Senate Bill S3095

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S3095

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to making victims of
certain dog attacks eligible for awards by the crime victims board

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

This bill will make innocent victims of dog attacks eligible to submit
claims to the Crime Victims Board for reimbursement of medical bills
and other expenses.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Bill §1 amends subdivision 3 of §621 of the Executive Law to include
violations of Agriculture & Markets Law §121 (7) within the definition
of "crime" for purposes of submitting claims to the Crime victims
Board

 JUSTIFICATION :

Americans are bitten by dogs almost 5 million times a year. Over
800,000 attacks require medical treatment, and more than half of the
patients are children. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control, dog bites are among the top ten categories of children's
              

injuries. However, at present many such attacks do not fit the
definition of "crime" in the statute establishing the Crime Victims
Board (CVB).

If an attacking dog was previously determined to be a "dangerous dog",
the offense is treated as a misdemeanor and a claim can be submitted
to the CVB. However, if there has been no prior formal determination
of dangerousness, the offense is a violation subject only to a civil
penalty, regardless of the severity or circumstances of the attack.
In such cases, no claims for medical bills or other expenses can be
claimed by the victim (of, in the case of a child, the family).

This bill will rectify this disparity and make all dog attacks
resulting in serious physical injury under §121 eligible as "crimes"
under the Executive Law definition. This will ensure that victims of
these attacks have the same ability to submit claims to the Crime
Victims Board as other victims.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

A. 9602 (2004) - referred to Assembly Governmental Operations
Committee
S.6062 (2004) - referred to Senate Crime Victims, Crime & Corrections
Committee

A.4185-A (2005-06) -- referred to Assembly Governmental Operations
Committee

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

No adverse fiscal impacts - any claims will be considered in the same
manner and pursuant to the same appropriations as all other claims
submitted to the CVB.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
90th day after enactment.