Senate Bill S4115

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Enhances penalties for committing multiple animal cruelty offenses

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Current 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

Do you support this bill?

Please enter your contact information

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.
Actions

co-Sponsors

2023-S4115 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:
A5160
Current Committee:
Senate Agriculture
Law Section:
Agriculture and Markets Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §353-a, Ag & Mkts L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2013-2014: S4271
2015-2016: S5115, A5505
2017-2018: S6187, A4693
2019-2020: S2019, A5644
2021-2022: S4577, A6918

2023-S4115 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enhances penalties for committing multiple animal cruelty offenses.

2023-S4115 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S4115 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4115
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 3, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  LANZA  -- 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  penal-
   ties for those committing multiple animal cruelty offenses
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 353-a of the agriculture and markets law, as  added
 by chapter 118 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
   §  353-a.  Aggravated cruelty to animals. 1. (A) A person is guilty of
 aggravated cruelty to animals when, with no justifiable purpose,  he  or
 she  intentionally kills or intentionally causes serious physical injury
 to a companion animal with aggravated cruelty OR  (B)  WHEN  HE  OR  SHE
 COMMITS  AN  OFFENSE  DESCRIBED  IN SECTION THREE HUNDRED FIFTY-THREE OF
 THIS ARTICLE AND HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY CONVICTED OF AN OFFENSE UNDER  SUCH
 SECTION WITHIN THE PAST TEN YEARS. For purposes of this section, "aggra-
 vated  cruelty"  shall  mean  conduct  which:   (i) is intended to cause
 extreme physical pain; or (ii) is done or carried out in  an  especially
 depraved or sadistic manner.
   2. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit or
 interfere  in any way with anyone lawfully engaged in hunting, trapping,
 or fishing, as provided in article eleven of the environmental conserva-
 tion law, the dispatch of rabid or  diseased  animals,  as  provided  in
 article  twenty-one of the public health law, or the dispatch of animals
 posing a threat to human safety or other animals, where such  action  is
 otherwise  legally  authorized,  or  any  properly  conducted scientific
 tests, experiments,  or  investigations  involving  the  use  of  living
 animals, performed or conducted in laboratories or institutions approved
 for  such  purposes  by  the  commissioner of health pursuant to section
 three hundred fifty-three of this article.
   3. Aggravated cruelty to animals is a felony. A defendant convicted of
 this offense shall be [sentenced pursuant to paragraph (b)  of  subdivi-

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05141-01-3
              

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.