NY State Senate Bill 2019-S5530

Senate Bill S5530

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to banning the sale of certain items relating to emotional support and therapy animals; penalties for improper identification of dogs

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection 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
Jan 08, 2020	referred to consumer protection
May 06, 2019	referred to consumer protection

2019-S5530 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Add §391-u, Gen Bus L; amd §118, Ag & Mkts L

2019-S5530 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to banning the sale of certain items relating to emotional support and therapy animals; increases the penalty for improper identification of dogs.

2019-S5530 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S5530

SPONSOR: MARTINEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the general business law, in relation
to banning the sale of certain items relating to emotional support and
therapy animals; and to amend the agriculture and markets law, in
relation to penalties for improper identification of dogs

 
PURPOSE:

This legislation will ban the sale of vests and certificates for
emotional support and therapy animals. It will increase the penalty for
incorrectly identifying an animal as a service animal from $250 to $500
on the first offense and $1000 on subsequent offenses.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. The sales ban of certain items relating to emotional support
and therapy dogs, including vests, certificates and sample doctors
notes. There is an exemption for municipalities, government agencies and
non-profits which regulates or licenses emotional support or service

animals. Violating this section is a civil penalty up to $500 and not
exceeding $1000 on subsequent offenses.

Section 2. Increases the fine for incorrectly identifying an animal as a
service animal from $250 to $500 on the first offense and $1000 on
subsequent offenses.

Section 3. Effective Date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This legislation seeks to stop the overwhelming fraud occurring by
owners misrepresenting their animals as service animals. Service animals
are afforded protection by the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Service
animals by definition are trained and can perform specific tasks for
their owners. Emotional support animals and therapy animals do not qual-
ify as service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Increasingly, these untrained emotional support animals are being
brought into businesses, airplanes and other facilities and mistakenly
identified by workers as a service animal, due to the easily obtained
vest and certificates sold online. There is currently no national or
state guidelines for certification or training of emotional support
animals or therapy animals.

The businesses who sell these emotional support vests, certificates and
doctors notes mislead their customers into registering their animal and
sometimes enable individuals to purposefully misrepresent their animals
as service animals. New York must take action to stem the abuse of
emotional support animal and therapy animal designations.

Unfortunately, there has been dozens of documented cases of emotional
support animals threatening or attacking service animals and acting
aggressively or even biting humans, and generally acting inappropriately
in public. This legislation will protect the hardworking service animals
and their owners who rely on these service animals while also providing
clarity for business owners who see emotional support vests and mistak-

enly provide such animals with special privileges that they are not
afforded under federal law.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
90 days after it shall have become law

2019-S5530 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5530
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 6, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. MARTINEZ -- 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  banning  the
   sale  of  certain  items  relating  to  emotional  support and therapy
   animals; and to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation  to
   penalties for improper identification of dogs
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
 391-u to read as follows:
   § 391-U. SALE OF CERTAIN ITEMS RELATING TO EMOTIONAL SUPPORT AND THER-
 APY ANIMALS.  1. NO PERSON, FIRM, PARTNERSHIP,  ASSOCIATION,  OR  CORPO-
 RATION SHALL DISTRIBUTE, SELL AT RETAIL OR OFFER FOR RETAIL SALE IN THIS
 STATE, OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED IN THIS STATE:
   (A) EMOTIONAL SUPPORT OR THERAPY ANIMAL CERTIFICATES;
   (B) VESTS IDENTIFYING ANIMALS AS EMOTIONAL SUPPORT OR THERAPY ANIMALS;
 OR
   (C) SAMPLE DOCTORS NOTES AUTHORIZING AN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL.
   2.  FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS HAVE THE FOLLOW-
 ING MEANINGS:
   (A) "EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL" MEANS A COMPANION ANIMAL, AS DEFINED IN
 SECTION THREE HUNDRED FIFTY OF THE AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS LAW,  THAT  A
 MEDICAL  PROFESSIONAL STATES PROVIDES SOME BENEFIT FOR A PERSON DISABLED
 BY A MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION OR EMOTIONAL  DISORDER;  AND  (B)  "SERVICE
 ANIMAL"  SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS DEFINED IN SECTION 242.00 OF THE
 PENAL LAW.
   3. THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY MUNICIPALITY, GOVERNMENT  AGEN-
 CY,  OR  NON-PROFIT  ENTITY  WHICH  REGULATES  AND/OR LICENSES EMOTIONAL
 SUPPORT OR SERVICE ANIMALS OR  WHICH  CHARGES  FEES  FOR  THE  LICENSING
 AND/OR REGISTRATION OF VESTS FOR EMOTIONAL SUPPORT OR SERVICE ANIMALS.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11278-01-9

 S. 5530                             2
 
   4.  ANY  PERSON, FIRM, PARTNERSHIP, ASSOCIATION, OR CORPORATION WHO OR
 WHICH VIOLATES THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION  SHALL  BE  SUBJECT  TO  A
 CIVIL PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR THE FIRST VIOLATION
 AND ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR EACH SUBSEQUENT VIOLATION.
   §  2.  Section  118  of  the agriculture and markets law is amended by
 adding a new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
   2-A. NOTWITHSTANDING SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION, THE FINE  AND/OR
 CIVIL  PENALTY  FOR  A  VIOLATION OF PARAGRAPH (C) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF
 THIS SECTION SHALL BE NOT MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR  THE  FIRST
 VIOLATION AND ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR EACH SUBSEQUENT VIOLATION.
   §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

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