Assembly BillIntroduced
A 6459: Relates to penalties for intent to cause injury to an animal.
What A 6459 does, verified January 8, 2026
The proposed law aims to strengthen animal cruelty penalties in New York. A person can be guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals if they intentionally cause serious physical injury to a companion animal or recklessly engage in conduct that creates a grave risk of serious physical injury or death to an animal. The law defines aggravated cruelty as conduct intended to cause extreme physical pain or done in a depraved and sadistic manner. The proposed law will take effect immediately, increasing the penalties for animal cruelty in the state of New York.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: referred to agriculture (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about A 6459
- What is the current status of A 6459?
- As of January 8, 2026, A 6459 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "referred to agriculture".
- Did A 6459 pass?
- Not yet. A 6459 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote A 6459, and where is it now?
- A 6459 was authored by Asm. Michael Tannousis with 1 coauthor. Its committee of record is Assembly Agriculture.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | referred to agriculture |
| Mar. 05, 2025 | referred to agriculture |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, March 5, 2025 · 263 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6459 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 5, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. TANNOUSIS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to penal- ties for intent to cause injury to an animal The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 353-a of the agriculture and 2 markets law, as added by chapter 118 of the laws of 1999, is amended to 3 read as follows: 4 1. A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals when[,]: (a) 5 with no justifiable purpose, [he or she] such person intentionally kills 6 or intentionally causes serious physical injury to a companion animal 7 with aggravated cruelty or (b) under circumstances evincing a depraved 8 indifference to the life of an animal, such person recklessly engages in 9 conduct which creates a grave risk of serious physical injury or death 10 to the animal, and thereby causes serious physical injury or death to 11 such animal. For purposes of this section, "aggravated cruelty" shall 12 mean conduct which: (i) is intended to cause extreme physical pain; or 13 (ii) is done or carried out in an especially depraved or sadistic 14 manner. 15 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07513-01-5
Text of A 6459 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions