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S 6733 NY

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

NY · session 2025-2026 · Senate · bill

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Introduced Mar 21, 2025

Latest action (May 18, 2026) REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO AGRICULTURE

Summary

This bill imposes a $5 animal offenses assistance fee on persons convicted of felonies, misdemeanors, and violations in addition to existing court fees. The bill establishes the animal offenses assistance fund in the state treasury to receive these fees and any other money credited to it. Funds from the account are made available to animal shelters to cover costs of caring for animals seized or surrendered as a result of abuse or animal-related offenses. The commissioner of agriculture and markets awards funds to animal shelters through an application process based on demonstrated needs for food, shelter, and veterinary care of abused and neglected animals. The bill defines eligible animal shelters to include SPCAs, humane societies, dog and cat protective associations, municipal pounds, and not-for-profit animal protection organizations.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Official abstract

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

Sponsor (1)

2 coauthors / cosponsors

Action history (4)

  1. Mar 21, 2025 REFERRED TO CODES · upper
  2. Jan 7, 2026 REFERRED TO CODES · upper
  3. Mar 13, 2026 NOTICE OF COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION - REQUESTED · upper
  4. May 18, 2026 REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO AGRICULTURE · upper

Text versions (2)

The published texts of this bill as it moves through the legislature. Each links to the official document on the state legislature site. Data from OpenStates.

  • S6733 · HTML
  • S6733 · PDF

Full text

Full text imported from assembly.state.ny.us

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Bill No.: Summary Actions Committee&nbspVotes Floor&nbspVotes Memo Text LFIN Chamber&nbspVideo/Transcript S06733 Summary: BILL NO S06733 &nbsp SAME AS SAME AS A08038

&nbsp SPONSOR PALUMBO &nbsp COSPNSR CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK, MURRAY &nbsp MLTSPNSR &nbsp Amd §60.35, Pen L; add §98-e, St Fin L &nbsp Imposes a fee for certain convictions to benefit animal shelters; establishes the animal offenses assistance fund.

Go to top S06733 Text:

STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________

6733

2025-2026 Regular Sessions

IN SENATE

March 21, 2025 ___________

Introduced by Sen. PALUMBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes

AN ACT to amend the penal law and the state finance law, in relation to a fee for certain convictions to benefit animal shelters and estab- lishing the animal offenses assistance fund

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows:

1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 60.35 of the 2 penal law, as amended by section 1 of part E of chapter 56 of the laws 3 of 2004, subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) as amended by section 1 of 4 part DD of chapter 56 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as 5 follows: 6 (a) Except as provided in section eighteen hundred nine of the vehicle 7 and traffic law and section 27.12 of the parks, recreation and historic 8 preservation law, whenever proceedings in an administrative tribunal or 9 a court of this state result in a conviction for a felony, a misdemea- 10 nor, or a violation, as these terms are defined in section 10.00 of this 11 chapter, there shall be levied at sentencing a mandatory surcharge, sex 12 offender registration fee, DNA databank fee and a crime victim assist- 13 ance fee in addition to any sentence required or permitted by law, in 14 accordance with the following schedule: 15 (i) a person convicted of a felony shall pay a mandatory surcharge of 16 three hundred dollars and a crime victim assistance fee of twenty-five 17 dollars , and an animal offenses assistance fee of five dollars ; 18 (ii) a person convicted of a misdemeanor shall pay a mandatory 19 surcharge of one hundred seventy-five dollars and a crime victim assist- 20 ance fee of twenty-five dollars , and an animal offenses assistance fee 21 of five dollars ; 22 (iii) a person convicted of a violation shall pay a mandatory 23 surcharge of ninety-five dollars and a crime victim assistance fee of

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10848-01-5

S. 6733 2

1 twenty-five dollars , and an animal offenses assistance fee of five 2 dollars ; 3 (iv) a person convicted of a sex offense as defined by subdivision two 4 of section one hundred sixty-eight-a of the correction law or a sexually 5 violent offense as defined by subdivision three of section one hundred 6 sixty-eight-a of the correction law shall, in addition to a mandatory 7 surcharge and crime victim assistance fee, pay a sex offender registra- 8 tion fee of fifty dollars. 9 (v) a person convicted of a designated offense as defined by subdivi- 10 sion seven of section nine hundred ninety-five of the executive law 11 shall, in addition to a mandatory surcharge and crime victim assistance 12 fee, pay a DNA databank fee of fifty dollars. 13 § 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 98-e to 14 read as follows: 15 § 98-e. Animal offenses assistance fund. 1. There is hereby estab- 16 lished in the custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of 17 taxation and finance a fund to be known as the "animal offenses assist- 18 ance fund". 19 2. Such fund shall consist of the animal offenses assistance fee 20 imposed pursuant to section 60.35 of the penal law, and all other moneys 21 credited or transferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant 22 to law. 23 3. (a) Moneys of the fund shall be available for costs and expenses of 24 animal shelters incurred in the care and maintenance of animals seized 25 and surrendered to shelters as a result of abuse or other offenses under 26 the penal law or the agriculture and markets law related to the treat- 27 ment of animals in this state. 28 (b) The commissioner of agriculture and markets shall award funds to 29 animals shelters through an application process to be designed by the 30 commissioner which shall demonstrate the needs of the shelter in provid- 31 ing care and treatment to abused and neglected animals including food, 32 shelter and veterinary care. 33 (c) For the purposes of this section, "animal shelter" shall mean a 34 public or not-for-profit entity owning, operating, or otherwise main- 35 taining a building, structure, or facility where temporary or permanent 36 housing and care is provided to stray, abandoned, abused, seized, 37 impounded, owner-surrendered or otherwise unwanted animals regardless of 38 whether or not such facility also serves as a personal residence. This 39 includes but is not limited to: facilities owned, operated, or main- 40 tained by a duly incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to 41 animals, duly incorporated humane society, dog or cat protective associ- 42 ation, or pound; any person in the employ of, or organization operated 43 by or under contract to a municipality to provide care for seized or 44 impounded animals; or any other not-for-profit organization involved in 45 the protection, care, or rehoming of animals. The term "animal shelter" 46 shall not include the personal residence of any foster care provider; a 47 facility commonly known as a boarding kennel, where the ownership of the 48 animal is not transferred; any entity licensed as a pet dealer pursuant 49 to article twenty-six-A of the agriculture and markets law; a duly 50 incorporated animal hospital owned, operated or supervised by a duly 51 licensed veterinarian; or any facility where the owner or operator is 52 licensed by the department of environmental conservation as a nuisance 53 wildlife control agent or wildlife rehabilitator. 54 4. Moneys of the fund shall be made available to the department of 55 agriculture and markets and shall be paid out of the fund on the audit 56 and warrant of the state comptroller on vouchers approved and certified

S. 6733 3

1 by the commissioner of agriculture and markets. Any interest received by 2 the comptroller on moneys on deposit in the fund shall be retained in 3 and become part of such fund. 4 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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