Bill Text: NY A11041 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires a farm owner or operator that produces shell eggs or liquid eggs for human consumption to confine egg-laying hens in a cage-free housing system.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-10-07 - referred to agriculture [A11041 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A11041-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 11041 IN ASSEMBLY October 7, 2020 ___________ Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. L. Rosen- thal) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to provid- ing for cage-free egg production The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby 2 finds the following: 3 a. According to the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal 4 Production, food animals that are treated well and provided with at 5 least minimum accommodation of their natural behaviors and physical 6 needs are healthier and safer for human consumption. 7 b. A key finding from the World Health Organization and Food and Agri- 8 cultural Organization of the United Nations Salmonella Risk Assessment 9 was that reducing flock prevalence results in a directly proportional 10 reduction in human health risk. 11 c. Egg-laying hens subjected to stress are more likely to have higher 12 levels of pathogens in their intestines and the conditions increase the 13 likelihood that consumers will be exposed to higher levels of food-borne 14 pathogens. 15 d. Salmonella is the most commonly diagnosed food-borne illness in the 16 United States. 17 e. It is the intent of the legislature to protect consumers from the 18 deleterious, health, safety, and welfare effects of the sale and 19 consumption of eggs derived from egg-laying hens that are exposed to 20 significant stress and may result in increased exposure to disease 21 pathogens including salmonella. 22 § 2. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new 23 section 160-f to read as follows: 24 § 160-f. Cage-free egg production. 1. Notwithstanding any other 25 provision of law: 26 a. A farm owner or operator shall not confine or cause to be confined 27 an egg-laying hen in an enclosure other than a cage-free housing system. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15835-02-0A. 11041 2 1 b. No person shall sell or contract to sell a shell egg or liquid egg 2 for human consumption if the seller knows or should have known that the 3 shell egg or liquid egg is the product of an egg-laying hen that was 4 confined in a manner that is inconsistent with the requirements of this 5 section, regardless of whether the shell egg or liquid egg was produced 6 in or out of the state. 7 2. This section shall not apply to any of the following: 8 a. Medical research; 9 b. Examination, testing, individual treatment, or operation for veter- 10 inary purposes by a licensed veterinarian; 11 c. Transportation of an egg-laying hen; 12 d. State or county fair exhibitions and similar exhibitions; 13 e. 4-H programs administered by the National Institute of Food and 14 Agriculture of the United States department of agriculture and similar 15 youth programs; 16 f. Slaughter of an egg-laying hen in accordance with applicable laws 17 and regulations; or 18 g. Temporary periods for animal husbandry purposes of no more than six 19 hours in any twenty-four-hour period, and no more than twenty-four hours 20 in any thirty-day period. 21 3. For purposes of this section: 22 a. "Cage-free housing system" means an indoor or outdoor controlled 23 environment for an egg-laying hen within which: 24 (i) An egg-laying hen is free to roam unrestricted except by exterior 25 walls; 26 (ii) An egg-laying hen is provided with, at a minimum, the amount of 27 usable floor space per hen required by the two thousand seventeen 28 edition of the united egg producers' animal husbandry guidelines for 29 United States egg-laying flocks: guidelines for cage-free production, or 30 a subsequent version of such guidelines recognized by the department in 31 a rule or regulation which provides equal or more usable floor space per 32 egg-laying hen. 33 (iii) An egg-laying hen is provided enrichments that allow a hen to 34 exhibit natural behaviors, including, at a minimum, a scratch area, a 35 perch, a nest box, and a dust bathing area; 36 (iv) A farm employee can provide care while standing somewhere within 37 a hen's usable floor space; and 38 (v) Each egg-laying hen is provided unlimited access to the outdoors 39 in a safe and secure environment that prevents access to predators. 40 b. "Commercial farm" means the land, building, and support facilities 41 that are used for the commercial production of eggs intended for human 42 consumption. 43 c. "Egg-laying hen" means a female domesticated chicken, turkey, duck, 44 goose, or guinea fowl kept for the purpose of egg production. 45 d. "Farm owner or operator" means any person who owns or controls the 46 operation of a commercial farm. 47 e. "Liquid egg" means an egg of an egg-laying hen broken from the 48 shells that is intended for human consumption, with the yolks and whites 49 in their natural proportions, or with the yolks and whites separated, 50 mixed, or mixed and strained. Liquid eggs do not include combination 51 food products, including pancake mixes, cake mixes, cookies, pizzas, 52 cookie dough, ice cream, or similar processed or prepared food products 53 that are comprised of more than liquid eggs, sugar, salt, water, season- 54 ing, coloring, flavoring, preservatives, stabilizers, and similar food 55 additives.A. 11041 3 1 f. "Shell-egg" means a whole egg of an egg-laying hen in its shell 2 form that is intended for human consumption. 3 g. "Usable floor space" means the total square footage of floor space 4 provided to each egg-laying hen, calculated by dividing the total square 5 footage of floor space in an enclosure by the number of hens in that 6 enclosure and shall include ground space and elevated level or nearly 7 level platforms to accommodate egg flow upon which a hen can roost but 8 shall not include any perch or ramp. 9 4. The department shall inspect at reasonable times commercial farms 10 engaged in the production of eggs for the purpose of enforcing the 11 provisions of this section. 12 5. The department shall promulgate such rules and regulations as are 13 necessary and appropriate to carry out the provisions of this section. 14 6. A violation of this section shall be punishable by a civil penalty 15 of up to five thousand dollars for the first violation and up to twen- 16 ty-five thousand dollars for any subsequent violation. Any civil penal- 17 ties collected pursuant to this section shall be paid to the animal 18 population control fund established by section ninety-seven-xx of the 19 state finance law. 20 7. The commissioner may institute such action at law or in equity as 21 may appear necessary to enforce compliance with any provisions of this 22 section or of the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and, in 23 addition to any other remedy under article three of this chapter or 24 otherwise, may apply for relief by injunction without being compelled to 25 allege or prove that an adequate remedy at law does not exist. Such 26 application may be made to the supreme court in any district or county 27 as provided in the civil practice law and rules, or to the supreme court 28 in the third judicial district. 29 8. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any 30 protections afforded to animals under any other provisions of law or 31 rules or regulations. 32 9. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any town, 33 city, village or county in New York state from enacting a local law or 34 ordinance to provide for the humane treatment of and prevention of 35 cruelty to animals, provided, however, that no such law shall conflict 36 with the provisions of this section. 37 § 3. This act shall take effect twenty-four months after it shall have 38 become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 39 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 40 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 41 on or before such effective date.