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A01679 Summary:

A01679 Actions:

A01679 Committee Votes:

A01679 Floor Votes:

A01679 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          1679
 
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 12, 2015
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ZEBROWSKI, MILLER, ARROYO, DINOWITZ, TITONE,
          PAULIN, COLTON, RIVERA, SCARBOROUGH,  ENGLEBRIGHT,  GUNTHER,  SIMOTAS,
          LAVINE,  GALEF,  CUSICK,  BRONSON,  MOYA,  ROSENTHAL,  GLICK,  CAMARA,
          CAHILL, BENEDETTO, ROBERTS, HOOPER, DenDEKKER, WEPRIN, KAVANAGH, BRIN-
          DISI, OTIS, ORTIZ -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.  BRENNAN, CERETTO,
          CURRAN, FINCH, GIGLIO, GOTTFRIED, HIKIND, KOLB, LUPARDO,  MALLIOTAKIS,
          McDONALD,  McDONOUGH,  McKEVITT, MOSLEY, PERRY, QUART, RAIA, SALADINO,
          SCHIMEL, SOLAGES, TEDISCO, TENNEY, THIELE, WALKER  --  read  once  and
          referred to the Committee on Agriculture
 
        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.
    15    3. a. Any person who performs a surgical devocalization procedure on a
    16  dog or cat shall include information related to the procedure  including
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00005-01-5
        A. 1679                             2
 
     1  the  medical  necessity  in  the animal's treatment record as defined in
     2  section sixty-seven hundred fourteen of the education law.
     3    b.  Any person who performs a devocalization procedure on a dog or cat
     4  shall report the number in the aggregate of all such procedures  to  the
     5  commissioner  of  education  annually  on or before March thirtieth. The
     6  department shall maintain all notices received  under  this  subdivision
     7  for four years from the date of receipt.
     8    4.  As  used in this section, "devocalization" means a surgical proce-
     9  dure on the larynx or vocal cords of an animal  intended  to  cause  the
    10  reduction  or  elimination  of  vocal sounds produced by that animal and
    11  includes procedures commonly referred to as "debarking", "silencing"  or
    12  "bark softening".
    13    5.  a.  Any  person  who knowingly performs, or knowingly causes to be
    14  performed, the surgical devocalization of a dog or cat in  violation  of
    15  the  provisions of this section shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor
    16  punishable by imprisonment for a period of not more than ninety days  or
    17  by  a  fine  not to exceed five hundred dollars or by both such fine and
    18  imprisonment.
    19    b. Any veterinarian who knowingly performs a  surgical  devocalization
    20  procedure  in  violation  of  the  provisions  of  this section shall be
    21  subject to the revocation or suspension of his or her  license  pursuant
    22  to article one hundred thirty of the education law.
    23    §  2.  Paragraph  a of subdivision 8 of section 374 of the agriculture
    24  and markets law, as amended by chapter 594 of the laws of 2003 and  such
    25  subdivision as renumbered by chapter 479 of the laws of 2009, is amended
    26  to read as follows:
    27    a.  In  addition to any other penalty provided by law, upon conviction
    28  for any violation of section  three  hundred  fifty-one,  three  hundred
    29  fifty-three,  three  hundred fifty-three-a, three hundred fifty-three-b,
    30  three hundred fifty-five, three hundred fifty-six, three hundred  fifty-
    31  nine,  three  hundred  sixty,  three  hundred  sixty-one,  three hundred
    32  sixty-five, three hundred sixty-five-a or three hundred  sixty-eight  of
    33  this article, the convicted person may, after a duly held hearing pursu-
    34  ant  to  paragraph  f  of  this  subdivision, be ordered by the court to
    35  forfeit, to a duly incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to
    36  animals or a duly incorporated humane society or authorized agents ther-
    37  eof, the animal or animals which are the basis of the  conviction.  Upon
    38  such  an  order  of  forfeiture, the convicted person shall be deemed to
    39  have relinquished all rights to the animals which are the basis  of  the
    40  conviction, except those granted in paragraph d of this subdivision.
    41    §  3. The commissioner of agriculture and markets and the commissioner
    42  of education are authorized and directed to promulgate and implement all
    43  rules, regulations and standards they  respectively  deem  necessary  to
    44  enforce  the  provisions  of this act on or before the effective date of
    45  this act.
    46    § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    47  have become a law.