Several bills proposed by Assemblyman Andy Goodell and state Sen. Cathy Young, including one that would make it a felony to injure a police animal, failed to get through the New York State Legislature this year.

However, neither said they are giving up on their legislation.

In May, Young, R-Olean, stood next to members of police to announce bipartisan support for Mitchell’s Law. Named after Jamestown Police Department’s K-9 Mitchell, the law introduced in January would have made it a felony to injure a K-9 officer in the line of duty. K-9 Mitchell was injured in November while assisting in the apprehension of murder suspect Keith Robbins.

Young managed to get a Democrat bill sponsor in Assemblyman Matthew Titone, D-Staten Island. Despite gaining passage through the Senate, the bill didn’t get out of committee in the Assembly.

“Sometimes legislation takes a little bit of time to get through,” Young said. “I passed it in the Senate but it got stalled in the Assembly. There are a lot of animal advocates in the Assembly. I hope through continued communication with them that we’ll be able to get this through.”

A proposal by Young to limit a state parole violator’s time in a county jail failed to get out of the legislature. Young said the bill would provide relief to county governments by moving an alleged state parole violator to a state correctional facility within 72 hours of their original detention in a county facility. The bill memo states that county budgets are facing strains due to costs associated with maintaining state violators.

While the bill passed through the Senate, it didn’t get out of the Assembly before the end of session.

“The cost of housing prisoners has skyrocketed especially for those who require specialized care or prescription drugs because of medical conditions,” she said. “It piles the cost onto local taxpayers and I think there should be relief.”

Goodell, R-Jamestown, had a bill he said would make it easier for domestic abuse victims to obtain an apartment. For landlords, he said the bill would allow them to be reimbursed for any kind of damages committed by an abuser if an altercation occurs. The abuser would be paying for the damages, he said.

“If landlords rent to a victim, the chances statistically are high that some point the victim will get back with their abuser,” he said. “The landlord knows there’s a high probability that the abuser will make up and get back together. At that point in time, one of two things will occur. Either the abuser will move in with the victim or the victim will want to break her lease and move back with them.”

Goodell said either option is bad for the landlord as there’s possibility for damages to the apartment if another altercation occurs. In addition, the victim has the ability to break the lease and get away from the abuse.

Through the proposal, Goodell said the financial burden of damages would change from the landlord who’s trying to help a victim to the abuser. Goodell said he’ll be seeking support from Democratic committee chairs. He said there’s a lot of support for helping domestic abuse victims.

“This is certainly a means of helping victims,” he said.

The assemblyman had another proposal that he said would encourage people on unemployment to get back into the workforce. Specifically, he said the proposal would allow beneficiaries to accept part-time work without losing a large percentage of their benefits each day they work. As it stands now, he said a beneficiary loses 25 percent of their benefits if they engage in work no matter how small or insignificant it is.

“Even if you just work for a couple hours one morning, you lose unemployment benefits for that day,” he said. “Often times, part-time work would grow into full-time.”

Goodell said he’s hoping the governor will pick up his legislation and move it. He said there was a similar bill sponsored by a New York City Democrat.

“He and I talked about working together on this issue,” Goodell said. “I have talked to the governor’s staff and they are interested in moving it forward.”