---
type: "Bill"
title: "Relates to requiring the best interest of a companion animal to be considered when awarding possession in a divorce"
description: "Relates to requiring the court to consider the best interest of a companion animal when awarding possession in a divorce or separation proceeding."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ny"
legislature: "New York Legislature"
session: "2021-2022"
identifier: "S 4248"
citation: "New York S 4248 (2021-2022)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["SKOUFIS"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 14
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2021-02-03"
last_action: "2021-10-25"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/fe936a3d-c0a0-4ab2-923e-3442ca61e289"
source_url: "http://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/S4248"
source_hash: "6bbab0fffb1b31c8af4469edc607044221c4f8eed80bbfd29a2f61605091c712"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ny"]
---

# New York S 4248 (2021-2022) — Relates to requiring the best interest of a companion animal to be considered when awarding possession in a divorce

Relates to requiring the court to consider the best interest of a companion animal when awarding possession in a divorce or separation proceeding.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **S4248** (committee substitute) — [source](http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?sh=printbill&bn=S4248&term=2021&Text=Y)

## Votes

- Judiciary Vote — **15–0** (pass) · upper
- Floor Vote — **62–1** (pass) · upper
- Assembly Vote — **132–15** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- SKOUFIS — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-02-03** REFERRED TO JUDICIARY `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-23** 1ST REPORT CAL.622
- **2021-03-23** 1ST REPORT CAL.622
- **2021-03-24** 2ND REPORT CAL.
- **2021-03-25** ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
- **2021-05-05** PASSED SENATE `passage`
- **2021-05-05** DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
- **2021-05-05** REFERRED TO JUDICIARY `referral-committee`
- **2021-05-10** SUBSTITUTED FOR A5775
- **2021-05-10** ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.322
- **2021-05-20** PASSED ASSEMBLY `passage`
- **2021-05-20** RETURNED TO SENATE
- **2021-10-13** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR `executive-receipt`
- **2021-10-25** SIGNED CHAP.509 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/fe936a3d-c0a0-4ab2-923e-3442ca61e289`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New York legislature records).