Bill Text: NY A00997 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits the operation of horse drawn cabs in the city of New York; defines the circumstances under which sale or disposal of a horse shall be deemed humane.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-08 - referred to cities [A00997 Detail]
Download: New_York-2013-A00997-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
997
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
(PREFILED)
January 9, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, DINOWITZ, WEISENBERG, BROOK-KRASNY,
KAVANAGH, GOTTFRIED -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. GLICK, MILLMAN
-- read once and referred to the Committee on Cities
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to prohibiting the operation of horse drawn cabs in the city
of New York; and repealing certain provisions of such law relating
thereto
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions (c), (g) and (i) of section 17-326 of the
2 administrative code of the city of New York are amended to read as
3 follows:
4 (c) "Work", a horse is considered to be at work when it is out of its
5 stable and presented to the public as being available for riding[, pull-
6 ing carriages, vehicles or other devices,] or when it is saddled or in
7 harness or when it is being ridden [or is pulling a carriage, vehicle or
8 device].
9 (g) "Rental horse business" means a business enterprise which provides
10 or offers the use of a horse to the public for a fee for the purpose of
11 riding [or drawing a horse drawn vehicle or which operates a horse drawn
12 vehicle for hire such as a horse drawn cab].
13 (i) "Under tack" means that a horse is equipped for riding [or driv-
14 ing].
15 S 2. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended by
16 adding a new section 17-326.1 to read as follows:
17 S 17-326.1 CARRIAGE RIDES PROHIBITED. IT SHALL BE UNLAWFUL TO OFFER
18 RIDES TO THE PUBLIC ON A VEHICLE DRAWN OR PULLED BY A CARRIAGE HORSE.
19 S 3. Subdivisions a and d of section 17-327 of the administrative code
20 of the city of New York, subdivision d as amended by local law number 22
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03713-01-3
A. 997 2
1 of the city of New York for the year 2002, are amended to read as
2 follows:
3 a. On and after January first, nineteen hundred eighty-two no person
4 shall use or offer the use of a horse in a rental horse business unless
5 such horse is licensed pursuant to the provisions of this subchapter.
6 For purposes of this subchapter the use of a horse in a rental horse
7 business means that a horse is used or offered for use by the public for
8 a fee for the purpose of riding [or drawing a horse drawn vehicle or is
9 used in the operation of a horse drawn vehicle for hire such as a horse
10 drawn cab].
11 d. Application for a license or the renewal of a license shall be made
12 to the department of health and mental hygiene. Such application shall
13 contain the name and address of the owner of the horse and of the owner
14 of the rental horse business in which such horse is to be used if such
15 person is not the owner of the horse, the age, sex, color, markings and
16 any other identifying marks such as brands or tattoos of the horse, the
17 location of the stable where the horse is to be kept and any other
18 information which the commissioner of health and mental hygiene may
19 require. [An application with respect to a horse which is used in the
20 operation of a "horse drawn cab" as defined in subchapter twenty-one of
21 chapter two of title twenty of this code shall include the identifica-
22 tion number required to be inscribed on such horses hoof pursuant to the
23 rules and regulations of the department of consumer affairs.] The appli-
24 cation shall be accompanied by the license or renewal fee.
25 S 4. Section 17-329 of the administrative code of the city of New York
26 is amended to read as follows:
27 S 17-329 Disposition of licensed horse. A. The department shall be
28 notified of the transfer of ownership or other disposition of a licensed
29 horse within [ten] FIVE days thereafter. Such notice shall include the
30 date of disposition and [if sold in New York city,] the name and address
31 of the buyer or other transferee and such other information as the
32 commissioner may prescribe.
33 B. A horse shall not be sold or disposed of except in a humane
34 manner[.], WHICH, FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBCHAPTER SHALL MEAN ONE OF
