(1) Any person who is required to obtain or renew a dog license pursuant to this act but fails to do so may be issued a notice of violation, returnable to the environmental control board or health tribunal of the office of administrative trials and hearings of the city of New York, and may be subject to a civil penalty of not more than seventy-five dollars for the first violation and no more than one hundred dollars when such person was found to have violated this section within the preceding five years. Such notice of violation may be issued by any officer or agent of the department of health and mental hygiene of such city, or any other agency or entity designated by the commis- sioner of health and mental hygiene or such city, when such officer or agent observes the dog for which such license has not been obtained or renewed. (2) Notwithstanding subdivision one of this section, such notice of violation may not be issued to a person when such person is in the course of obtaining or renewing a license for the dog for which the notice of violation would be issued. It shall be an affirmative defense to any such violation that: (i) the person required to obtain or renew a dog license duly applied for such license or renewal prior to the date of the violation but the department of health and mental hygiene of such city had not issued or renewed such license; or (ii) such person had previously procured a license that was valid for a term that ended not more than thirty days before such notice of violation was issued and such person duly applied for renewal of such license subsequent to such notice of violation being issued. (3) Three quarters of any amount paid as a penalty for a violation pursuant to this section shall be forwarded to the city comptroller for deposit in the animal population control fund created pursuant to section 17-812 of the administrative code of the city of New York, and the remainder shall be used solely for carrying out the provisions of this act, establishing, maintaining, or funding shelters for lost, strayed, or homeless animals, providing or funding public education regarding responsible animal care and dog licensing requirements, and conducting other animal care and control activities. N.Y. Lost and Strayed Animals Law § 3
Amended by New York Laws 2014, ch. 485,Sec. 1, eff. 2/15/2015.