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A00510 Summary:

BILL NOA00510
 
SAME ASSAME AS S03039
 
SPONSORRosenthal L
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd 352.3, 446, 551, 656, 759, 842 & 1056, Fam Ct Act; amd 530.12 & 530.13, CP L; amd 240 & 252, Dom Rel L
 
Relates to orders of protection with respect to companion animals; provides further protection for pets by authorizing the court to order a party to either relinquish a pet or to refrain from any contact with a pet.
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A00510 Actions:

BILL NOA00510
 
01/06/2021referred to judiciary
01/05/2022referred to judiciary
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A00510 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A510
 
SPONSOR: Rosenthal L
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the family court act, the criminal procedure law and the domestic relations law, in relation to an order of protection with respect to companion animals   PURPOSE: This bill extends protections to the pets of victims of domestic abuse by giving the court discretion to forbid contact between the abuser and any pet that is cared for by the victim.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section one amends section 352.3 of the family court act to give the court discretion to order the respondent to give up custody of a compan- ion animal they own, and allow the petitioner or another designated party to maintain custody of the companion animal. It also gives the court discretion to forbid any contact between the respondent and any companion animal belonging to either party or a minor child residing in the household, or a designated party with custody of said animal. Section two amends section 446 of the family court act by adding the same provisions as section one of this bill. Section three amends section 551 of the family court act by adding the same provisions as section one of this bill. Section four amends section 656 of the family court act by adding the same provisions as section 1 of this bill. Section five amends section 759 of the family court act by adding the same provisions as section 1 of this bill. Section six amends section 842 of the family court act by adding the same provisions as section 1 of this bill. Section seven amends section 1056 of the family court act by adding the same provisions as section 1 of this bill. Section eight amends section 530.12 of the criminal procedure law by adding the same provisions as section 1 of this bill. Section nine amends section 530.13 of the criminal procedure law by adding similar provisions to section 1 of this bill. The provision where the respondent may be required to give up custody of any pet they own was not included because this section of law does not deal with "members of the same family or household," as defined in section 530.11 of the criminal procedure law. Section ten amends section 240 of the domestic relations law by adding the same provisions as section 1 of this bill. Section eleven amends section 252 of the domestic relations law by adding the same provisions as section 1 of this bill. Section twelve sets forth the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: Study after study has linked domestic abuse with animal abuse. A study by the American Humane Association found that 71% of pet-owning women entering women's shelters reported that their barterer had injured, maimed, killed or threatened family pets for revenge or to psychologi- cally control their victim. The fact is, the people who are capable of harming their significant others are almost certainly capable of harming their pets. Unfortunately, many abusers can hold this over their victims. According to the Urban Resource Institute, 48% of victims of domestic violence do not leave their abuser because they fear what would happen to their pet. This bill seeks to empower those who desperately need to get away from their abuser, but are too selfless and concerned that they will have to leave their pet behind. Currently, orders of protection only prohibit the respondent from inten- tionally injuring or killing a pet belonging to the petitioner or a minor child in their household. Knowing that the petitioner has violated the order of protection would serve little comfort in the tragic event that someone lost their pet. For this reason, more needs to be done to prevent that from happening by giving the court discretion to forbid any contact between the respondent and the pet. Furthermore, it is imper- ative that the court has the discretion when issuing the order of protection to extend it so that it explicitly covers not only pets owned by the victim or a minor child in the household, but also any pets that may be legally owned by the abuser but in practice are shared with the victim. People can easily grow attached to the pets of their significant others, and a pet owned by their partner would certainly be a concern of theirs when considering leaving an abusive relationship, regardless of who legally owns the pet. States such as California, New Jersey, Ohio, Massachusetts, and many others have already recognized the need for such provisions. The American Humane Association found that 98% of Americans consider their pet to be a part of their family, and victims of violence should not be forced to abandon a part of their family in order to escape their abuser. '   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2019-20: A.767 - Referred to Judiciary; S.1251- Advanced to Third Read- ing 2017-18: A.668-A - Referred to Judiciary; S.2167-A - Passed Senate 2015-16: A.10661- Referred to Judiciary; S.7394-A - Passed Senate   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None to the State.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This bill shall take effect immediately.
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A00510 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                           510
 
                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                       (Prefiled)
 
                                     January 6, 2021
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Judiciary
 
        AN ACT to amend the family court act, the criminal procedure law and the
          domestic relations law, in relation to an  order  of  protection  with
          respect to companion animals

