Due to the City's opposition to creating a Department of Animal Affairs, SRAC failed to get the 1997 Animal Welfare & Shelter Reform legislation on the November '97 ballot because the City successfully argued that section 8-c of chapter 115 of the (NYS) laws of 1894 gives the mayor sole authority over designating animal protection duties. The courts ruled that the ballot initiative infringed on the mayor's authority.
SRAC, through NYS Assemblyman Alexander "Pete" Grannis (D-Manhattan), has proposed legislation, bill No. A1218, to repeal such exclusive authority. The companion State Senate bill No. S3963 was sponsored by NYS Senator Roy Goodman (R-Manhattan). By removing the mayor from such law, it opens the designation of animal protection duties to the mayor or legislature. Thus, the City Council could create a Department of Animal Affairs with the same legislation SRAC wrote in 1997 without a legal challenge. (See summary that follows.)
Call the leadership of the Senate and Assembly to tell them you support this legislation:
| NY State Senate: | NY State Assembly: | ||
| JOSEPH BRUNO Senate Majority Leader Legislative Office Building Room 909 Albany, NY 12247 (518) 455-3191 DISTRICT OFFICE: (not in NYC) bruno@senate.state.ny.us |
FRANK PADAVAN (11th Dist., Queens) Chair, Cities Committee Capitol Room 505 Albany, NY 12247 (518) 455-3381 DISTRICT OFFICE: 89-39 Gettysburg Street Bellrose, NY 11426 (718) 343-0255 padavan@senate.state.ny.us |
SHELDON SILVER (62nd Dist., Manhattan) Assembly Speaker Legislative Office Building Room 932 Albany, NY 12248 (518) 455-3791 DISTRICT OFFICE: 270 Broadway, Rm. 1800 New York, NY 10007 (212) 312-1400 speaker@assembly.state.ny.us |
PETER ABBATE, JR. (49th Dist., Brooklyn & S.I.) Chair, Cities Committee Legislative Office Bldg. Room 842 Albany, NY 12248 (518) 455-3053 DISTRICT OFFICE: 8500 18th Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11214 (718) 236-1764 abbatep@assembly.state.ny.us |
ALSO CONTACT YOUR LOCAL ASSEMBLYMAN AND STATE SENATOR AND URGE THEM TO SUPPORT THIS BILL. If you do not know your State representatives' names or phone numbers, the League of Women Voters at (212) 674-8484 can supply this information.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY/SENATE
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Section 1(c) / Senate Rule VI, §1
(x) Memo on original draft of bill
( ) Memo on amended bill
BILL NUMBER: Assembly A1218; Senate S3963
SPONSORS: Member(s) of Assembly: Alexander Grannis; Senator(s): Roy Goodman
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend chapter 115 of the laws of 1894, relating to the better protection of lost and strayed animals and for securing the rights of owners thereof, in relation to authority over the city's management of animals in any city having a population of over two million.
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: Removes sole authority for the mayor of cities with a population of two million to designate agency for animal protection.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIOlNS: Section 1 of this bill amends section 8-c of chapter 115 of the laws of 1894, which establishes the power of any city having a population of over two million to carry out the provisions of the act, by removing reference to the mayor.
JUSTIFICATION: The City of New York is in the midst of an animal control crisis. It currcntly cuthanizes 75% of the 63,000 animals it takes in annually, despite the fact that most of them are healtlly, sociable animals that would make loving pets if proper placements could be secured. The fundamental reason for this is that animal control is not a priority and consequently has never been adequately funded. In an attempt to rectify this situation, grass roots activists last year collected more than 75,000 signatures for a ballot initiative which would have created a NYC Department of Animal Affairs.
Among the many provisions in the initiative were a detailed job deseription and a listing of the professional credentials required of any candidate to be considered by the Mayor to lead this new agency. The laudatory goal of the people working for this effort was to have a formal city agency headed by a person given with the strong voice needed to properly represent animal control issues and advocate for adequate funding in the City's budget.
The City opposed putting the initiative on last Novembcr's ballot issue on two grounds: 1) that it conflicted with provisions in state law (Chapter 115 of the Laws of 1894) which gives the mayor sole discretion over the city agency to perform animal control and 2) the amount of administrative detail specified in the initiative exceeded the authority of the ballot initiative mechanism. A State Supreme Court upheld the City's position and the Appellate Division affirmed the lower court's ruling. This bill would rescind the Mayor's exclusive authority over the city's animal control programs, thereby empowering the City Council to consider the merits of establishing a Department of Animal Affairs.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: None
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.