STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 652 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, BORES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to provid- ing for cage-free egg production The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby 2 finds the following: 3 a. According to the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal 4 Production, food animals that are treated well and provided with at 5 least minimum accommodation of their natural behaviors and physical 6 needs are healthier and safer for human consumption. 7 b. A key finding from the World Health Organization and Food and Agri- 8 cultural Organization of the United Nations Salmonella Risk Assessment 9 was that reducing flock prevalence results in a directly proportional 10 reduction in human health risk. 11 c. Egg-laying hens subjected to stress are more likely to have higher 12 levels of pathogens in their intestines and the conditions increase the 13 likelihood that consumers will be exposed to higher levels of food-borne 14 pathogens. 15 d. Salmonella is the most commonly diagnosed food-borne illness in the 16 United States. 17 e. It is the intent of the legislature to protect consumers from the 18 deleterious, health, safety, and welfare effects of the sale and 19 consumption of eggs derived from egg-laying hens that are exposed to 20 significant stress and may result in increased exposure to disease 21 pathogens including salmonella. 22 § 2. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new 23 section 160-f to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02001-01-5
A. 652 2 1 § 160-f. Cage-free egg production. 1. Notwithstanding any other 2 provision of law: 3 a. A farm owner or operator shall not confine or cause to be confined 4 an egg-laying hen in an enclosure other than a cage-free housing system. 5 b. No person shall sell or contract to sell a shell egg or liquid egg 6 for human consumption if the seller knows or should have known that the 7 shell egg or liquid egg is the product of an egg-laying hen that was 8 confined in a manner that is inconsistent with the requirements of this 9 section, regardless of whether the shell egg or liquid egg was produced 10 in or out of the state. 11 2. This section shall not apply to any of the following: 12 a. Medical research; 13 b. Examination, testing, individual treatment, or operation for veter- 14 inary purposes by a licensed veterinarian; 15 c. Transportation of an egg-laying hen; 16 d. State or county fair exhibitions and similar exhibitions; 17 e. 4-H programs administered by the National Institute of Food and 18 Agriculture of the United States department of agriculture and similar 19 youth programs; 20 f. Slaughter of an egg-laying hen in accordance with applicable laws 21 and regulations; or 22 g. Temporary periods for animal husbandry purposes of no more than six 23 hours in any twenty-four-hour period, and no more than twenty-four hours 24 in any thirty-day period. 25 3. For purposes of this section: 26 a. "Cage-free housing system" means an indoor or outdoor controlled 27 environment for an egg-laying hen within which: 28 (i) An egg-laying hen is free to roam unrestricted except by exterior 29 walls; 30 (ii) An egg-laying hen is provided with, at a minimum, the amount of 31 usable floor space per hen required by the two thousand seventeen 32 edition of the united egg producers' animal husbandry guidelines for 33 United States egg-laying flocks: guidelines for cage-free production, or 34 a subsequent version of such guidelines recognized by the department in 35 a rule or regulation which provides equal or more usable floor space per 36 egg-laying hen. 37 (iii) An egg-laying hen is provided enrichments that allow a hen to 38 exhibit natural behaviors, including, at a minimum, a scratch area, a 39 perch, a nest box, and a dust bathing area; 40 (iv) A farm employee can provide care while standing somewhere within 41 a hen's usable floor space; and 42 (v) Each egg-laying hen is provided unlimited access to the outdoors 43 in a safe and secure environment that prevents access to predators. 44 b. "Commercial farm" means the land, building, and support facilities 45 that are used for the commercial production of eggs intended for human 46 consumption. 47 c. "Egg-laying hen" means a female domesticated chicken, turkey, duck, 48 goose, or guinea fowl kept for the purpose of egg production. 49 d. "Farm owner or operator" means any person who owns or controls the 50 operation of a commercial farm. 51 e. "Liquid egg" means an egg of an egg-laying hen broken from the 52 shells that is intended for human consumption, with the yolks and whites 53 in their natural proportions, or with the yolks and whites separated, 54 mixed, or mixed and strained. Liquid eggs do not include combination 55 food products, including pancake mixes, cake mixes, cookies, pizzas, 56 cookie dough, ice cream, or similar processed or prepared food products
A. 652 3 1 that are comprised of more than liquid eggs, sugar, salt, water, season- 2 ing, coloring, flavoring, preservatives, stabilizers, and similar food 3 additives. 4 f. "Shell-egg" means a whole egg of an egg-laying hen in its shell 5 form that is intended for human consumption. 6 g. "Usable floor space" means the total square footage of floor space 7 provided to each egg-laying hen, calculated by dividing the total square 8 footage of floor space in an enclosure by the number of hens in that 9 enclosure and shall include ground space and elevated level or nearly 10 level platforms to accommodate egg flow upon which a hen can roost but 11 shall not include any perch or ramp. 12 4. The department shall inspect at reasonable times commercial farms 13 engaged in the production of eggs for the purpose of enforcing the 14 provisions of this section. 15 5. The department shall promulgate such rules and regulations as are 16 necessary and appropriate to carry out the provisions of this section. 17 6. A violation of this section shall be punishable by a civil penalty 18 of up to five thousand dollars for the first violation and up to twen- 19 ty-five thousand dollars for any subsequent violation. Any civil penal- 20 ties collected pursuant to this section shall be paid to the animal 21 population control fund established by section ninety-seven-xx of the 22 state finance law. 23 7. The commissioner may institute such action at law or in equity as 24 may appear necessary to enforce compliance with any provisions of this 25 section or of the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and, in 26 addition to any other remedy under article three of this chapter or 27 otherwise, may apply for relief by injunction without being compelled to 28 allege or prove that an adequate remedy at law does not exist. Such 29 application may be made to the supreme court in any district or county 30 as provided in the civil practice law and rules, or to the supreme court 31 in the third judicial district. 32 8. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any 33 protections afforded to animals under any other provisions of law or 34 rules or regulations. 35 9. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any town, 36 city, village or county in New York state from enacting a local law or 37 ordinance to provide for the humane treatment of and prevention of 38 cruelty to animals, provided, however, that no such law shall conflict 39 with the provisions of this section. 40 § 3. Article 13-A of the agriculture and markets law, is amended by 41 adding a new article heading to read as follows: 42 SALE OF EGGS 43 § 4. This act shall take effect twenty-four months after it shall have 44 become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 45 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 46 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 47 on or before such effective date.