Senator Gallivan's Votes for the Week of April 8, 2024

The following bills were approved in the NYS Senate.  Senator Gallivan's vote is noted.

S4133A  Authorizes county highway superintendents to rent road machinery from any city, town or village; authorizes town highway superintendents to contract for the use of certain services and town machinery, tools and equipment with another municipality, district corporation, school district, community college or any unit of the state university.  AYE

S3302  Amends environmental conservation law to prohibit any person or legal entity from importing, exporting, transporting, processing, selling, offering for sale, otherwise exchanging or gifting, or possessing any part or product of an African Elephant, Leopard, Lion, Giraffe, or White or Black Rhinoceros. Exceptions include when owned before the act takes effect, is inherited, held by a chartered museum.  NAY (Hunting lawfully permitted in Africa.)

S6211C This bill expands the definition of a wild animal and adds a definition of an exotic animal. It also prohibits exotic or wild animals from being possessed, harbored, sold, bartered, transferred, exchanged, or imported. The bill also adds certain wild or exotic animals to the list of noncompanion animals such as kangaroos, elephants, hyenas, rhinoceroses, seals, ostriches, cassowaries, sloths, bears, cynomys, and capybaras. C PRINT - clarifies that a person who already owns or harbors an exotic animal for use as a pet prior to the effective date may retain possession of the animal for the remainder of its life, with exceptions (i.e. having not been convicted of cruelty to animals or under judicial order prohibiting possession of animals; applies to DEC within six months of effective date for a license).  AYE

S485B Requires the New York state thruway authority to submit biannual reports to the legislature of all fiscal transactions, receipts and expenditures, with each report covering activity from the prior six months. B PRINT - amends the effective date to be the first of January next succeeding.  AYE

S3117A Includes Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases as occupational diseases for purposes of workers' compensation; clarifies that disability includes disability caused by Lyme disease or other tick-borne diseases; requires insurance coverage of long term medical care for Lyme disease and other tick borne diseases.  AYE

S253A Directs the council on the arts to establish criteria and guidelines for the establishment of state designated arts and cultural districts. A PRINT - adds Arts Educators and Arts Education to the determination guidelines.  AYE

S142 The bill would provide a new section within Article 26 of Agriculture and Markets Law to restrict the surgical devocalization of a dog or cat to only instances when the procedure is medically necessary to treat or relieve a physical illness, disease, injury, or correct a congenital abnormality.  AYE

S761 The bill would amend the Agriculture and Markets Law to eliminate the term 'serious' from the level of physical injury required to charge someone with felony aggravated cruelty to animals.  AYE

S3431A  The bill would amend the agriculture and markets law and penal law regarding animal fighting by making technical corrections, clarifying intent, and creating new penalties to existing law. This bill adds four new sub-sections (sections 351a, 351b, 351c, 351d) which is intended to elevate the penalty for highly-organized criminal fighting operations. The bill also makes a technical correction to the Penal Law to allow those repeat animal cruelty felony offenders to be eligible for second felony offender status.   AYE

S5325 COSPONSOR Enacts "Tucker's law"; removes the provision that provides that any term of imprisonment for a violation of aggravated cruelty to animals may not exceed two years.  AYE

S6365  The bill would amend section 373 of Agriculture and Markets Law to require the property owner or lessor of property that has been vacated as a result of an eviction, foreclosure, default, or abandonment, to inspect the property within three days of such known vacancy to search for the presence of abandoned animals.  AYE

S6796A   All corporations, association or other entities offering for sale or purchases of a thoroughbred or standbred horses, including live-stock auction houses must have signage posted, that states it is illegal to sell or transfer a thoroughbred or Standardbred for the purpose of slaughter will have penalties. A PRINT - no longer requires an Ag and Markets to require an agent be present at each livestock action only that they make a "good faith effort" to do so. Moreover, such signage must also reference it is illegal to sell or transfer a horse to be slaughtered for the purpose of human or animal consumption and explicitly state penalties.  AYE

S9036  PROGRAM BILL - Provides for emergency appropriation through April 15, 2024 for the support of government.   AYE