Bill Text: NY A00665 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the creation of a crime database of all convictions in New York state of animal cruelty, fighting, neglect, abandonment and mistreatment; makes such crime database available to all law enforcement entities, district attorneys, duly incorporated humane societies, societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals, dog or cat protective associations and animal control officers.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-2)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - referred to agriculture [A00665 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A00665-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           665

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. ROSENTHAL, LUPARDO, DINOWITZ, COLTON, HEVESI,
          BENEDETTO, OTIS, STIRPE,  HUNTER,  SIMON,  SEAWRIGHT,  STERN,  SIMONE,
          SLATER  --  Multi-Sponsored  by  -- M. of A. COOK, GLICK, McDONOUGH --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture

        AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to  the  creation  of  an
          animal cruelty and animal fighting database

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Legislative findings. Studies in psychology, sociology  and
     2  criminology  have  demonstrated  that  violent offenders frequently have
     3  childhood and adolescent histories of serious and repeated animal cruel-
     4  ty. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has recognized  this  connection
     5  since  the  1970s  when  its  analysis  of  the  lives of serial killers
     6  suggested that most had killed or tortured animals  during  their  life.
     7  Other  research  has  shown  consistent patterns of animal cruelty among
     8  perpetrators of more common forms of violence,  including  child  abuse,
     9  spousal abuse, and elder abuse, leading the American Psychiatric Associ-
    10  ation  to  consider  animal cruelty as one of the diagnostic criteria of
    11  conduct disorder.
    12    § 2. Section 837-w of the executive law, as added by  chapter  706  of
    13  the  laws  of  2022,  is  renumbered section 837-y, section 837-x of the
    14  executive law, as amended by chapter 101 of the laws of 2024, is  renum-
    15  bered  section  837-z  and  a  new  section  837-aa  is added to read as
    16  follows:
    17    § 837-aa. Animal cruelty database.   1. The division  shall  establish
    18  and  maintain  a  crime database of all convictions in New York state of
    19  animal cruelty, animal fighting, animal neglect, animal abandonment, and
    20  mistreatment of animals as set forth in article twenty-six of the  agri-
    21  culture  and  markets  law  and  the penal law where data of such crimes
    22  shall be collected and displayed in a manner that  facilitates  analysis

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02594-01-5
        A. 665                              2

     1  and  the  protection  of  animals.  For  the  purpose  of  this section,
     2  convictions shall also include pleas  to  a  charge  other  than  animal
     3  cruelty,  animal  fighting,  animal  neglect,  animal  abandonment,  and
     4  mistreatment  of animals as set forth in article twenty-six of the agri-
     5  culture and markets law and the penal law in satisfaction of the  animal
     6  cruelty,  animal  fighting,  animal neglect, animal abandonment or other
     7  animal mistreatment charge or where the animal cruelty, animal fighting,
     8  animal neglect, animal abandonment or other animal  mistreatment  charge
     9  has not resulted in a dismissal on the merits.
    10    2. Such crime database shall include, but not be limited to, names and
    11  ages  of  persons eighteen years of age or older who have been convicted
    12  of animal cruelty, animal fighting, animal neglect,  animal  abandonment
    13  and other laws pertaining to the mistreatment of animals as set forth in
    14  article twenty-six of the agriculture and markets law and the penal law,
    15  the  specific  acts  of animal cruelty, animal fighting, animal neglect,
    16  animal abandonment or the mistreatment of animals that were the basis of
    17  the conviction, the date or dates the acts took place,  and  the  county
    18  where such acts took place.
    19    3.  The  crime  database  shall be in print and in electronic form and
    20  shall be available to all law enforcement entities, district  attorneys,
    21  duly  incorporated  humane  societies,  societies  for the prevention of
    22  cruelty to animals, dog  and  cat  protective  associations  and  animal
    23  control officers.
    24    4.  Nothing  in  this  section shall be construed to limit or restrict
    25  municipalities from enacting or enforcing local laws, rules, regulations
    26  or ordinances establishing and maintaining an animal abuse  registry  or
    27  database  or other means of tracking or identifying persons charged with
    28  violating animal abuse laws.
    29    § 3. This act shall take effect twelve  months  after  it  shall  have
    30  become  a  law.  Effective  immediately,  the addition, amendment and/or
    31  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
    32  this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
    33  on or before such effective date.