S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         3849
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                   February 20, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen.  LANZA  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture
       AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law and  the  administrative
         code of the city of New York, in relation to the inspection of certain
         horse stables in cities of one million or more
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a  new
    2  section 359-b to read as follows:
    3    S  359-B. INSPECTION OF CERTAIN HORSE STABLES IN CITIES OF ONE MILLION
    4  OR MORE. 1. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL APPLY ONLY TO:
    5    (A) HORSE STABLES IN CITIES HAVING A  POPULATION  OF  ONE  MILLION  OR
    6  MORE; AND
    7    (B)  HORSE  STABLES  FOR  RIDING HORSES, THE BOARDING OF HORSES OR FOR
    8  HORSES USED FOR RIDING LESSONS IN CITIES  HAVING  A  POPULATION  OF  ONE
    9  MILLION OR MORE.
   10    2.  NO  PROVISION OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE DEEMED TO APPLY TO CARRIAGE
   11  HORSES OR ANY HORSE THAT IS SUBJECT TO THE  PROVISIONS  OF  THE  RACING,
   12  PARI-MUTUEL WAGERING AND BREEDING LAW.
   13    3.  THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL,  AT  A MINIMUM, MAKE YEARLY INSPECTIONS OF
   14  HORSE STABLES TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE.
   15    4. THE COMMISSIONER IS AUTHORIZED TO PROMULGATE SUCH RULES  AND  REGU-
   16  LATIONS AS HE OR SHE DEEMS NECESSARY TO IMPLEMENT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS
   17  SECTION.
   18    5.  VIOLATION  OF  ANY  PROVISION OF THIS SECTION OR ANY RULE OR REGU-
   19  LATION PROMULGATED PURSUANT THERETO SHALL BE A CIVIL OFFENSE  PUNISHABLE
   20  BY  A  FINE OF NOT LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS NOR MORE THAN ONE THOU-
   21  SAND DOLLARS.
   22    S 2. Section 17-330 of the administrative code  of  the  city  of  New
   23  York,  as  added  by  local law number 2 of the city of New York for the
   24  year 1994, subdivisions b, c, g, l, n and p as amended and  subdivisions
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD01524-01-5
       S. 3849                             2
    1  q  and r as added by local law number 10 of the city of New York for the
    2  year 2010, is amended to read as follows:
    3    S  17-330  Regulations.  a.  The  commissioner, with the advice of the
    4  advisory board as hereinafter established AND SUBJECT TO THE  PROVISIONS
    5  OF  SECTION  THREE  HUNDRED  FIFTY-NINE-B OF THE AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS
    6  LAW, shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry out the
    7  provisions of this subchapter and to promote the health, safety and well
    8  being of the horses which are required to be licensed hereunder  and  of
    9  members of the public who hire such horses.
   10    b.  1.  Horses  shall not be left untethered or unattended except when
   11  confined in a stable or other enclosure. When tethered, all horses shall
   12  be secured by the use of a rope attached to the halter, not to  the  bit
   13  or bridle.
   14    2.  Horse  bridles and halters shall be used on carriage horses at all
   15  times when operating a carriage.
   16    c. Standing stalls for carriage horses shall be sixty square  feet  or
   17  larger,  with  a minimum width of seven feet, and shall be configured to
   18  permit a carriage horse to turn around and safely lay  down  within  the
   19  stall.  Horses  shall  be un-tied when stabled. A halter shall be on the
   20  horse or hung outside each stall at all times.
   21    d. Horses shall be adequately quartered. Stables and stalls  shall  be
   22  clean  and  dry and sufficient bedding of straw, shavings or other suit-
   23  able materials shall be furnished and changed as often as  necessary  to
   24  maintain  them in a clean and dry condition. Adequate heating and venti-
   25  lation shall be maintained in stables as prescribed by the  [commission-
   26  er] STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS.
   27    e. Owners shall insure that appropriate and sufficient food and drink-
   28  ing water are available for each horse and that while working each horse
   29  is permitted to eat and drink at reasonable intervals.
   30    f.  Owners  shall  not allow a horse to be worked on a public highway,
   31  path or street during adverse  weather  or  other  dangerous  conditions
   32  which  are  a threat to the health or safety of the horse. A horse being
   33  worked when such conditions develop shall be immediately returned to the
   34  stable by the most direct route.
