Bill Text: NY S05279 | 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) 2016-06-17 - COMMITTED TO RULES [S05279 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S05279-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         5279--B
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                      May 12, 2015
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Consumer  Protection  --
          recommitted to the Committee on Consumer Protection in accordance with
          Senate  Rule  6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  committee  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          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.
                                                                   LBD03800-04-6
        S. 5279--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.