NY State Senate Bill 2017-S1902

Senate Bill S1902

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Authorizes a consumer to seek reimbursement for treatment for an unfit cat or dog within 30 days of the purchase of such animal from a pet dealer

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 20, 2018	committed to rules
Feb 13, 2018	advanced to third reading
Feb 12, 2018	2nd report cal.
Feb 06, 2018	1st report cal.414
Jan 03, 2018	referred to consumer protection
Jun 21, 2017	committed to rules
Mar 01, 2017	advanced to third reading
Feb 28, 2017	2nd report cal.
Feb 14, 2017	1st report cal.251
Jan 11, 2017	referred to consumer protection

Votes

- Feb 6, 2018 - Consumer Protection Committee Vote
  S1902
  
  7
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  4
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Consumer Protection Committee Vote: Feb 6, 2018
      
      aye (7)
      
      Boyle
      
      Brooks
      
      Carlucci
      
      Comrie
      
      Funke
      
      Robach
      
      Serrano
      
      aye wr (4)
      
      Amedore
      
      Hamilton
      
      Helming
      
      Kavanagh
  Feb 14, 2017 - Consumer Protection Committee Vote
  S1902
  
  8
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  3
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Consumer Protection Committee Vote: Feb 14, 2017
      
      aye (8)
      
      Amedore
      
      Boyle
      
      Brooks
      
      Carlucci
      
      Comrie
      
      Latimer
      
      Robach
      
      Serrano
      
      aye wr (3)
      
      Funke
      
      Hamilton
      
      Helming

co-Sponsors

2017-S1902 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6979
Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §753, Gen Bus L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: A8786
2015-2016: S5279, A3410

2017-S1902 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts "Charlemagne's Law"; authorizes a consumer to seek reimbursement for treatment for an unfit cat or dog within 30 days of the purchase of such animal from a pet dealer.

2017-S1902 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1902            Revised 2/2/18

SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the general business law, in relation
to dogs and cats unfit for purchase due to illness, a congenital malfor-
mation, or symptoms of a contagious or infectious disease

 
PURPOSE:

This legislation is intended to protect and empower consumers from the
harmful effects of animals sold from "Puppy Mills" and "Kitten Facto-
ries" who turn out to be unfit for purchase by reason of illness,
contagious/infectious disease and/or congenital malformation.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

This legislation updates related provisions of the original
"Charlemagne's Law" (Chapter 110 of 2012) as modified by Chapter 251 of
the laws of 2013 to accomplish two things:

Allow consumers to have 30 days (as opposed to 14 business days) to have

an animal evaluated by a veterinarian and potentially certified as unfit
for purchase due to illness or the presence of symptoms of a
contagious/infectious disease.

Upon a finding of unfitness, allowing consumers the right to have the
pet dealer reimburse the cost of curing/attempting to cure the animal
during its entire lifetime. The original statue is silent on how long
costs associated with cures and attempted cures must be reimbursed by
dealers in the event a consumer wishes to keep the pet.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Puppy Mills (and related Kitten Factories) are large-scale commercial
breeding facilities that sell primarily to retail pet shops or individ-
ual consumers where dogs are bred solely for profit, with no concern for
their physical health or psychological well-being. Most animals in these
facilities are disease ridden and force-fed continuously.

The animals produced at puppy mills are often sold on the Internet, in
newspaper ads, through brokers, or through pet stores. Puppy mills are
not covered under the 1966 Federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and many of
these facilities do not meet those minimal standards for animal care.

At these puppy mills, animals receive minimal veterinary care, poor
quality of food and water, lack of human interaction and overcrowded
cages. In the worst puppy mills, after reaching a certain age, unwanted
animals are euthanized.