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 352.3 of the family court act,  as
     2  amended  by  chapter  261  of  the  laws  of 2020, is amended to read as
     3  follows:
     4    (1) Upon the issuance of an order pursuant to  section  315.3  or  the
     5  entry  of an order of disposition pursuant to section 352.2, a court may
     6  enter an order of protection  against  any  respondent  for  good  cause
     7  shown. The order may require that the respondent: (a) stay away from the
     8  home,  school,  business  or  place  of employment of the victims of the
     9  alleged offense; or (b) refrain from harassing, intimidating,  threaten-
    10  ing  or  otherwise interfering with the victim or victims of the alleged
    11  offense and such members of the family or household of  such  victim  or
    12  victims  as  shall  be specifically named by the court in such order; or
    13  (c) refrain from intentionally injuring or killing,  without  justifica-
    14  tion,  any companion animal the respondent knows to be owned, possessed,
    15  leased, kept or held by the [person protected by the  order]  petitioner
    16  or  a  minor  child  residing  in  [such  person's]  the petitioner's or
    17  respondent's household; or (d) refrain  from  remotely  controlling  any
    18  connected  devices affecting the home, vehicle or property of the person
    19  protected by the order. Such order may also  grant  the  petitioner  the
    20  exclusive  care,  custody  or  control  of  any  animal  that  is owned,
    21  possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner, the respondent  or  a
    22  minor  child residing in the residence or household of the petitioner or
    23  respondent, and order the respondent to stay away from  the  animal  and
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00441-01-1

        A. 510                              2
 
     1  forbid the respondent from taking, transferring, concealing, harming, or
     2  otherwise  disposing  of the animal. "Companion animal", as used in this
     3  subdivision, shall have the same  meaning  as  in  subdivision  five  of
     4  section  three  hundred  fifty  of  the  agriculture  and  markets  law.
     5  "Connected device", as used in this subdivision, shall mean any  device,
     6  or  other physical object that is capable of connecting to the internet,
     7  directly or indirectly,  and  that  is  assigned  an  internet  protocol
     8  address or bluetooth address.
     9    § 2. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (h) of section 446 of the family court
    10  act,  as  amended by chapter 526 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read
    11  as follows:
    12    1. to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing,  without  justi-
    13  fication,  any  companion  animal  the  respondent  knows  to  be owned,
    14  possessed, leased, kept or held by the [person protected by  the  order]
    15  petitioner or a minor child residing in [such person's] the petitioner's
    16  or  respondent's household. Such order may also grant the petitioner the
    17  exclusive care,  custody  or  control  of  any  animal  that  is  owned,
    18  possessed,  leased,  kept or held by the petitioner, the respondent or a
    19  minor child residing in the residence or household of the petitioner  or
    20  the  respondent,  and  order the respondent to stay away from the animal
    21  and forbid the respondent from taking, transferring,  concealing,  harm-
    22  ing, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
    23    § 3. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (i) of section 551 of the family court
    24  act,  as  amended by chapter 526 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read
    25  as follows:
    26    1. to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing,  without  justi-
    27  fication,  any  companion  animal  the  respondent  knows  to  be owned,
    28  possessed, leased, kept or held by the [person protected by  the  order]
    29  petitioner or a minor child residing in [such person's] the petitioner's
    30  or  respondent's household. Such order may also grant the petitioner the
    31  exclusive care,  custody  or  control  of  any  animal  that  is  owned,
    32  possessed,  leased,  kept or held by the petitioner, the respondent or a
    33  minor child residing in the residence or household of the petitioner  or
    34  the  respondent,  and  order the respondent to stay away from the animal
    35  and forbid the respondent from taking, transferring,  concealing,  harm-
    36  ing, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
    37    § 4. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (i) of section 656 of the family court
    38  act,  as  amended by chapter 526 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read
    39  as follows:
    40    1. to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing,  without  justi-
    41  fication,  any  companion  animal  the  respondent  knows  to  be owned,
    42  possessed, leased, kept or held by  the  petitioner  or  a  minor  child
    43  residing  in  the petitioner's or respondent's household. Such order may
    44  also grant the petitioner the exclusive care, custody or control of  any
    45  animal that is owned, possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner,
    46  the  respondent  or a minor child residing in the residence or household
    47  of the petitioner or the respondent, and order the  respondent  to  stay
    48  away  from  the  animal  and  forbid  the respondent from taking, trans-
    49  ferring, concealing, harming, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
    50    § 5. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (h) of section 759 of the family court
    51  act, as amended by chapter 261 of the laws of 2020, is amended  to  read
    52  as follows:
    53    1.  to  refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justi-
    54  fication, any  companion  animal  the  respondent  knows  to  be  owned,
    55  possessed,  leased,  kept or held by the [person protected by the order]
    56  petitioner or a minor child residing in [such person's] the petitioner's

