A 640: Relates to the creation of a court appointed advocate for animals.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 640 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, SIMON, PAULIN, BURDICK, GONZALEZ-RO- JAS, MITAYNES, DINOWITZ, EPSTEIN, COLTON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to the creation of a court appointed advocate for animals The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The judiciary law is amended by adding a new article 22-D 2 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 22-D 4 SPECIAL ADVOCATES FOR ANIMAL WELFARE PROGRAM 5 Section 859-a. Special advocate in proceedings regarding animal welfare. 6 § 859-a. Special advocate in proceedings regarding animal welfare. 1. 7 In any civil or criminal proceeding regarding the welfare of an animal, 8 the court may order, upon its own initiative or upon request of a party 9 or counsel for a party, that a separate advocate be appointed to repre- 10 sent the interests of such animal and to help ensure the well-being of 11 any living animal victim. If a court orders that an advocate be 12 appointed to represent the interests of an animal, the court shall 13 appoint such advocate from a list provided to the court by the chief 14 judge of the state of New York pursuant to subdivision five of this 15 section. 16 2. The advocate shall: 17 (a) monitor the case; 18 (b) have access to relevant files, documents, and reports related to 19 the case; 20 (c) review records relating to the condition of the animal and the 21 defendant's actions, including, but not limited to, records from animal 22 control officers, officers of a duly incorporated society for the 23 prevention of cruelty to animals, veterinarians and police officers; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02009-01-5 
 A. 640 2 1 (d) share with attorneys for the state and defendant any information 2 new to the case or prepared by the advocate for presentation to the 3 court or either party; and 4 (e) present information and recommendations to the court pertinent to 5 determinations that relate to the interests of the animal in question, 6 provided such information and recommendations result from executing the 7 duties undertaken pursuant to this subdivision. Such information and 8 recommendations may be based upon the knowledge and experience of the 9 advocate or another specialist with specific knowledge and experience 10 related to the type of animal involved in the case. 11 3. The advocate may: 12 (a) consult any individual with information that could aid the judge 13 or fact finder; 14 (b) attend hearings; and 15 (c) as needed and appropriate, provide a victim impact statement to 16 the court. 17 4. Advocates shall not have discovery or subpoena powers. 18 5. The office of court administration shall maintain a list of attor- 19 neys and supervised law students who have indicated a willingness to 20 serve as advocates under this section on a voluntary basis and are 21 eligible to do so. Law student advocates shall be supervised in accord- 22 ance with sections four hundred seventy-eight and four hundred eighty- 23 four of this chapter and any other applicable laws, rules and regu- 24 lations. 25 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 26 it shall have become a law.