NY State Senate Bill 2013-S6540

Senate Bill S6540

2013-2014 Legislative Session

Makes the possession of an animal trained to fight and being a spectator at an exhibition of animal fighting, a felony punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years and a fine of up to $15,000

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Agriculture Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 04, 2014	referred to agriculture

2013-S6540 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Agriculture
Law Section:: Agriculture and Markets Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §351, Ag & Mkts L
Versions Introduced in 2015-2016 Legislative Session:: S3035

2013-S6540 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Makes the possession of an animal trained to fight and being a spectator at an exhibition of animal fighting, a felony punishable by a determinate term of imprisonment of between 3 and 5 years, or a fine of up to $15,000, or both such fine and imprisonment.

2013-S6540 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S6540                REVISED 5/15/14

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in
relation to the possession of a fighting animal and being a spectator at
an exhibition of animal fighting

PURPOSE: Makes the possession of an animal trained to fight and being a
spectator at an exhibition of animal fighting, a felony punishable by
imprisonment of up to 5 years and a fine of up to $15,000.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section One - amends paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 351 of
the agriculture and markets law by adding chapter 150 of the laws of
1984 to read as follows: Any person who engages in conduct specified in
paragraph (b) of this subdivision is guilty of a felony punishable by a
determinate term of imprisonment of no less than three years nor more
than five years, or by a fine not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars, or
by both fine and imprisonment.

Section Two - amends paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 351 of
the agriculture and markets law, by chapter 332 of the laws of 2011 to
read as follows: Any person who engages in the conduct specified in
paragraph (b) of this subdivision is guilty of a felony punishable by a
determinate term of imprisonment of no less than three years nor more
than five years, or by a fine not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars or

by both fine and imprisonment.

Section Three - This act shall take effect immediately on the thirtieth
day it shall have become a law and shall only apply to offenses commit-
ted on or after such date.

JUSTIFICATION: According to the Humane Society of the United States the
injuries inflicted and sustained by the dogs participating in the dog
fighting events are often extremely severe and fatal. Dogs are trained
to inflict as much pain as possible on their opponent, and a dog with a
stronger jaw is more desirable to be able to cause the most pain and
damage possible to win the fight.

These events are very illegal and promotes violence, disrespect for the
law, and illegal gambling. Dog fighting yields large profits due to the
illegal gambling so a minimal fine to these individuals is less than a
slap on the wrist, there is no incentive for them to stop. Any spectator
taking place in and of these events is just as guilty as the person
whose dog is fighting the other.

By increasing the cost of the fine and the amount of years on the
sentencing date to both individuals taking part in the dog fighting and
the spectators, this will make it harder on these individuals found
guilty of taking place in any type of dog fighting. This legislation
will both increase the amount of the fine which is currently at only

five hundred dollars, and increases the charges to a felony and increas-
ing the sentencing time.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:  None to State.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately on the thirtieth
day it shall have become a law and shall only apply to offenses commit-
ted on or after such date.

2013-S6540 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  6540

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 4, 2014
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  BALL  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture

AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets  law,  in  relation  to  the
  possession of a fighting animal and being a spectator at an exhibition
  of animal fighting

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 351 of the  agri-
culture and markets law, as added by chapter 150 of the laws of 1984, is
amended to read as follows:
  (a)  Any  person  who engages in conduct specified in paragraph (b) of
this subdivision is guilty of a [misdemeanor and is]  FELONY  punishable
by  A  DETERMINATE  TERM OF imprisonment [for a period not to exceed one
year] OF NOT LESS THAN THREE YEARS NOR MORE THAN FIVE  YEARS,  or  by  a
fine  not  to  exceed fifteen thousand dollars, or by both such fine and
imprisonment.
  S 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 351 of the  agriculture
and  markets  law,  as  amended  by  chapter 332 of the laws of 2011, is
amended to read as follows:
  (a) Any person who engages in the conduct specified in  paragraph  (b)
of this subdivision is guilty of a [class B misdemeanor] FELONY punisha-
ble  by  A  DETERMINATE TERM OF imprisonment [for a period not to exceed
three months] OF NOT LESS THAN THREE YEARS NOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS,  or
by  a  fine not to exceed [five hundred] FIFTEEN THOUSAND dollars, or by
both such fine and imprisonment.  [Any person who engages in the conduct
specified in  paragraph  (b)  of  this  subdivision  after  having  been
convicted within the previous five years of a violation of this subdivi-
sion  or subdivision four of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and
is punishable by imprisonment for a period not to exceed one year, or by
a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars, or  by  both  such  fine  and
imprisonment.]
  S  3.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
have become a law and shall only apply to offenses committed on or after
such date.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                           LBD11804-01-3

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