Nassau residents convicted of leaving their pet in a scorching hot car could face up to a year in jail under a new bill that enacts harsher punishments for animal abuse than the state’s law.

State law punishes anyone convicted of confining an animal in a car during extremely hot or cold temperatures with fines ranging from $50 to $100. Anyone in Nassau County convicted of such a crime could face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine after lawmakers voted unanimously on Monday to expand a 2014 animal cruelty law.

“The state should follow our example and make the state laws more harsh,” said Nassau Legis. John Ferretti Jr. (R-Levittown), the Republican candidate for Hempstead town supervisor, who introduced Monday’s bill amendment. “What really put me onto this issue was hearing that [animal abusers] were not held with bail.”

In 2014, Nassau’s animal cruelty bill established an online registry for convicted animal abusers forced  to pay an annual $100 fee and register their name, address and photo with Nassau police. The database is run by Nassau Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Suffolk County was the first in the nation to create such a list, Newsday previously reported.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman would need to sign the measure into law. 

Under the new bill, it would be illegal for anyone on the registry to own, care for or even walk a pet, a violation punishable by 1 year of jail time and a $1,000 fine. The amended bill also extends how long convicted animal abusers stay on the registry from 5 years to 10 years. Any repeat animal offenders will stay on the registry for 20 years.

The measure also bans animal shelters and pet shops from giving or selling pets to anyone on the registry. Groups that violate this rule face fines anywhere from $500 to $1,500 depending on how many times they break the law.

“Animal crimes are a crime against society,” said Gary Rogers, president of the Nassau SPCA, recounting a story about a Levittown man who beat his daughter’s elderly dog with a shovel.

The dog was injured so badly that a veterinarian had to put it down, Rogers said. Six months later, Nassau district attorney and SPCA staffers visited the man’s house to find he had a new dog, according to Rogers.

“If these people are committing these kinds of crimes against animals, do we have to wait for them to commit these crimes against a human being?” Ferretti said. “They should be, quite frankly, in jail.”