Int. No. 1121
By The Speaker (Council Member Mark-Viverito)
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to establishing the fees for licensing dogs owned or harbored by city residents; and to repeal certain sections of such code relating thereto
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Section 17-813 of chapter 8 of title 17 of the administrative code of the city of New York is REPEALED and a new section 17-813 is added to read as follows:
§ 17-813 Dog license fees.
a. Dog license required. A person who owns or harbors a dog in the city of New York shall obtain a license and tag for the dog from the commissioner.
b. License base fee. 1. The base fee for a dog license shall be $8.50 per year for licenses applied for through December 31, 2016; $15 per year for licenses applied for beginning on January 1, 2017; $20 per year for licenses applied for beginning on January 1, 2018; and $25 per year for licenses applied for beginning on January 1, 2019. If the commissioner offers a license for longer than a one-year period, the fee for such license will be determined by the base fee imposed during the year for which such license is applied. The base fee shall include the cost of a standard tag bearing the dog’s license number.
2. The base fee and any additional or late fees required by this section shall be paid when a person applies for a license, except that when a person adopts a dog from an animal shelter operated on behalf of the city of New York, the commissioner shall waive the fee for the first year.
3. The commissioner may, at his or her discretion and in accordance with any other applicable law, waive all or part of the license fee to encourage the adoption of dogs deemed to be under-adopted.
c. Additional fee for an unsterilized dog. In addition to the base fee required by subdivision b of this section, there shall be an additional fee of $25.50 per year for a dog that has not been sterilized. Such fee shall not be imposed where an owner provides with the license application, or states that the same was provided with a previous license application for the same dog, any of the following:
1. a statement signed by a licensed veterinarian that the dog has been sterilized; or
2. a statement signed by a licensed veterinarian that he or she has examined the dog and found that, because of either old age or a permanent medical condition, the life of the dog would be endangered by sterilization; or
3. a statement, approved as to form by the commissioner and sworn to by the applicant, that the dog has been sterilized.
d. Late fee. Any person who on or prior to December 31, 2016 fails to renew a dog license prior to the date it expires shall be required to pay a late fee of $1. On and after January 1, 2017, the late fee shall be $2.
e. Specialty tags. The commissioner may promulgate rules regarding the use of specialty tags for dogs to wear in lieu of the standard tag. An owner choosing to have his or her dog wear a specialty tag shall pay a fee of $25 in addition to the base fee and any cost incurred by the department to make such tag available.
f. Replacement tags. The commissioner may issue a new tag to a dog owner if the tag bearing the license number for a dog has been lost or destroyed upon payment of a $7.50 replacement fee. An owner who chooses to receive a replacement specialty tag in lieu of a standard tag shall pay a fee of $32.50 in addition to any cost incurred by the department to make such tag available.
g. Transferability. A license or tag issued pursuant to this section may not be transferred to another person or dog.
h. Electronic submission. The commissioner may require by rule that an application and any supporting documentation required by this section be submitted electronically.
§ 2. This local law takes effect immediately.