1997 Animal Welfare & Shelter Reform ballot initiative

The Shelter Reform Action Committee · P.O. Box 268, NY, NY 10028 · (212) 886-3700

1997 ANIMAL WELFARE & SHELTER REFORM Ballot Initiative

...The most important legislation for NYC animals in 100 years!

To: City Clerk, City of New York

We the undersigned, being duly qualified electors of the City of New York, State of New York, representing not less than fifty thousand qualified electors, present this petition to the City Clerk of New York and respectfully request the following proposed local law to amend the Charter of the City of New York be submitted to the voters of the City of New York at the next general election:

LOCAL LAW

To amend the New York City Charter to establish a Department of Animal Affairs to care for lost, stray and injured animals, and implement and maintain an animal control operation and shelter system, facilitate dog and horse licensing, promote humane education, and, except as otherwise provided by law, perform all those functions and operations that relate to the affairs and welfare of animals.

Be it enacted, we the people of New York City pursuant to the authority provided in Section 40 of the New York City Charter, as follows:

Section 1. The New York City Charter is hereby amended by inserting a new Chapter 75 and new Sections 3030-3036 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 75

DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL AFFAIRS

§ 3030. Department: commissioner. (a) There shall be a Department of Animal Affairs, the head of which shall be the commissioner of animal affairs who shall be appointed by the mayor.

(b) The commissioner shall have had at least five years' experience either as the executive head or officer of a humane organization devoted to animal welfare, such organization having an annual income of at least $150,000, or at least six years' experience as the executive head of a municipal animal care and control system.

§ 3031. Powers and duties of the commissioner. The commissioner shall have all the powers and duties vested in him or in the department by this chapter or otherwise, except as otherwise provided by law. In the performance of his functions, the commissioner shall have, in addition to such others as may be conferred upon him from time to time, the power and duty to:

(a) Promote, provide and advocate for the protection and needs of animals in New York City;

(b) Promote and provide humane education programs;

(d) Provide animal transport vehicles that patrol each borough throughout the City, rescuing animals that are lost, strayed, abandoned or in distress and impounding animals designated at large by law, seven days a week;

(e) Provide mobile emergency medical service that immediately responds to calls about animals at large in distress, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week;

(f) License, regulate and enforce, as the exclusive city agency, the health, safety and well being of horses, including, without limitation, the administration of the Retail Horse Licensing and Protection Law as set forth in Subchapter 3 of Title 17 of the New York City Administrative Code, and to exercise all of the functions, powers, and duties of such law;

(g) Pursuant to State law, promulgate standards for humane treatment of impounded animals;

(h) Operate, maintain, promote and provide a full-service animal shelter in each borough for lost, strayed, abandoned, injured or dangerous animals open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, which will:

(i) comply with all humane standards of animal care;

(ii) provide basic health screening, vaccinations, and medical treatment for all animals in its care;

(iii) promote and provide a preventive disease control program for animals in its care;

(iv) provide shelter care for animals in protective custody, under observation or quarantine;

(v) promote and provide a volunteer program through which members of the community can get actively involved;

(vi) promote and provide twenty-four hour computerized lost and found services that will communicate with other animal facilities in the city and surrounding areas and will keep animals with known owners for a longer time if necessary to provide time for their owners to find them;

(vii) promote and provide animal adoption to responsible, permanent and loving homes, seven days a week;

(viii) promote and provide intake counseling and pre- and post-adoption counseling, seven days a week;

(ix) provide for the humane transfer of any wild and exotic animals to licensed wildlife rehabilitators or other specialists;

(x) pursuant to State law, as a last resort, humanely euthanize any animal that has not been adopted or otherwise placed;

(xi) promote and provide spay and neuter services in each shelter, and a spay-neuter certificate program in cooperation with private veterinarians;

(xii) maintain accurate records on all animal related activities, which shall be subject to public inspection pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law; and

(xiii) provide for reasonable public access and documentation during normal business hours of all areas in which animals are held;

(i) Prepare and submit to appropriate governmental authorities short term, intermediate and long range plans and programs designed to meet the needs of the City, including the needs for construction and operation of facilities for the performance of the services and functions pursuant to this chapter;

(j) Work with the Commission of Animal Affairs (as described in Sections 3034 and 3035) to implement its recommendations;

(k) Award contracts for services and facilities with a public or private institution or agency, as may be necessary and proper to carry out the provisions of this chapter; and

(l) Promote and provide programs to reduce animal euthanasia to only those animals that are suffering from incurable, painful conditions or who have a history of aggression and biting that poses a threat to public safety.

