Bill Text: NY A03410 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-05-24 - print number 3410b [A03410 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-A03410-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         3410--B
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 22, 2015
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. TITONE -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on  Consumer Affairs and Protection -- recommitted to the Committee on
          Consumer Affairs and Protection in accordance with  Assembly  Rule  3,
          sec.  2  --  committee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from  said
          committee  with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommit-
          ted to said committee
        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:
     1    Section 1.  Short title. This act shall be known and may be  cited  as
     2  "Charlemagne's law".
     3    §  2.  Subdivision  1  of  section 753 of the general business law, as
     4  amended by chapter 251 of the laws  of  2013,  is  amended  to  read  as
     5  follows:
     6    1.  If, within [fourteen business days] thirty days following the sale
     7  of an animal subject to this article or receipt of  the  written  notice
     8  required  by section seven hundred fifty-four of this article, whichever
     9  occurred last, a veterinarian of the consumer's choosing, licensed by  a
    10  state  certifies  such animal to be unfit for purchase due to illness or
    11  the presence of symptoms of a contagious or infectious disease,  or  if,
    12  within  one hundred eighty calendar days following such sale or receipt,
    13  whichever occurred last, a licensed veterinarian certifies  such  animal
    14  to be unfit for purchase due to a congenital malformation which adverse-
    15  ly  affects  the  health  of the animal, the pet dealer shall afford the
    16  consumer the right to choose one of the following options:
    17    (a) The right to return  the  animal  and  receive  a  refund  of  the
    18  purchase  price  including  sales  tax  and  reasonable veterinary costs
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03800-05-6
        A. 3410--B                          2
     1  directly related to the veterinarian's certification that the animal  is
     2  unfit for purchase pursuant to this section;
     3    (b)  The  right to return the animal and to receive an exchange animal
     4  of the consumer's choice of equivalent value and  reasonable  veterinary
     5  costs  directly  related  to  the  veterinarian's certification that the
     6  animal is unfit for purchase pursuant to this section; or
     7    (c) The right to retain the animal and to receive reimbursement from a
     8  pet dealer for veterinary services from a licensed veterinarian  of  the
     9  consumer's choosing, for the purpose of curing or attempting to cure the
    10  animal  during  the  lifetime of such animal.   [The reasonable value of
    11  reimbursable services rendered to cure or attempting to cure the  animal
    12  shall  not  exceed  the purchase price of the animal.] The value of such
    13  services is reasonable if comparable to the value  of  similar  services
    14  rendered  by  other  licensed veterinarians in proximity to the treating
    15  veterinarian. Such reimbursement shall not include the costs of  initial
    16  veterinary  examination fees and diagnostic fees not directly related to
    17  the veterinarian's certification that the animal is unfit  for  purchase
    18  pursuant to this section.
    19    The  commissioner  by  regulations shall prescribe a form for, and the
    20  content of, the certification that an  animal  is  unfit  for  purchase,
    21  which  shall be provided by an examining veterinarian to a consumer upon
    22  the examination of an animal which is subject to the provisions of  this
    23  section.  Such  form  shall  include, but not be limited to, information
    24  which identifies the type of animal, the owner, the date  and  diagnosis
    25  of  the animal, the treatment recommended if any, and an estimate or the
    26  actual cost of such treatment. Such form shall also include  the  notice
    27  prescribed in section seven hundred fifty-four of this article.
    28    The  commissioner  by  regulations  shall  prescribe information which
    29  shall be provided in writing by the pet dealer to the consumer upon  the
    30  sale  of  the animal. Such information shall include, but not be limited
    31  to, a description, including breed of the animal, the date of  purchase,
    32  the  name,  address and telephone number of the consumer, and the amount
    33  of the purchase. The pet dealer shall certify such information by  sign-
    34  ing the document in which it is contained.
    35    §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
    36  have become a law and shall apply to dogs and cats purchased from a  pet
    37  dealer on or after such effective date.