Relates to banning the sale of certain items relating to emotional support and therapy animals; increases the penalty for improper identification of dogs.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5530
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
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:
1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
2 391-u to read as follows:
3 § 391-u. Sale of certain items relating to emotional support and ther-
4 apy animals. 1. No person, firm, partnership, association, or corpo-
5 ration shall distribute, sell at retail or offer for retail sale in this
6 state, or to any person located in this state:
7 (a) emotional support or therapy animal certificates;
8 (b) vests identifying animals as emotional support or therapy animals;
9 or
10 (c) sample doctors notes authorizing an emotional support animal.
11 2. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the follow-
12 ing meanings:
13 (a) "emotional support animal" means a companion animal, as defined in
14 section three hundred fifty of the agriculture and markets law, that a
15 medical professional states provides some benefit for a person disabled
16 by a mental health condition or emotional disorder; and (b) "service
17 animal" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 242.00 of the
18 penal law.
19 3. This section shall not apply to any municipality, government agen-
20 cy, or non-profit entity which regulates and/or licenses emotional
21 support or service animals or which charges fees for the licensing
22 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
1 4. Any person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation who or
2 which violates the provisions of this section shall be subject to a
3 civil penalty not to exceed five hundred dollars for the first violation
4 and one thousand dollars for each subsequent violation.
5 § 2. Section 118 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by
6 adding a new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
7 2-a. Notwithstanding subdivision two of this section, the fine and/or
8 civil penalty for a violation of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of
9 this section shall be not more than five hundred dollars for the first
10 violation and one thousand dollars for each subsequent violation.
11 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
12 have become a law.