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A01204 Summary:

A01204 Actions:

A01204 Floor Votes:

A01204 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          1204
 
                               2013-2014 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                       (Prefiled)
 
                                     January 9, 2013
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ZEBROWSKI, MILLMAN, MILLER, ARROYO, SWEENEY,
          DINOWITZ, TITONE, PAULIN, COLTON,  RIVERA,  SCARBOROUGH,  ENGLEBRIGHT,
          MAISEL,  GUNTHER,  SIMOTAS,  LAVINE,  GALEF, BOYLAND, CUSICK, BRONSON,
          MOYA, WEISENBERG, ROSENTHAL, GLICK, KELLNER, CAMARA, CAHILL,  BENEDET-

          TO,  ROBERTS,  HOOPER, DenDEKKER, WEPRIN, KAVANAGH, BRINDISI -- Multi-
          Sponsored by -- M. of A. BRENNAN, CERETTO, CURRAN,  FINCH,  GABRYSZAK,
          GIBSON,  GIGLIO,  GOTTFRIED,  HIKIND, LOSQUADRO, LUPARDO, MALLIOTAKIS,
          McDONOUGH, McKEVITT, PERRY, RAIA, SALADINO, SCHIMEL, TEDISCO,  TENNEY,
          THIELE,  WALTER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agricul-
          ture
 
        AN ACT to  amend  the  agriculture  and  markets  law,  in  relation  to
          restricting  the  performance of surgical devocalization procedures on
          dogs and cats
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new
     2  section 365-a to read as follows:
     3    § 365-a. Devocalization of animals. 1. No  person  shall  perform  the

     4  surgical  devocalization  of  a dog or cat except in accordance with the
     5  provisions of this section.
     6    2. a. Surgical devocalization of a dog or cat shall be performed  only
     7  by  a  person  licensed  as  a  veterinarian  in  this  state  under the
     8  provisions of article one hundred thirty-five of the education law.
     9    b. Surgical devocalization of a dog or cat may be performed only  when
    10  the  procedure  is  medically  necessary  to treat or relieve a physical
    11  illness, disease or injury or correct a congenital abnormality  suffered
    12  by  the  animal,  which  physical illness, disease, injury or congenital
    13  abnormality is causing or may reasonably cause the animal physical  pain
    14  or harm.
 

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00470-01-3
        A. 1204                             2
 
     1    3. a. Any person who performs a surgical devocalization procedure on a
     2  dog  or cat shall include information related to the procedure including
     3  the medical necessity in the animal's treatment  record  as  defined  in
     4  section sixty-seven hundred fourteen of the education law.
     5    b.  Any person who performs a devocalization procedure on a dog or cat
     6  shall report the number in the aggregate of all such procedures  to  the
     7  commissioner  of  education  annually  on or before March thirtieth. The

     8  department shall maintain all notices received  under  this  subdivision
     9  for four years from the date of receipt.
    10    4.  As  used in this section, "devocalization" means a surgical proce-
    11  dure on the larynx or vocal cords of an animal  intended  to  cause  the
    12  reduction  or  elimination  of  vocal sounds produced by that animal and
    13  includes procedures commonly referred to as "debarking", "silencing"  or
    14  "bark softening".
    15    5.  a.  Any  person  who knowingly performs, or knowingly causes to be
    16  performed, the surgical devocalization of a dog or cat in  violation  of
    17  the  provisions of this section shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor
    18  punishable by imprisonment for a period of not more than ninety days  or

    19  by  a  fine  not to exceed five hundred dollars or by both such fine and
    20  imprisonment.
    21    b. Any veterinarian who knowingly performs a  surgical  devocalization
    22  procedure  in  violation  of  the  provisions  of  this section shall be
    23  subject to the revocation or suspension of his or her  license  pursuant
    24  to article one hundred thirty of the education law.
    25    §  2.  Paragraph  a of subdivision 8 of section 374 of the agriculture
    26  and markets law, as amended by chapter 594 of the laws of 2003 and  such
    27  subdivision as renumbered by chapter 479 of the laws of 2009, is amended
    28  to read as follows:
    29    a.  In  addition to any other penalty provided by law, upon conviction
    30  for any violation of section  three  hundred  fifty-one,  three  hundred

    31  fifty-three,  three  hundred fifty-three-a, three hundred fifty-three-b,
    32  three hundred fifty-five, three hundred fifty-six, three hundred  fifty-
    33  nine,  three  hundred  sixty,  three  hundred  sixty-one,  three hundred
    34  sixty-five, three hundred sixty-five-a or three hundred  sixty-eight  of
    35  this article, the convicted person may, after a duly held hearing pursu-
    36  ant  to  paragraph  f  of  this  subdivision, be ordered by the court to
    37  forfeit, to a duly incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to
    38  animals or a duly incorporated humane society or authorized agents ther-
    39  eof, the animal or animals which are the basis of the  conviction.  Upon
    40  such  an  order  of  forfeiture, the convicted person shall be deemed to
    41  have relinquished all rights to the animals which are the basis  of  the
    42  conviction, except those granted in paragraph d of this subdivision.

    43    §  3. The commissioner of agriculture and markets and the commissioner
    44  of education are authorized and directed to promulgate and implement all
    45  rules, regulations and standards they  respectively  deem  necessary  to
    46  enforce  the  provisions  of this act on or before the effective date of
    47  this act.
    48    § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    49  have become a law.