35 THE FOLLOWING:
36 1. THE OWNER SHALL SELL OR DONATE THE HORSE TO A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL
37 WHO SIGNS AN ASSURANCE THAT THE HORSE WILL NOT BE SOLD AND SHALL BE KEPT
38 SOLELY AS A COMPANION ANIMAL AND NOT EMPLOYED IN ANOTHER HORSE-DRAWN
39 CARRIAGE BUSINESS OR AS A WORK HORSE AND WILL BE CARED FOR HUMANELY FOR
40 THE REMAINDER OF THE HORSE'S NATURAL LIFE; OR
41 2. THE OWNER SHALL SELL OR DONATE THE HORSE TO A DULY INCORPORATED
42 ANIMAL SANCTUARY OR DULY INCORPORATED ANIMAL PROTECTION ORGANIZATION
43 WHOSE PRESIDENT OR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SIGNS AN ASSURANCE THAT THE HORSE
44 WILL NOT BE SOLD AND SHALL BE KEPT SOLELY AS A COMPANION ANIMAL AND NOT
45 EMPLOYED IN ANOTHER HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE BUSINESS OR AS A WORK HORSE AND
46 WILL BE CARED FOR HUMANELY FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE HORSE'S NATURAL
47 LIFE.
48 3. RECORDS INDICATING THE NAME, ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER OF THE
49 PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL, DULY INCORPORATED ANIMAL SANCTUARY OR DULY INCORPO-
50 RATED ANIMAL PROTECTION ORGANIZATION TO WHOM THE HORSE WAS SOLD OR
51 DONATED TOGETHER WITH THE ASSURANCE SPECIFIED ABOVE SHALL BE SENT BY THE
52 OWNER TO THE DEPARTMENT WITHIN FIVE DAYS AFTER SUCH SALE OR DONATION. A
53 COPY OF SUCH RECORD SHALL ALSO BE MAINTAINED AT THE STABLE.
54 S 5. Subdivisions g, h and l of section 17-330 of the administrative
55 code of the city of New York, subdivisions g and l as amended by local
56 law number 10 of the city of New York for the year 2010, and subdivision
A. 997 3
1 h as added by local law number 2 of the city of New York for the year
2 1994, are amended to read as follows:
3 g. [1. Carriage horses shall not be at work for more than nine hours
4 in any continuous twenty-four hour period.] Riding horses shall not be
5 at work for more than eight hours in any continuous twenty-four hour
6 period. Rest periods for [carriage horses and] riding horses shall be of
7 such duration and at such intervals as the commissioner shall
8 prescribe[, but rest periods for carriage horses shall in no event be
9 for less than fifteen minutes after each two hour working period, and
10 the time of such rest period shall be included in calculating the number
11 of hours the horse has worked in any twenty-four hour period. During
12 such rest periods, the person in charge of such carriage horses shall
13 make fresh water available to the horse.
14 2. Carriage horses shall receive no less than five weeks of vacation
15 or furlough every twelve months at a horse stable facility which allows
16 daily access to paddock or pasture turnout. Proof of such vacation or
17 furlough shall be provided upon request to the department and/or the
18 ASPCA].
19 h. [Carriage horses shall not be driven at a pace faster than a trot.]
20 Riding horses may be ridden at a canter but shall not be galloped.
21 l. An owner of a rental horse business shall keep such records as the
22 commissioner of health shall prescribe including but not limited to a
23 consecutive daily record of the movements of each licensed horse includ-
24 ing the [driver's name and identification number, if applicable,]
25 rider's name, the horse's identification number, [vehicle license plate
26 number, if applicable,] time of leaving stable and time of return to
27 stable. An owner of a rental horse business shall also keep written
28 protocols for emergencies, including but not limited to primary and
29 secondary emergency contact information for each horse owner and insur-
30 ance company information, if applicable. Such records shall be kept on
31 the premises of the stable where the horses are kept and shall be avail-
32 able for inspection. The commissioner may, in his or her discretion,
33 require a time clock, date stamp or time stamp where such commissioner
34 believes it is appropriate.
35 S 6. Subdivisions o and p of section 17-330 of the administrative code
36 of the city of New York are REPEALED.
37 S 7. Paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 17-331 of the administra-
38 tive code of the city of New York is amended to read as follows:
39 1. Two members shall be appointed from among the owners of rental
40 horse businesses operating within the city[, one of whom shall be repre-
41 sentative of the interests of owners of riding horses and one of whom
42 shall be representative of the interests of owners of carriage horses].
43 S 8. Subdivision a of section 17-334 of the administrative code of the
44 city of New York is REPEALED and subdivisions b and c are relettered
45 subdivisions a and b.
46 S 9. Section 17-334.1 of the administrative code of the city of New
47 York is REPEALED.
48 S 10. Sections 19-174 and 19-175 of the administrative code of the
49 city of New York are REPEALED.
50 S 11. Section 20-371 of the administrative code of the city of New
51 York, as amended by local law number 31 of the city of New York for the
52 year 1995, is amended to read as follows:
53 S 20-371 Licensing of sight-seeing buses[, horse drawn cabs and horse
54 drawn cab drivers]. Legislative findings. The legislative findings here-
55 tofore made in relation to the business of sight-seeing buses [and horse
56 drawn cabs] in the city of New York and set forth in local law number
A. 997 4
1 ten of nineteen hundred sixty-four continue to be valid; such businesses
2 are vested with a public interest and their regulation and control
3 continue to be necessary and essential in order to cope with certain
4 evils and hazards which existed in the absence of governmental super-
5 vision. The supervision formerly was reposed in the police commissioner,
6 but recent experience and study indicate that jurisdiction over such
7 businesses should be transferred to the commissioner. [It is further
8 found that the present number of horse drawn cabs licensed in the city
9 of New York is adequate to meet the public need and demand and should be
10 preserved, unless the commissioner finds that additional licenses are
11 necessary and advisable.]
12 S 12. Subdivisions 1 and 3 of section 20-372 of the administrative
13 code of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 31 of the
14 city of New York for the year 1995, are amended to read as follows:
15 1. "Owner" shall include any person, firm, partnership, corporation or
16 association owning and operating a sight-seeing bus or buses, [or horse
17 drawn cab or cabs,] and shall include a purchaser under a reserve title
18 contract, conditional sales agreement or vendor's agreement and the
19 lessee of such vehicle or vehicles under a written lease or similar
20 contract provided such purchaser or lessee of sight-seeing bus or buses
21 shall be entitled to obtain in his or her name a license or licenses
22 therefor from the commissioner of motor vehicles of the state of New
23 York.
24 3. "Inspection card" shall designate the card issued by the commis-
25 sioner for the sight-seeing bus licensed [or horse drawn cab licensed],
26 which card shall display the license number and capacity of such vehi-
27 cle.
28 S 13. Subdivisions 5, 6, 7 and 8 of section 20-372 of the administra-
29 tive code of the city of New York are REPEALED and subdivisions 9 and 10
30 are renumbered subdivisions 5 and 6.
31 S 14. Subdivisions a and b of section 20-373 of the administrative
32 code of the city of New York are amended to read as follows:
33 a. It shall be unlawful to operate or permit another to operate for
34 hire a sight-seeing bus [or horse-drawn cab] within the city unless the
35 owner shall have first obtained a license therefor from the commission-
36 er. [An applicant for a horse-drawn cab license shall be at least eigh-
37 teen years of age.]
38 b. Fees. The original and renewal license fee for each sight-seeing
39 bus shall be fifty dollars [and for each horse-drawn cab shall be fifty
40 dollars].
41 S 15. Subdivisions c and d of section 20-373 of the administrative
42 code of the city of New York are REPEALED.
43 S 16. Subdivisions a and b of section 20-374 of the administrative
44 code of the city of New York are amended to read as follows:
45 a. Any person, firm, partnership, corporation or association, owning
46 or operating a sight-seeing bus, or buses[, or horse-drawn cab, or cabs]
47 engaging in the business of transporting passengers in, about, over and
48 upon any of the streets, avenues, bridges, highways, boulevards or
49 public places within the limits of the city of New York, shall be issued
50 a license for each bus [or cab] so operating, provided, however any such
51 person, firm, partnership, corporation or association owning or operat-
52 ing a sight-seeing bus or buses, shall first have obtained a license or
53 licenses, as he or she shall be entitled to receive from the commission-
54 er of motor vehicles of the state of New York as made and provided by
55 law.
A. 997 5
1 b. It shall be unlawful for a license, after being issued by the
2 commissioner, to be transferred to any person, firm, partnership, corpo-
3 ration or association for any cause whatsoever[, except that licenses
4 for horse-drawn cabs may be transferred with the approval of the commis-
5 sioner. Upon voluntary sale or transfer of a licensed horse-drawn cab by
6 the holder of a license or his or her legal representative, the licensee
7 shall immediately notify the commissioner of his or her intention to
8 replace such horse-drawn cab, or shall surrender his or her license. If
9 the license is surrendered, the vendee or transferee may make applica-
10 tion to the commissioner for the licensing of the horse-drawn cab so
11 purchased. A new license shall then be issued by the commissioner in
12 place of the license so surrendered, provided the applicant has demon-
13 strated to the satisfaction of the commissioner that he or she is quali-
14 fied to assume the duties and obligations of a horse-drawn cab license].
15 S 17. Subdivision c of section 20-374 of the administrative code of
16 the city of New York is REPEALED.
17 S 18. Section 20-375 of the administrative code of the city of New
18 York, as amended by local law number 2 of the city of New York for the
19 year 1994, is amended to read as follows:
20 S 20-375 License plate. Upon the payment of the license fee the
21 commissioner shall issue a license to the owner of the sightseeing bus
22 [or horse drawn cab] together with a license plate to be securely
23 affixed to a conspicuous and indispensable part of such sightseeing bus
24 [or securely and conspicuously affixed to the rear axle of such horse
25 drawn cab,] on which shall be clearly set forth the license number of
26 such sightseeing bus [or horse drawn cab]. The license plate issued to
27 the licensee may, in the discretion of the commissioner, be a plate of a
28 permanent nature with a replaceable date tag attached thereto, indicat-
29 ing the expiration date of the plate during each license year and the
30 issuance of such a plate with such date tag to a person possessing such
31 a plate, shall be deemed issuance of a license plate. Such license plate
32 and the replaceable date tag to be issued from year to year to be
33 attached thereto, shall be of such material, form, design and dimension
34 and set forth such distinguishing number or other identification marks
35 as the commissioner shall prescribe. The commissioner upon renewal of
36 the license hereunder, may continue the use of the license plate for as
37 many additional license years as he or she in his or her discretion may
38 determine, in which event he or she shall issue and deliver to the
39 licensee a replaceable date tag as evidence of renewal of the license,
40 which shall be attached or affixed in such manner as he or she may
41 prescribe by rule. The failure to affix or display such date tag in a
42 manner prescribed by the commissioner shall constitute a violation of
43 this section. In the event of the loss, mutilation or destruction of any
44 license plate or date tag issued hereunder, the owner may file such
45 statement and proof of facts as the commissioner shall require, with a
46 fee of twenty-five dollars, at the department, and the department shall
47 issue a duplicate or substitute license plate or date tag.
48 S 19. Sections 20-377 and 20-377.1 of the administrative code of the
49 city of New York are REPEALED.
50 S 20. Section 20-378 of the administrative code of the city of New
51 York is amended to read as follows:
52 S 20-378 Periodic inspection. The license department shall cause all
53 sight-seeing buses [and horse-drawn cabs] now, or hereafter licensed, to
54 be inspected at least once every four months. The date of such
55 inspection and the signature of the person making the inspection shall
56 be recorded upon the inspection card in the spaces provided therefor.
A. 997 6
1 S 21. Section 20-379 of the administrative code of the city of New
2 York is amended to read as follows:
3 S 20-379 Form of inspection card. The commissioner shall prescribe an
4 appropriate form of inspection card for sight-seeing buses [and horse-
5 drawn cabs] and the manner in which such card and the sight-seeing bus
6 driver's [and horse-drawn cab driver's] identification cards shall be
7 displayed.
8 S 22. Sections 20-380, 20-381, 20-381.1, 20-381.2 and 20-382 of the
9 administrative code of the city of New York are REPEALED.
10 S 23. Section 20-383 of the administrative code of the city of New
11 York, as amended by local law number 2 of the city of New York for the
12 year 1994, the section number, the section heading and subdivision a as
13 amended by local law number 41 of the city of New York for the year
14 2005, is amended to read as follows:
15 S 20-383 Suspensions and revocations. [a.] After notice and opportu-
16 nity to be heard, the commissioner may suspend or revoke any sight-see-
17 ing bus license where the holder has failed to comply with any
18 provisions of this subchapter or of the rules promulgated thereunder, or
19 with any other laws or rules governing sight-seeing buses, or which
20 sight-seeing bus is otherwise found to be unfit for operation. Such
21 suspension shall remain in effect until compliance and fitness have been
22 established by the licensee and accepted by the department. Grounds for
23 suspension or revocation shall include, but not be limited to, installa-
24 tion of an engine which does not meet the requirements of subdivision b
25 of section 20-376 of this subchapter, being found to have violated the
26 requirements for diesel fuel-powered sight-seeing buses contained in
27 section 24-163.6 of the administrative code, failure to submit a bus for
28 inspection, installation of an engine not covered by a certificate of
29 conformity in a vehicle which was originally manufactured with such an
30 engine and installation of an engine of any model year preceding the
31 year of manufacture in a vehicle which was originally manufactured with
32 an engine covered by a certificate of conformity.
33 [b. Any driver of a horse drawn cab found to have committed within any
34 twelve-month period, in the aggregate, at least three violations of this
35 subchapter shall have his or her license suspended by the commissioner
36 for a period of not less than three months. For purposes of this subdi-
37 vision, all violations written on any one day shall constitute a single
38 violation.
39 c. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision b of this section,
40 any driver of a horse drawn cab found to have committed within any twen-
41 ty-four month period, in the aggregate, at least five violations of this
42 subchapter shall have his or her license suspended by the commissioner
43 for six months. For purposes of this subdivision, all violations written
44 on any one day shall constitute a single violation.
45 d. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions b and c of this
46 section, any driver of a horse drawn cab found guilty of one violation
47 of subdivision d of section 20-381.1 of the code or sections three
48 hundred fifty-one, three hundred fifty-three, three hundred fifty-five
49 through three hundred sixty-two or three hundred sixty-nine of the New
50 York state agriculture and markets law or who is found guilty of a
51 violation of this subchapter while his or her license is suspended,
52 shall have his or her license revoked. A driver whose license has been
53 revoked in accordance with this provision may not apply for a new
54 license for five years from the date of revocation.]
55 S 24. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day
56 after it shall have become a law.
