Bill Text: NY S04041 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Increases the penalties for owners of dangerous dogs and subjects certain dangerous dog owners to further investigation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO DOMESTIC ANIMAL WELFARE [S04041 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S04041-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4041
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    February 26, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen. TEDISCO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Domestic Animal Welfare
        AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to increas-
          ing penalties for the owners of dangerous dogs
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Subdivisions 6, 7 and 8 of section 123 of the agriculture
     2  and markets law, subdivision 6 as amended by chapter 392 of the laws  of
     3  2004,  subdivisions  7  and  8  as amended by chapter 526 of the laws of
     4  2005, and such section as renumbered by section 18 of part T of  chapter
     5  59 of the laws of 2010, are amended and a new subdivision 15 is added to
     6  read as follows:
     7    6.  The  owner  of a dog who, through any act or omission, negligently
     8  permits his or her dog to bite a person[, service  dog,  guide  dog]  or
     9  [hearing] dog causing physical injury shall be subject to a civil penal-
    10  ty  not to exceed [four hundred] one thousand dollars in addition to any
    11  other applicable penalties.
    12    7. The owner of a dog who, through any act  or  omission,  negligently
    13  permits  his or her dog to bite a person causing serious physical injury
    14  shall be subject to a civil penalty and up to a class E felony  punisha-
    15  ble  by  a  fine  of  not  to  exceed [one] five thousand [five hundred]
    16  dollars in addition to any other applicable penalties. Any such  penalty
    17  may  be  reduced by any amount which is paid as restitution by the owner
    18  of the dog to the person or persons suffering serious physical injury as
    19  compensation for unreimbursed medical expenses, lost earnings and  other
    20  damages resulting from such injury.
    21    8.  The  owner  of a dog who, through any act or omission, negligently
    22  permits his or her dog, which  had  previously  been  determined  to  be
    23  dangerous  pursuant  to  this  article, to bite a person causing serious
    24  physical injury, shall be guilty  of  a  [misdemeanor]  class  E  felony
    25  punishable  by a fine of not more than [three] five thousand dollars, or
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06212-01-9

        S. 4041                             2
     1  by a period of imprisonment not to exceed [ninety days] two years, or by
     2  both such fine and imprisonment in  addition  to  any  other  applicable
     3  penalties.  Any  such fine may be reduced by any amount which is paid as
     4  restitution  by  the owner of the dog to the person or persons suffering
     5  serious  physical  injury  as  compensation  for  unreimbursed   medical
     6  expenses, lost earnings and other damages resulting from such injury.
     7    15.  Any  person found to be in violation of subdivision six, seven or
     8  eight of this section and who has ever  been  convicted  of  any  felony
     9  offense under title H of part three of the penal law shall be subject to
    10  further  investigation,  including,  but not limited to a search of such
    11  person's personal and real property and the seizure of any illegal mate-
    12  rials.
    13    § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
    14  have become a law.
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