New York Assembly Bill A08235

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 5/5/25
• Refer: 5/5/25
• Report Pass: 6/13/25
• Refer: 6/13/25
• Report Pass: 6/17/25
• Engrossed: 6/17/25
• Refer: 6/17/25

Caption

Designates dog control officers of the village of Holley, named by the village board as constables, as peace officers.

Summary

A08235 amends the New York Criminal Procedure Law to add dog control officers in the Village of Holley to the list of peace officers. The bill allows those officers, at the discretion of the village board, to be designated as constables for the limited purpose of enforcing Article 26 of the Agriculture and Markets Law and issuing appearance tickets under Article 7 of that law. The measure also makes clear that this designation does not itself authorize the officers to carry, possess, repair, or dispose of firearms unless they separately obtain the proper license under Penal Law section 400.00. The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Impact

If enacted, the bill would create a village-specific exception in the Criminal Procedure Law by expanding peace officer status for Holley’s dog control officers when designated as constables. This would give those officers additional enforcement authority related to animal control and appearance tickets, while leaving firearm authority unchanged unless independently licensed under state law. The bill affects local law enforcement powers, the Agriculture and Markets Law, and the Penal Law licensing framework.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests broad support for the bill. It advanced through committee with favorable votes and passed the Assembly floor by a substantial margin, indicating little organized opposition in the recorded proceedings. The absence of committee transcript discussion also suggests the measure was treated as a relatively routine local authorization bill.

Contention

The main policy issue is the scope of authority granted to a small local enforcement role: supporters appear to favor giving Holley dog control officers peace officer status to improve enforcement of animal-related laws, while the bill carefully limits that authority to specific statutory purposes. Any concern would likely center on whether a village should have this enhanced enforcement power and on the explicit exclusion of firearm authority without a separate license, but no recorded debate or testimony is available showing significant opposition.