For consumers who buy puppies or kittens cultivated at pet mills, they
sometimes find that the animal has health problems caused from over
breeding and their pet dies within the first year of purchase. Those
pets that survive these health issues can have conditions that require
numerous veterinary bills. In other cases, animals have underlying
genetic problems that may not arise until many years later. These health
conditions can bring emotional and financial burdens onto the pet owner,
which may ultimately cause the pet to be given to a shelter or, worse,
euthanized.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2016: Reported by Consumer Protection/ 3rd Reading Calendar.
2017: Reported by Consumer Protection/ 3rd Reading Calendar.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This law will take effect on the thirtieth day after being signed.

2017-S1902 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1902
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 11, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection
 
 AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to dogs  and  cats
   unfit for purchase due to illness, a congenital malformation, or symp-
   toms of a contagious or infectious disease

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1.  Short title. This act shall be known and may be  cited  as
 "Charlemagne's law".
   §  2.  Subdivision  1  of  section 753 of the general business law, as
 amended by chapter 251 of the laws  of  2013,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   1.  If, within [fourteen business days] THIRTY DAYS following the sale
 of an animal subject to this article or receipt of  the  written  notice
 required  by section seven hundred fifty-four of this article, whichever
 occurred last, a veterinarian of the consumer's choosing, licensed by  a
 state  certifies  such animal to be unfit for purchase due to illness or
 the presence of symptoms of a contagious or infectious disease,  or  if,
 within  one hundred eighty calendar days following such sale or receipt,
 whichever occurred last, a licensed veterinarian certifies  such  animal
 to be unfit for purchase due to a congenital malformation which adverse-
 ly  affects  the  health  of the animal, the pet dealer shall afford the
 consumer the right to choose one of the following options:
   (a) The right to return  the  animal  and  receive  a  refund  of  the
 purchase  price  including  sales  tax  and  reasonable veterinary costs
 directly related to the veterinarian's certification that the animal  is
 unfit for purchase pursuant to this section;
   (b)  The  right to return the animal and to receive an exchange animal
 of the consumer's choice of equivalent value and  reasonable  veterinary
 costs  directly  related  to  the  veterinarian's certification that the
 animal is unfit for purchase pursuant to this section; or

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD00216-01-7

 S. 1902                             2
 
   (c) The right to retain the animal and to receive reimbursement from a
 pet dealer for veterinary services from a licensed veterinarian  of  the
 consumer's choosing, for the purpose of curing or attempting to cure the
 animal  DURING  THE  LIFETIME OF SUCH ANIMAL.   [The reasonable value of
 reimbursable  services rendered to cure or attempting to cure the animal
 shall not exceed the purchase price of the animal.] The  value  of  such
 services  is  reasonable  if comparable to the value of similar services
 rendered by other licensed veterinarians in proximity  to  the  treating
 veterinarian.  Such reimbursement shall not include the costs of initial
 veterinary examination fees and diagnostic fees not directly related  to
 the  veterinarian's  certification that the animal is unfit for purchase
 pursuant to this section.
   The commissioner by regulations shall prescribe a form  for,  and  the
 content  of,  the  certification  that  an animal is unfit for purchase,
 which shall be provided by an examining veterinarian to a consumer  upon
 the  examination of an animal which is subject to the provisions of this
 section. Such form shall include, but not  be  limited  to,  information
 which  identifies  the type of animal, the owner, the date and diagnosis
 of the animal, the treatment recommended if any, and an estimate or  the
 actual  cost  of such treatment. Such form shall also include the notice
 prescribed in section seven hundred fifty-four of this article.
   The commissioner by  regulations  shall  prescribe  information  which
 shall  be provided in writing by the pet dealer to the consumer upon the
 sale of the animal. Such information shall include, but not  be  limited
 to,  a description, including breed of the animal, the date of purchase,
 the name, address and telephone number of the consumer, and  the  amount
 of  the purchase. The pet dealer shall certify such information by sign-
 ing the document in which it is contained.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
 have  become a law and shall apply to dogs and cats purchased from a pet
 dealer on or after such effective date.

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Senate Bill S1902

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Sponsored By

Leroy Comrie