Imposes a fee for certain convictions to benefit animal shelters and establishes the animal offenses assistance fund

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Republican2

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Anthony H. Palumbo says this is needed

Animal shelters in New York struggle daily to support operations and day-to-day costs of housing, veterinary care and food for our beloved animals. When abused animals are rescued through the criminal justice system, the animals are often in need of extensive veterinary care and the costs to nurture them back to health are extremely high. Law enforcement must also immediately find a shelter capable of housing the abused animals. In the recent case in Albany County, 102 animals were living in squalor at a home that also doubled as an unregistered rescue. In a combined effort between Humane Law Enforcement from the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society and the Town of Colonic Animal Control, the animals were rescued and 98 of them were placed with Mohawk Hudson. As a result, Mohawk Hudson was required to spend $303,957.25 for only the first 30 days of care. They sought relief from the Court, spent $23,550.48 on legal fees and were granted only a $10,000 bond from the Court that was eventually forfeited after the defendants were found not guilty. The New York State Animal Protection Federation conducted a survey and found that of 47 cases, the cost of care was $4,426,250. The shelters only received $795,337 in restitution, which is 18% of the total cost. We know that these cases are just the tip of the iceberg. It should also be noted that in many cases the shelter must also maintain the animals as evidence and cannot offer the rehabilitated animal for adoption until the criminal case is resolved, no matter how long it takes to adjudicate the pending case. Consequently, we need to create a mechanism to relieve this undue finan- cial stress on our shelters and there is a simple solution. Our current judicial system requires individuals and corporate entities who are sentenced in court to pay mandatory surcharges to the courts, namely: 1. Penal Law felony convictions carry a $300 surcharge, plus a $25 crime victims assistance fee 2. Penal Law misdemeanors $175 plus a $25 crime victims assistance fee 3. Penal Law violations $95 plus a $25 crime victims assistance fee 4. Vehicle and Traffic offenses carry various surcharges ranging from $88 to thousands of dollars for Driving While Intoxicated matters 5. Certain convictions also require a DNA databank fee of $50, a Sex Offender Registration Fee This bill will simply create an additional five-dollar ($5) surcharge that will be earmarked for an Animal Offense Assistance Fund to help finance the costs of caring for surrendered animals. These shelters are saving lives and providing necessary care for abused and neglected animals, sometimes for months, and should not have to foot the bill for the deplorable actions of others. The Animal Offense Assistance Fund will provide a consistent funding stream, like the existing Crime Victim's Fund, to keep our shelters solvent so they can provide the necessary care, treatment and services desperately needed for abused animals.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.