NYSDEC'S IVORY TOWER
The Department's Abuse of the 45-day Rule
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Once an application or an amendment request involving a special license is submitted to the NYSDEC, the Department has 45 days to process the paperwork. If the staff does not send a decision within those 45 days, the State Administration Procedure Act states that the applicant "may" send a certified letter with return receipt and signature to the Department reminding the Special Licenses Unit to do its job. If the applicant does not receive a decision on the application or amendment request within 15 days after that, the request is automatically deemed to be approved and legally valid!
If you are targeted by the NYSDEC, one of the things you will notice are the games the staff will play involving the 45-day rule. The staff knows that very few, if any, of us read the laws endorsing and defining our activities with the wild. That's left to the attorneys. However, the Department knows they can shelve an application or amendment request for an indefinite amount of time, typically accompanying such an action with an insurmountable amount of lies and BS. Most of us would be none the wiser and those of us who may be, know that if you even so much as question this tyrant of a Department, immediate retaliation takes place against the person who stands out and starts questioning the Departments actions and the motives behind them. So, even those who know they are being shafted by the Department turn their heads away and pretend not to notice how the Department is breaking the law. Wildlife rehabilitators and exotic animal owners and caregivers need to make this Department accountable. Department staff makes an art out of breaking the law, sometimes on a daily basis. We cannot continue to turn the other way and pretend it isn't happening just so we can keep our licenses. Just like apeasing a tyrant, you will create a monster (as we already have) that will have its salacious tentacles in every crevice of your life, even claiming your property as its own. If you haven't been given fair treatment by this agency, especially in terms of licensing status and the failure of this agency to perform the duties upon which it has been enjoined by law, then it is time to speak up ... loudly. |