   35    g. 1. Carriage horses shall not be at work for more than nine hours in
   36  any continuous twenty-four hour period. Riding horses shall  not  be  at
   37  work  for more than eight hours in any continuous twenty-four hour peri-
   38  od. Rest periods for carriage horses and riding horses shall be of  such
   39  duration  and at such intervals as the commissioner shall prescribe, but
   40  rest periods for carriage horses shall in no  event  be  for  less  than
   41  fifteen minutes after each two hour working period, and the time of such
   42  rest  period  shall  be  included in calculating the number of hours the
   43  horse has worked in any twenty-four hour period. During such rest  peri-
   44  ods, the person in charge of such carriage horses shall make fresh water
   45  available to the horse.
   46    2.  Carriage  horses shall receive no less than five weeks of vacation
   47  or furlough every twelve months at a horse stable facility which  allows
   48  daily  access  to  paddock or pasture turnout. Proof of such vacation or
   49  furlough shall be provided upon request to  the  department  and/or  the
   50  ASPCA.
   51    h.  Carriage  horses shall not be driven at a pace faster than a trot.
   52  Riding horses may be ridden at a canter but shall not be galloped.
   53    i. Horses shall be suitably trimmed or  shod,  and  saddles,  bridles,
   54  bits,  road harnesses and any other equipment used on or with a horse at
   55  work shall be maintained and properly fitted as prescribed by regulation
   56  of the commissioner.
       S. 3849                             3
    1    j. Stables in which horses used in a rental horse  business  are  kept
    2  shall  be  open for inspection by authorized officers, veterinarians and
    3  employees of the STATE department OF AGRICULTURE AND  MARKETS,  and  any
    4  persons  designated by the STATE commissioner OF AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS
    5  to  enforce  the provisions of this subchapter AND THE STATE AGRICULTURE
    6  AND MARKETS LAW, agents of the ASPCA, police officers, and employees  of
    7  the department of consumer affairs.
    8    k. An owner shall be jointly liable with the person to whom a horse is
    9  rented  for  any  violation  of  this  subchapter  or of any regulations
   10  promulgated hereunder committed by such person if the  owner  had  know-
   11  ledge  or notice of the act which gave rise to the violation at the time
   12  of or prior to its occurrence or under the circumstances should have had
   13  knowledge or notice of such act and did not attempt to prevent  it  from
   14  occurring.
   15    l.  An owner of a rental horse business shall keep such records as the
   16  commissioner of health shall prescribe including but not  limited  to  a
   17  consecutive daily record of the movements of each licensed horse includ-
   18  ing  the driver's name and identification number, if applicable, rider's
   19  name, the horse's identification number, vehicle license  plate  number,
   20  if  applicable,  time of leaving stable and time of return to stable. An
   21  owner of a rental horse business shall also keep written  protocols  for
   22  emergencies, including but not limited to primary and secondary emergen-
   23  cy contact information for each horse owner and insurance company infor-
   24  mation, if applicable. Such records shall be kept on the premises of the
   25  stable  where the horses are kept and shall be available for inspection.
   26  The commissioner may, in his or her discretion, require  a  time  clock,
   27  date  stamp  or time stamp where such commissioner believes it is appro-
   28  priate.
   29    m. A horse required to be licensed pursuant to this  subchapter  which
   30  is  lame  or  suffers  from  a  physical  condition or illness making it
   31  unsuitable for work may be ordered  to  be  removed  from  work  by  the
   32  commissioner  or  his  or  her designee or by an agent of the ASPCA or a
   33  veterinarian employed or retained  by  such  commissioner  or  ASPCA  to
   34  inspect licensed horses. A horse for which such an order has been issued
   35  shall  not be returned to work until it has recovered from the condition
   36  which caused the issuance of the  order  or  until  such  condition  has
   37  improved  sufficiently  that  its  return to work will not aggravate the
   38  condition or otherwise endanger the health of the horse. In any proceed-
   39  ing, under this section it shall be presumed that a horse which is found
   40  at work within forty-eight hours after  the  issuance  of  an  order  of
   41  removal  and  which  is disabled by the same condition which caused such
   42  order to be issued has been  returned  to  work  in  violation  of  this
   43  section. Such presumption may be rebutted by offering a certificate of a
   44  veterinarian indicating suitability to return to work prior to the expi-
   45  ration of the forty-eight hour period.
