Assembly Bill A546

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    546
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. PAULIN, ROSENTHAL, COLTON -- Multi-Sponsored by
   -- M. of A.  DINOWITZ, GLICK, RA -- read  once  and  referred  to  the
   Committee on Agriculture
 
 AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to increas-
   ing  the  penalty  for multiple convictions of torturing or failing to
   provide sustenance to an animal
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Section 353 of the agriculture and markets law, as amended
 by chapter 458 of the laws of 1985 and the opening paragraph as  amended
 by chapter 523 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
   § 353. Overdriving, torturing and injuring animals; failure to provide
 proper  sustenance.  1.  A person who overdrives, overloads, tortures or
 cruelly beats or unjustifiably injures, maims, mutilates  or  kills  any
 animal,  whether  wild  or tame, and whether belonging to [himself] SUCH
 PERSON or to another, or deprives any animal  of  necessary  sustenance,
 food  or  drink, or neglects or refuses to furnish it such sustenance or
 drink, or causes, procures or permits any animal to be overdriven, over-
 loaded, tortured, cruelly  beaten,  or  unjustifiably  injured,  maimed,
 mutilated  or  killed,  or to be deprived of necessary food or drink, or
 who wilfully sets on  foot,  instigates,  engages  in,  or  in  any  way
 furthers any act of cruelty to any animal, or any act tending to produce
 such  cruelty,  is  guilty  of a class A misdemeanor and for purposes of
 paragraph (b) of subdivision one  of  section  160.10  of  the  criminal
 procedure  law,  shall  be treated as a misdemeanor defined in the penal
 law.
   2. A SECOND VIOLATION OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION  WITHIN  FIVE
 YEARS  FROM  THE DATE OF A PRIOR CONVICTION OF ANY VIOLATION OF SUBDIVI-
 SION ONE OF THIS SECTION, SHALL BE A FELONY. A  DEFENDANT  CONVICTED  OF
 THIS OFFENSE SHALL BE SENTENCED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (B) OF SUBDIVISION
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD02088-01-5
 A. 546                              2
 
 ONE  OF  SECTION 55.10 OF THE PENAL LAW PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT ANY TERM
 OF IMPRISONMENT IMPOSED FOR A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE A DEFI-
 NITE SENTENCE, WHICH MAY NOT EXCEED TWO YEARS.
   3.  Nothing  [herein]  IN THIS SECTION contained shall be construed to
 prohibit or interfere with  any  properly  conducted  scientific  tests,
 experiments  or  investigations,  involving  the  use of living animals,
 performed or  conducted  in  laboratories  or  institutions,  which  are
 approved  for  these  purposes  by the state commissioner of health. The
 state commissioner of health shall prescribe the rules under which  such
 approvals  shall  be  granted, including therein standards regarding the
 care and treatment of any such animals. Such rules  shall  be  published
 and  copies  thereof  conspicuously  posted  in  each such laboratory or
 institution. The state commissioner of health or [his] SUCH  COMMISSION-
 ER'S duly authorized representative shall have the power to inspect such
 laboratories  or  institutions  to insure compliance with such rules and
 standards. Each such approval may be revoked at any time for failure  to
 comply  with such rules and in any case the approval shall be limited to
 a period not exceeding one year.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of December next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.