        A. 510                              3
 
     1  or respondent's household. Such order may also grant the petitioner  the
     2  exclusive  care,  custody  or  control  of  any  animal  that  is owned,
     3  possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner, the respondent  or  a
     4  minor  child residing in the residence or household of the petitioner or
     5  the respondent, and order the respondent to stay away  from  the  animal
     6  and  forbid  the respondent from taking, transferring, concealing, harm-
     7  ing, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
     8    § 6. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (i) of section 842 of the family court
     9  act, as amended by chapter 335 of the laws of 2019, is amended  to  read
    10  as follows:
    11    1.  to  refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justi-
    12  fication, any  companion  animal  the  respondent  knows  to  be  owned,
    13  possessed,  leased,  kept  or  held  by  the petitioner or a minor child
    14  residing in the petitioner's or respondent's household. Such  order  may
    15  also  grant the petitioner the exclusive care, custody or control of any
    16  animal that is owned, possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner,
    17  the respondent or a minor child residing in the residence  or  household
    18  of  the  petitioner  or the respondent, and order the respondent to stay
    19  away from the animal and  forbid  the  respondent  from  taking,  trans-
    20  ferring, concealing, harming, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
    21    §  7. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph (g) of subdivision 1 of section 1056
    22  of the family court act, as amended by chapter 526 of the laws of  2013,
    23  is amended to read as follows:
    24    1.  to  refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justi-
    25  fication, any  companion  animal  the  respondent  knows  to  be  owned,
    26  possessed,  leased,  kept or held by the [person protected by the order]
    27  petitioner or a minor child residing in [such person's] the petitioner's
    28  or respondent's household. Such order may also grant the petitioner  the
    29  exclusive  care,  custody  or  control  of  any  animal  that  is owned,
    30  possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner, the respondent  or  a
    31  minor  child residing in the residence or household of the petitioner or
    32  the respondent, and order the respondent to stay away  from  the  animal
    33  and  forbid  the respondent from taking, transferring, concealing, harm-
    34  ing, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
    35    § 8. Clause (A) of subparagraph 6 of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of
    36  section 530.12 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter  526
    37  of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
    38    (A)  to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justi-
    39  fication,  any  companion  animal  the  defendant  knows  to  be  owned,
    40  possessed,  leased, kept or held by the victim or a minor child residing
    41  in the victim's or defendant's household. Such order may also grant  the
    42  victim  the  exclusive  care,  custody  or control of any animal that is
    43  owned, possessed, leased, kept or held by the victim, the defendant or a
    44  minor child residing in the residence or household of the victim or  the
    45  defendant,  and  order  the  defendant  to stay away from the animal and
    46  forbid the defendant from taking, transferring, concealing, harming,  or
    47  otherwise disposing of the animal.
    48    §  9.  Subparagraph  1  of  paragraph  (c) of subdivision 1 of section
    49  530.13 of the criminal procedure law, as added by  chapter  261  of  the
    50  laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
    51    1.  to  refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justi-
    52  fication,  any  companion  animal  the  defendant  knows  to  be  owned,
    53  possessed,  leased,  kept  or  held by such victim or victims or a minor
    54  child residing in such victim's or victims' household.   Such order  may
    55  also  grant  the  victim  the  exclusive care, custody or control of any
    56  animal that is owned, possessed, leased, kept or held by the victim, the

        A. 510                              4
 
     1  defendant or a minor child residing in the residence or household of the
     2  victim or the defendant, and order the defendant to stay away  from  the
     3  animal  and  forbid the defendant from taking, transferring, concealing,
     4  harming, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
     5    § 10. Subparagraph 7 of paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 240 of
     6  the  domestic  relations  law,  as amended by chapter 526 of the laws of
     7  2013, is amended to read as follows:
     8    (7) to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without  justi-
     9  fication,  any  companion  animal  the  respondent  knows  to  be owned,
    10  possessed, leased, kept or held by the [person protected by  the  order]
    11  petitioner or a minor child residing in [such person's] the petitioner's
    12  or  respondent's household. Such order may also grant the petitioner the
    13  exclusive care,  custody  or  control  of  any  animal  that  is  owned,
    14  possessed,  leased,  kept or held by the petitioner, the respondent or a
    15  minor child residing in the residence or household of the petitioner  or
    16  the  respondent,  and  order the respondent to stay away from the animal
    17  and forbid the respondent from taking, transferring,  concealing,  harm-
    18  ing,  or  otherwise disposing of the animal. "Companion animal," as used
    19  in this section, shall have the same meaning as in subdivision  five  of
    20  section three hundred fifty of the agriculture and markets law;
    21    §  11.  Paragraph  (g) of subdivision 1 of section 252 of the domestic
    22  relations law, as amended by chapter 526 of the laws of 2013, is amended
    23  to read as follows:
    24    (g) to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without  justi-
    25  fication,  any  companion  animal  the  respondent  knows  to  be owned,
    26  possessed, leased, kept or held by the [person protected by  the  order]
    27  petitioner or a minor child residing in [such person's] the petitioner's
    28  or respondent's household.  Such order may also grant the petitioner the
    29  exclusive  care,  custody  or  control  of  any  animal  that  is owned,
    30  possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner, the respondent  or  a
    31  minor  child residing in the residence or household of the petitioner or
    32  the respondent, and order the respondent to stay away  from  the  animal
    33  and  forbid  the respondent from taking, transferring, concealing, harm-
    34  ing, or otherwise disposing of the animal. "Companion animal,"  as  used
    35  in  this  section, shall have the same meaning as in subdivision five of
    36  section three hundred fifty of the agriculture and markets law;
    37    § 12. This act shall take effect immediately.
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