What's happening
This bill bans the retail sale of emotional support or therapy animal certificates, vests, and sample doctor's notes, and sets penalties for violations.
Why it matters
Addresses abuse and misrepresentation. By banning the retail sale of emotional support animal (ESA) certificates, vests, and sample doctors’ notes, the bill targets the widespread availability of materials that can be used to falsely claim ordinary pets as ESAs, which has led to confusion and abuse in housing, travel, and public spaces.
Protects the integrity of legitimate service and support animals. The legislation helps distinguish between individuals with genuine needs for service or emotional support animals and those attempting to exploit the system, ensuring that actual service and support animals are recognized and respected.
Sets clear penalties to deter violations. By establishing civil penalties up to $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for subsequent violations, the bill creates a financial disincentive for businesses and individuals who might otherwise profit from selling fraudulent ESA materials.
Exempts regulated entities. The bill allows municipalities, government agencies, and non-profits that have legitimate regulatory or licensing roles for service and emotional support animals to continue their oversight, ensuring that legitimate channels for documentation and identification remain available.
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Who cares
Retailers and distributors
The bill would prohibit distributing or selling emotional support and therapy animal certificates and identifying vests, as well as sample doctors’ notes authorizing emotional support animals.
People with mental health disabilities who use emotional support animals
The bill would restrict access to certificates, identifying vests and sample authorization notes for their animals.
Municipalities, government agencies and qualifying nonprofits
The bill would exempt entities that regulate or license emotional support or service animals or charge the specified licensing or registration fees.
Dog owners
The bill would set fines or civil penalties for the specified improper dog identification violation at up to $500 for a first violation and $1,000 for each subsequent violation.
Headline styles
Ban Support Animal Gear Sales
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to consumer protection
- Referred to consumer protection
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
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 Assembly, 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 therapy animals. 1. No person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation 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 following 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 agency, 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.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
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
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.