§ 3032. Deputies. The commissioner shall appoint at least the following deputy commissioners:

(a) a deputy commissioner in charge of field services, who shall have at least four years' field management experience in animal rescue and control, and whose duties shall be to manage all activities of the department in the field and ensure that all field agents have professional training and certification in all aspects of field duties, including, but not limited to (i) basic animal handling, (ii) special handling of dangerous or vicious animals, wildlife and wild hybrids, (iii) animal capture, restraint and chemical immobilization techniques, (iv) identification of species and breeds, (v) detection of basic animal diseases, (vi) first aid for animals, (vii) humane animal euthanasia in the field, (viii) rabies and other zoonotic diseases, occupational illnesses and injuries, (ix) crisis intervention and agent safety, and (x) rescue vehicles and equipment;

(b) a deputy commissioner in charge of shelter services, who has at least four years' experience either as the executive head or officer of a humane organization devoted to animal welfare, such organization having an annual income of at least $150,000, or at least five years' experience as the executive head of a municipal animal shelter system, and whose duties shall be to manage and operate the City shelter system; and

(c) a deputy commissioner in charge of humane education, whose duties shall be to develop, promote and provide materials and programs to educate the public in all matters relating to the humane treatment of animals, including, but not limited to (i) creating and distributing published materials concerning basic issues of pet care and animal control, (ii) maintaining a resource center with audiovisual and printed materials on a broad range of animal related issues open to students, teachers and the public, (iii) promoting public awareness on animal issues in the print and broadcast media, (iv) promoting and providing a seven day a week telephone hot line to provide animal behavior advice and instructions, (v) training educators to visit the classroom in grades K-12 on such issues as pet care, overpopulation and other topics relating to animals, (vi) creating and distributing curriculum materials and programs at no charge to New York City schools, hospitals and community groups, (vii) promoting and providing a free certificate program in humane education for public school teachers.

§ 3033. Functions of the department. Except as otherwise provided by law, the department shall perform all the functions and operations that relate to the affairs and welfare of animals in New York City, including, where necessary and proper, performance of the functions and operations empowered in the commissioner by section three thousand thirty-one of this chapter.

§ 3034. Commission of animal affairs. (a) There shall be in the department a commission of animal affairs, which shall consist of eleven members. The members shall be comprised of the commissioner, one member to be appointed by each borough president, two members to be appointed by the City Council, and three city department representative members, one to be appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Health, one to be appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Parks and Recreation and the other by the Police Commissioner. The members appointed by the borough presidents shall be representative of the general public and have a demonstrated interest and experience in animal protection and welfare. At least one member appointed by the City Council shall be a licensed veterinarian practicing in the City of New York.

(b) The members of the commission shall be designated to sit for a term of two years from the date of their appointment, and shall meet no fewer than once per month. Any member who fails to attend four regularly scheduled meetings of the commission during their term of service shall be deemed to have resigned from the commission.

(c) The commission shall elect a chairman from among its appointed members. The term of office of chairman shall be for the calendar year or for the portion thereof remaining after each such chairman is elected.

(d) No two members of the commission shall be representatives, employees, or officers of the same group, association, corporation, organization, or city department.

(e) No member of the commission may be an officer, employee or stockholder of any contractor of the department.

(f) All members shall be residents of the City of New York.

(g) No member shall receive compensation for serving on the commission.

(h) A member of the commission of animal affairs other than the commissioner may be removed by the mayor on proof of official misconduct or of negligence in official duties of his office, or of mental or physical inability to perform his duties; provided that prior to removal he shall receive a copy of the charges and shall be entitled to a hearing before the mayor and to the assistance of counsel at such hearing.

(i) Any vacancies on the commission shall be filled by the same entity that appointed the vacating member, in accordance with the provisions of this section.

§ 3035. Powers and duties of the commission. In addition to any other powers and duties set forth in this chapter, the commission shall have the power and duty to:

(a) Investigate of its own motion any subject pertaining to any aspect of the department and its contractors; and for the purposes of such investigation, the commission shall have unrestricted access to all records and facilities of the department and its contractors.

(b) Hold public hearings and submit recommendations regarding animal issues to the department, City Council, and mayor;

(d) Study and recommend dog and horse licensing procedures and fees; and

(e) Render a written report of its activities to the mayor and City Council quarterly.

§ 3036. Severability. If any clause, sentence, subdivision, paragraph, section or part of sections 3030-3036 of this charter be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined to the operations of the specific invalid statutory language or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

Section 2. This local law shall take effect on January 1, 1998.

§ 3034. Commission of animal affairs. (a) There shall be in the department a commission of animal affairs, which shall consist of eleven members. The members shall be comprised of the commissioner, one member to be appointed by each borough president, two members to be appointed by the City Council, and three city department representative members, one to be appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Health, one to be appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Parks and Recreation and the other by the Police Commissioner. The members appointed by the borough presidents shall be representative of the general public and have a demonstrated interest and experience in animal protection and welfare. At least one member appointed by the City Council shall be a licensed veterinarian practicing in the City of New York.

(d) No two members of the commission shall be representatives, employees, or officers of the same group, association, corporation, organization, or city department.

(e) No member of the commission may be an officer, employee or stockholder of any contractor of the department.

(f) All members shall be residents of the City of New York.

(g) No member shall receive compensation for serving on the commission.

(i) Any vacancies on the commission shall be filled by the same entity that appointed the vacating member, in accordance with the provisions of this section.

§ 3035. Powers and duties of the commission. In addition to any other powers and duties set forth in this chapter, the commission shall have the power and duty to:

(b) Hold public hearings and submit recommendations regarding animal issues to the department, City Council, and mayor;

(d) Study and recommend dog and horse licensing procedures and fees; and

(e) Render a written report of its activities to the mayor and City Council quarterly.

§ 3036. Severability. If any clause, sentence, subdivision, paragraph, section or part of sections 3030-3036 of this charter be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined to the operations of the specific invalid statutory language or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

Section 2. This local law shall take effect on January 1, 1998.

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