NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1168
SPONSOR: Santabarbara TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing March
thirteenth as a day of commemoration to be known as "K9 Veterans Day"
PURPOSE:
This bill designates March 13 of each year as "K9 Veterans Day" in the
State of New York.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 Subdivision 3 of section 168-a of the Executive Law is amended
by adding March thirteenth as K9 Veterans Day.
Section 2 of the bill provides for an immediate effective date
JUSTIFICATION:
The official K9 Corps was created on March 13, 1942. Joseph J. White, a
retired Military Working Dog handler and founder of "K9 Veterans Day,"
pioneered a nation-wide effort to get the entire country to recognize
March 13 as K9 Veterans Day.
Thousands of dogs have served with honor, dignity and valor throughout
the history of our country's birth and growth. These dogs have served at
many jobs in all of our wars, having been employed by the United States
Military from World War I to present conflicts. To this day, dogs
continue to serve on our borders and abroad every day, on both land and
sea. Many State residents actively participate in and engage in K9
training and operational activities to assist the United States Mili-
tary.
Due the current war on terror, such dogs as Customs Dogs, Search and
Rescue Dogs, Border Patrol Dogs, Police Dogs, Secret Service Dogs and
many more will be included with the Military Working Dogs in this recog-
nition as they also help protect and serve our country.
It is well known that K9 dogs are loyal, loving, and devoted, and that
they have knowingly placed themselves in harm's way, making the ultimate
sacrifice by laying down their lives for their partners. It is appropri-
ate to honor these dogs and to recognize their contributions by desig-
nating March 13 of each year as "K9 Veterans Day."
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2013-14: A8402 - referred to Governmental Operations/S6163 - referred to
Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs
2015-16:A2232 - referred to governmental operations/S3826 - passed
Senate
2017-18: A5019 - referred to governmental operations/S216 - passed
Senate
2019-20: A1352 - referred to governmental operations
2020-21: A2496 - referred to finance/S5720 - passed Senate
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1168
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 13, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing March
thirteenth as a day of commemoration to be known as "K9 Veterans Day"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 168-a of the executive law, as
2 amended by chapter 237 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 3. The following days shall be days of commemoration in each year:
5 January sixth, to be known as "Haym Salomon Day", January twenty-sev-
6 enth, to be known as "Holocaust Remembrance Day", February fourth, to be
7 known as "Rosa Parks Day", February fifteenth, to be known as "Susan B.
8 Anthony Day", February sixteenth, to be known as "Lithuanian Independ-
9 ence Day", February twenty-eighth, to be known as "Gulf War Veterans'
10 Day", March fourth, to be known as "Pulaski Day", March tenth, to be
11 known as "Harriet Tubman Day", March thirteenth, to be known as "K9
12 Veterans Day", March twenty-ninth, to be known as "Vietnam Veterans'
13 Day", April ninth, to be known as "POW Recognition Day", April twenty-
14 seventh, to be known as "Coretta Scott King Day", April twenty-eighth,
15 to be known as "Workers' Memorial Day", the first Tuesday in May to be
16 known as "New York State Teacher Day", May seventeenth, to be known as
17 "Thurgood Marshall Day", the first Sunday in June, to be known as "Chil-
18 dren's Day", June second, to be known as "Italian Independence Day",
19 June twelfth, to be known as "Women Veterans Recognition Day", June
20 nineteenth, to be known as "Juneteenth Freedom Day", June twenty-fifth,
21 to be known as "Korean War Veterans' Day", the second Monday in July, to
22 be known as "Abolition Commemoration Day", August twenty-fourth, to be
23 known as "Ukrainian Independence Day", August twenty-sixth, to be known
24 as "Women's Equality Day", September eleventh, to be known as "Battle of
25 Plattsburgh Day" and also to be known as "September 11th Remembrance
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03077-01-3
A. 1168 2
1 Day", September thirteenth, to be known as "John Barry Day" and also to
2 be known as "Uncle Sam Day in the State of New York", September seven-
3 teenth, to be known as "Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Memorial Day", the
4 third Friday in September to be known as "New York State POW/MIA Recog-
5 nition Day" except if such date of commemoration cannot be observed due
6 to a religious holiday, such observances shall then be conducted on the
7 second Friday of September, the last Saturday in September, to be known
8 as "War of 1812 Day", the fourth Saturday of September, known as
9 "Native-American Day", the last Sunday in September, to be known as
10 "Gold Star Mothers' Day", October fifth, to be known as "Raoul Wallen-
11 berg Day", October eleventh, to be known as "New Netherland Day in the
12 State of New York", October eighteenth, to be known as "Disabilities
13 History Day", October twenty-seventh, to be known as "Theodore Roosevelt
14 Day", November ninth, to be known as "Witness for Tolerance Day", Novem-
15 ber twelfth, to be known as "Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day", the third
16 Tuesday in November to be known as "New York State School-Related
17 Professionals Recognition Day", November thirtieth, to be known as
18 "Shirley Chisholm Day", December third, to be known as "International
19 Day of Persons with Disabilities", December seventh, to be known as
20 "Pearl Harbor Day", December sixteenth, to be known as "Bastogne Day"
21 and that day of the Asian lunar calendar designated as new year to be
22 known as "Asian New Year".
23 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
