Bill Text: NY S07112 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Authorizes domestic companion animals be permitted to board any public transportation or public transportation service in the event of a state of emergency and evacuation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-10-01 - SIGNED CHAP.284 [S07112 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S07112-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7112 IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 3, 2018 ___________ Introduced by Sen. LANZA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend chapter 154 of the laws of 1921, relating to the port authority of New York and New Jersey, in relation to authorizing domestic companion animals be permitted to board any public transpor- tation or public transportation service in the event of a state of emergency and evacuation of a region The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1 of chapter 154 of the laws of 1921, relating to 2 the port authority of New York and New Jersey, is amended by adding a 3 new article VII-E to read as follows: 4 ARTICLE VII-E 5 1. a. For the purposes of this article: 6 (i) "Domestic companion animal" means a companion animal or pet as 7 defined in section three hundred fifty of the agriculture and markets 8 law and shall also mean any other domesticated animal normally main- 9 tained in or near the household of the owner or person who cares for 10 such other domesticated animal. "Pet" or "companion animal" shall not 11 include a "farm animal," as defined in section three hundred fifty of 12 the agriculture and markets law. 13 (ii) "Public transportation or public transportation service" means 14 rail passenger service, motorbus regular route service, paratransit 15 service, motorbus charter service, and ferry passenger service. 16 b. (i) In the event that a state of emergency has been declared and an 17 evacuation of any region of the state is in progress, the owner of a 18 domestic companion animal shall be permitted to board any public trans- 19 portation or public transportation service with the domestic companion 20 animal so long as that animal is under the owner's control by use of a 21 leash or tether, or is properly confined in an appropriate container or 22 by other suitable means, provided that such boarding is authorized by 23 and consistent with the provisions of state disaster emergency plans or 24 local state of emergency plans pertaining to the needs of animals and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02448-02-7S. 7112 2 1 individuals with an animal under their care. The provisions of this 2 article shall only apply to the owners of domestic companion animals who 3 are evacuating from a region of the state affected by the emergency or 4 local disaster emergency as defined in section twenty of the executive 5 law, or a local state of emergency, as defined in section twenty-four of 6 the executive law. 7 (ii) A domestic companion animal may be refused permission to board 8 any public transportation or public transportation service, even if the 9 animal is under the owner's control or properly confined in accordance 10 with this paragraph if there is reasonable cause to believe that, due to 11 attendant circumstances, permitting the animal to board would pose a 12 health or safety hazard. 13 c. All passengers with service animals shall be given priority seating 14 on all means of transportation regulated by this article in accordance 15 with the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990" (42 U.S.C. 16 s.12101 et seq.). For the purposes of this article, "service animal" 17 shall have the same meaning as set forth in the federal "Americans with 18 Disabilities Act of 1990" (42 U.S.C. s.12101 et seq.) and any regu- 19 lations under the act. 20 d. All passengers on any public transportation or public transporta- 21 tion service shall be provided seating before a domestic companion 22 animal may be placed in a seat. 23 2. The port authority is hereby authorized to make and enforce such 24 rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this article. 25 § 2. This act shall take effect upon the enactment into law by the 26 state of New Jersey of legislation having an identical effect; but if 27 the state of New Jersey shall have already enacted such legislation, 28 then this act shall take effect immediately and provided that the state 29 of New Jersey shall notify the legislative bill drafting commission upon 30 the occurrence of the enactment of the provisions provided for in this 31 act in order that the commission may maintain an accurate and timely 32 effective data base of the official text of the laws of the state of New 33 York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions of section 44 of the 34 legislative law and section 70-b of the public officers law.