred fifty of the agriculture and markets law. 9 (c) "Minor child" means an individual under the age of eighteen. 10 (d) "Presence of a minor child" shall mean in the physical presence of 11 a child under the age of eighteen knowing or having reason to know that 12 a child is present and may see or hear such act. 13 Cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the first 14 degree is a class C felony. 15 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 16 have become a law.