   46    n.  Every horse required to be licensed hereunder shall be examined by
   47  a veterinarian prior to its use in a rental horse business, at  time  of
   48  each  license renewal, and thereafter at intervals of not less than four
   49  months and not greater than eight months. The examination shall  include
   50  the general physical condition of the horse, its teeth, hoofs and shoes,
   51  its  stamina and physical ability to perform the work or duties required
   52  of it, and whether it is current on vaccinations,  including  those  for
   53  rabies, Eastern/Western equine encephalitis, West Nile virus, Rhinopneu-
   54  monitis  virus,  and tetanus, or any other vaccinations the Commissioner
   55  may require by rule. The examination shall also include a record of  any
   56  injury, disease, or deficiency observed by the veterinarian at the time,
       S. 3849                             4
    1  together  with  any  prescription or humane correction or disposition of
    2  the same. A signed health  certificate  by  the  examining  veterinarian
    3  shall  be  maintained  at  the  stable  premises  at which such horse is
    4  located  and  shall  be  displayed  on the outside of [the] such horse's
    5  individual stall. An original of said certificate shall be mailed by the
    6  examining veterinarian to the department.
    7    o. 1. Carriage horses shall not be worked whenever the air temperature
    8  is 18 degrees fahrenheit or below.
    9    2. Carriage horses shall not be worked whenever the air temperature is
   10  90 degrees fahrenheit or above.
   11    3. For purposes of this subdivision, temperatures shall be those meas-
   12  ured by a state-of-the-art thermometer, as determined by the commission-
   13  er, as measured by the commissioner or his or  her  designee  at  street
   14  level  at one of the stands designated pursuant to section 19-174 of the
   15  code.
   16    4. If the temperature exceeds  the  limits  set  by  this  subdivision
   17  during the course of a particular ride, at the ride's conclusion, but no
   18  later than one-half hour after the temperature exceeds these limits, the
   19  operator  must  immediately  cease working, move the horse to an area of
   20  shelter, where available, rest the horse and then walk  it  directly  to
   21  its stable. All horses so returned to their stable must be unbridled and
   22  unharnessed  and  remain at the stable for at least one hour, and there-
   23  after, until such time as the weather conditions shall once again  reach
   24  acceptable limits.
   25    5. No violation of this subdivision shall occur unless a written warn-
   26  ing of violation is first issued by the authorized enforcement personnel
   27  to  the operator advising that the air temperature limits of this subdi-
   28  vision have been exceeded and directing that the operator cease  working
   29  a  carriage horse in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision.
   30  A violation of this subdivision may be issued if an  operator  fails  to
   31  comply with the direction contained in the written warning of violation.
   32  Failure  to comply with such direction shall not be construed as a sepa-
   33  rate violation.
   34    p. Every carriage horse required to be  licensed  hereunder  shall  be
   35  equipped with a manure catching device. Such devices shall be affixed or
   36  attached  to the carriage and shall at no time be affixed or attached to
   37  the horse.
   38    q. Carriage horses shall not be younger than five years  at  the  time
   39  placed  into  service  in  any  rental  horse  business and licensed. No
   40  carriage horse older than 26 years of age shall be licensed to work in a
   41  rental horse business. Acceptable proof of age shall  include  a  signed
   42  letter  from  a licensed veterinarian stating the horse's age, a certif-
   43  icate from an officially recognized national registry of horses  stating
   44  the horse's age, or another industry approved method of certifying age.
   45    r.  Owners  shall  insure  that  during the months of November through
   46  April every carriage is equipped with a heavy winter horse blanket large
   47  enough to cover the horse from crest of neck to top of rump. Such  blan-
   48  kets shall be used to cover carriage horses in cold weather.  Waterproof
   49  horse  blankets  of a lighter material shall be provided at all times to
   50  cover the horse from withers to tail during periods of wet weather  when
   51  the air temperature is 55 degrees or below.
   52    S  3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
   53  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.