NY State Senate Bill S609

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
Delivered to Governor
Signed/Vetoed by Governor

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Actions

view actions (10)

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to codes returned to senate died in assembly
Jun 04, 2019	referred to codes delivered to assembly passed senate
May 15, 2019	advanced to third reading
May 14, 2019	2nd report cal.
May 13, 2019	1st report cal.668
Jan 09, 2019	referred to codes

Votes

view votes

Jun 4, 2019 - floor Vote

S609

floor

Aye

Nay

Absent

Excused

Abstained

May 13, 2019 - Codes committee Vote

S609

committee

Aye

Nay

Aye with Reservations

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Co-Sponsors

S609 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A2509
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §460.10, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2015-2016: S7730, A10666
2017-2018: S594, A3816
2021-2022: S6112, A2661
2023-2024: S5337

S609 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to adding animal fighting as a criminal act when referring to enterprise corruption.

S609 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S609

SPONSOR: BOYLE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to adding animal fighting as
a criminal act when referring to enterprise corruption

 
PURPOSE:

This legislation would define animal fighting as a criminal act when
referring to enterprise corruption.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. This bill amends penal law section 460.10 subdivision 1 to
include subdivision 2 of section 351 of the agriculture and markets law
as a criminal act when referring to enterprise corruption.

Section 2. Effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Animal fighting fuels some of the most violent enterprises which corrupt
our neighborhoods. Apart from the well-established social science link
between violence against animals and violence against people, the New
York law enforcement community has seen first-hand that vigorous inves-
tigation and prosecution of animal fighting exposes gang networks,
narcotics rings, weapons trafficking activity, and other sophisticated
and violent criminal enterprises.

Animal fighting is the pitting of two dogs against each other for amuse-
ment or gain. It can also be the pitting of a dog against another type
of animal (even a human). While money need not be exchanged to qualify
the act as illegal, there is indeed a significant financial machine
behind this disgusting "blood sport."  According to some estimates, dog
fighting is a billion-dollar underground economy - just in the United
States. Some studies put the United States' share of this enterprise at
a full third of the global dog fighting economy. Money is not only made
by abhorrent wagers on the outcomes of fights, but also through the
illicit breeding, marketing, trading, and sale of dogs. Professional
fighters will market the bloodlines of their winners, make money off of
forced breeding sessions (whether successful or not), and sell litters
as fast as they can be produced. The underground industry is such that,
besides the fighters, there are individuals who specialize as "promo-
ters" of fights, as breeders, as trainers, and as sellers.  Because the
activity must go undetected, there is also a strong subversive demand
for medications, specialized equipment, veterinary services, and "dark
web" communication platforms (unregistered Internet sites, invisible to
public view). Another awful truth of this already-atrocious enterprise
is that fighters will sometimes steal animals from their surrounding
community - small dogs or cats - to use for bait or training for their
kennels.

This is not a distant problem. It is happening in virtually every corner
of the state. As law enforcement has grown more attuned to its
detection, fighting rings have been targeted and brought down, and,
along with those rings, law enforcement has seized guns and heroin,
uncovered domestic abuse and child abuse, and rescued countless dogs
from a lifetime of torture.

However, the methodologies of detection are still lacking - for no
justifiable purpose besides oversight. Despite being an inherently
"social" activity (i.e. more than one defendant must be involved),
animal fighting is currently not an enterprise crime eligible-offense.
This bill will allow animal fighting charges to be eligible for an
enterprise corruption charge in applicable circumstance. By including
animal fighting as an eligible offense, law enforcement and prosecutors
will gain valuable tools in combating this heinous category of crime.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

Passed Senate 2018.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S609 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf


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

                                   609

                       2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 9, 2019
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  BOYLE, TEDISCO -- read twice and ordered printed,
  and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes

AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to adding animal fighting  as
  a criminal act when referring to enterprise corruption

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

  Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of  section  460.10  of  the
penal  law, as amended by chapter 442 of the laws of 2006, is amended to
read as follows:
  (b) Any felony set forth elsewhere in  the  laws  of  this  state  and
defined  by the tax law relating to alcoholic beverage, cigarette, gaso-
line and similar motor fuel taxes; article seventy-one of  the  environ-
mental  conservation law relating to water pollution, hazardous waste or
substances hazardous or acutely hazardous to public health or safety  of
the  environment;  article  twenty-three-A  of  the general business law
relating to prohibited acts concerning stocks, bonds and  other  securi-
ties,  article twenty-two of the general business law concerning monopo-
lies; SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED FIFTY-ONE OF THE AGRICUL-
TURE AND MARKETS LAW.
  § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.




 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD04328-01-9

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The New York State Senate

senate Bill S609

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Jun 4, 2019 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jun 4, 2019

May 13, 2019 - Codes committee Vote

Codes Committee Vote: May 13, 2019

Co-Sponsors

S609 (ACTIVE) - Details

S609 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S609 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S609 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S609

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Sponsored By

Phil Boyle

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Jun 4, 2019 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jun 4, 2019

May 13, 2019 - Codes committee Vote

Codes Committee Vote: May 13, 2019

Co-Sponsors

Daphne Jordan

James Tedisco

S609 (ACTIVE) - Details

S609 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S609 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S609 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments