Bill Text: NY A04910 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to voluntary contributions in support of municipal animal pounds or shelters.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-10 - referred to agriculture [A04910 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-A04910-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4910 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SIMONE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to volun- tary contributions in support of municipal animal pounds or shelters The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 109 of the agriculture and markets law, as amended 2 by section 4 of part T of chapter 59 of the laws of 2010, paragraph (b) 3 of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 349 of the laws of 2018, subdivi- 4 sion 3 as amended by chapter 446 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read 5 as follows: 6 § 109. Licensing of dogs required; rabies vaccination required. 1. (a) 7 The owner of any dog reaching the age of four months shall immediately 8 make application for a dog license. No license shall be required for any 9 dog which is under the age of four months and which is not at large, or 10 that is residing in a pound or shelter maintained by or under contract 11 or agreement with the state or any county, city, town or village, duly 12 incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, duly 13 incorporated humane society or duly incorporated dog protective associ- 14 ation. Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, a license shall 15 be issued or renewed for a period of at least one year, provided, that 16 no license shall be issued for a period expiring after the last day of 17 the eleventh month following the expiration date of the current rabies 18 certificate for the dog being licensed. All licenses shall expire on the 19 last day of the last month of the period for which they are issued. In 20 the event an applicant for a license presents, in lieu of a rabies 21 certificate, a statement certified by a licensed veterinarian, as 22 provided in subdivision two of this section, a license shall be issued 23 or renewed for a period of one year from the date of said statement. Any 24 municipality may establish a common renewal date for all such licenses. 25 A license issued by a municipality that has established a common renewal EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03348-01-5A. 4910 2 1 date shall expire no later than the common renewal date prior to the 2 expiration date of the rabies certificate for the dog being licensed. 3 (b) Application for a dog license shall be made to the clerk of the 4 town, city, or county or, in the counties of Nassau and Westchester, 5 incorporated village in which the dog is harbored or to the village 6 clerk of those villages in the county of Rockland with a population of 7 fifteen thousand or more which have elected to accept applications 8 pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph or to the village clerk of 9 the village of Newark in the county of Wayne upon the election of the 10 village of Newark pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph. 11 Provided, however, that in the counties of Nassau and Westchester, the 12 board of trustees of any incorporated village may by resolution provide 13 that applications for licenses shall no longer be made to the village 14 clerk, but to the clerk of the town in which the village is situated. 15 Provided further, however, that in the county of Rockland, the board of 16 trustees of any incorporated village with a population of fifteen thou- 17 sand or more may by resolution provide that application for licenses 18 shall be made to the village clerk. Provided further, however, that in 19 the county of Wayne, the board of trustees of the village of Newark may 20 by resolution provide that application for licenses shall be made to the 21 village clerk. Provided further, however, that in the county of Montgom- 22 ery, the board of trustees of the village of St. Johnsville may by 23 resolution provide that application for licenses shall be made to the 24 village clerk. The governing body of any town or city or, in the coun- 25 ties of Nassau and Westchester, incorporated village or in the county of 26 Rockland, those villages with a population of fifteen thousand or more 27 which have so elected to accept applications, in the county of Wayne, 28 the village of Newark if such village has so elected to accept applica- 29 tions or, in the county of Montgomery, the village of St. Johnsville if 30 such village has so elected to accept applications may, on resolution of 31 such body, authorize that such application be made to one or more named 32 dog control officers of any such town, city or village. The issuance of 33 any license by any such officer shall be under the control and super- 34 vision of the clerk. In the case of a seized dog being redeemed or a dog 35 being otherwise obtained from a county animal shelter or pound, such 36 application may be made to the county dog control officer in charge of 37 such facility. In the case of a dog being redeemed or a dog being 38 adopted from a shelter or pound established, maintained or contracted 39 for, pursuant to section one hundred fourteen of this article, such 40 application may be made to the manager of such facility, provided such 41 manager has been authorized by the municipality in which the prospective 42 owner resides to accept such application. Such authorization shall be 43 requested by the governing body of the pound or shelter and the granting 44 or denial of such authorization shall be in the discretion of the muni- 45 cipality in which the prospective owner resides. 46 (c) The application shall state the sex, actual or approximate age, 47 breed, color, and municipal identification number of the dog, and other 48 identification marks, if any, and the name, address, telephone number, 49 county and town, city or village of residence of the owner. The applica- 50 tion shall include space where an owner may elect to make a contribution 51 in support of the pound or shelter managed by the municipality where the 52 owner resides or any organization which is contracted by such munici- 53 pality to provide animal shelter services. The space for contribution 54 shall be clearly marked and distinct with bold lettering or on a sepa- 55 rate page, to make clear it is a voluntary contribution and not a part 56 of the license fee. The application shall list the organization in whichA. 4910 3 1 the contribution will be sent and may list suggested reasonable contrib- 2 ution amounts with an option for any amount. Municipalities may also 3 require additional information on such application as deemed appropri- 4 ate. 5 (d) The application shall be accompanied by the license fee prescribed 6 by section one hundred ten of this article, the contribution, if elected 7 by the owner, and a certificate of rabies vaccination or statement in 8 lieu thereof, as required by subdivision two of this section. In the 9 case of a spayed or neutered dog, every application shall also be accom- 10 panied by a certificate signed by a licensed veterinarian or an affida- 11 vit signed by the owner, showing that the dog has been spayed or 12 neutered, provided such certificate or affidavit shall not be required 13 if the same is already on file with the clerk or authorized dog control 14 officer. In lieu of the spay or neuter certificate an owner may present 15 a statement certified by a licensed veterinarian stating that [he] the 16 veterinarian has examined the dog and found that because of old age or 17 other reason, the life of the dog would be endangered by spaying or 18 neutering. In such case, the license fee for the dog shall be the same 19 as for a spayed or neutered dog as set forth in subdivision one of 20 section one hundred ten of this article. 21 (e) Upon validation by the clerk, authorized dog control officer or 22 authorized pound or shelter manager, the application shall become a 23 license for the dog described therein. 24 (f) The clerk, authorized dog control officer or authorized pound or 25 shelter manager shall: (i) provide a copy of the license to the owner; 26 (ii) retain a record of the license that shall be made available upon 27 request to the commissioner for purposes of rabies and other animal 28 disease control efforts and actions. In addition, the authorized pound 29 or shelter manager shall send, within forty-eight hours of validation, a 30 copy of the license to the licensing municipality within which the dog 31 is to be harbored. 32 (g) No license shall be transferable. Upon the transfer of ownership 33 of any dog, the new owner shall immediately make application for a 34 license for such dog. 35 (h) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local 36 law, or any rule or regulation to the contrary, the clerk, authorized 37 dog control officer or authorized pound or shelter manager in munici- 38 palities having a population of less than one hundred thousand shall 39 within five business days after the license has been validated, send a 40 copy of the validated license to the licensing municipality in which the 41 dog is to be harbored. 42 2. The clerk, authorized dog control officer or authorized pound or 43 shelter manager, at the time of issuing any license pursuant to this 44 article, shall require the applicant to present a statement certified by 45 a licensed veterinarian showing that the dog or dogs have been vaccinat- 46 ed to prevent rabies or, in lieu thereof, a statement certified by a 47 licensed veterinarian stating that because of old age or another reason, 48 the life of the dog or dogs would be endangered by the administration of 49 vaccine. The clerk, authorized dog control officer or authorized pound 50 or shelter manager shall make or cause to be made from such statement a 51 record of such information and shall file such record with a copy of the 52 license. Such records shall be made available to the commissioner upon 53 request for rabies and other animal disease control efforts. 54 3. Municipalities may provide for the establishment and issuance of 55 purebred licenses and, in the event they do so, shall provide for the 56 assessment of a surcharge of at least three dollars for the purposes ofA. 4910 4 1 carrying out animal population control efforts as provided in section 2 one hundred seventeen-a of this article. Municipalities which issue 3 purebred licenses shall remit such surcharge collected to the commis- 4 sioner. 5 4. Municipalities shall deposit all monies collected from voluntary 6 contributions pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this 7 section into a dedicated fund. The proceeds of such fund shall be prop- 8 erly accounted for and be given to the organization listed on the appli- 9 cation annually. In no event shall the funds derived from voluntary 10 contributions replace any existing funding commitments to such organiza- 11 tions. 12 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 13 have become a law.
