A 690: Relates to aggravated cruelty to animals in the presence of a child; increases the potential term of imprisonment from two to four years when such crime is committed in the presence of a child; defines presence of a child.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 690 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to aggra- vated cruelty to animals in the presence of a child The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 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 3. Aggravated cruelty to animals is a felony. A defendant convicted of 5 this offense shall be sentenced pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision 6 one of section 55.10 of the penal law provided, however, that any term 7 of imprisonment imposed for violation of this section shall be a defi- 8 nite sentence, which may not exceed two years, except that any person 9 who commits one or more of the acts specified in subdivision one of this 10 section in the presence of a child may be sentenced to a period not to 11 exceed four years. For purposes of this section, "in the presence of a 12 child" shall mean in the physical presence of a child under the age of 13 eighteen knowing or having reason to know that child is present and may 14 see or hear such act. 15 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 16 it shall have become a law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02564-01-5