Fairness to Pet Owners Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1290 To promote competition and help consumers save money by giving them the freedom to choose where they buy prescription pet medications, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 2, 2019 Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself and Mr. LEE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To promote competition and help consumers save money by giving them the freedom to choose where they buy prescription pet medications, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fairness to Pet Own- 4 ers Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. APPLICABILITY. 6 This Act shall only apply to medication for a domes- 7 ticated household animal that the Federal Government 8 bars consumers from purchasing without a prescription. 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1290.IS S1290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1290 IS SEC. 3. PET OWNER RIGHTS TO COPIES OF VETERINARY 1 PRESCRIPTIONS. 2 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 180 days after 3 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade 4 Commission shall promulgate rules in accordance with sec- 5 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code, that include the 6 following requirements with regard to a veterinary pre- 7 scription: 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A requirement that the pre- 9 scriber of an animal drug shall— 10 (A) whether or not requested by the pet 11 owner, provide to the pet owner, before offering 12 to fill or dispensing, a veterinary prescription, a 13 copy of the veterinary prescription; and 14 (B) provide a copy of the prescription, con- 15 sistent with applicable State law, if requested 16 by a pharmacy or any other person designated 17 to act on behalf of the pet owner. 18 (2) PURCHASE, PAYMENT, AND WAIVER.—A re- 19 quirement that the prescriber of an animal drug— 20 (A) may not— 21 (i) require purchase of the animal 22 drug for which the veterinary prescription 23 was written from the prescriber or from 24 another person as a condition of providing 25 a copy of the veterinary prescription or 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1290.IS S1290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1290 IS verifying such prescription under para- 1 graph (1); 2 (ii) require payment in addition to, or 3 as part of, the fee for an examination and 4 evaluation as a condition of providing a 5 copy of the veterinary prescription or 6 verifying such prescription under para- 7 graph (1); or 8 (iii) require the pet owner to sign a 9 waiver or disclaim liability, or deliver to 10 the pet owner a notice waiving or dis- 11 claiming liability of the prescriber for the 12 accuracy of the veterinary prescription, as 13 a condition of providing a copy of such 14 prescription or verifying such prescription 15 under paragraph (1); and 16 (B) may require payment of fees for an ex- 17 amination and evaluation before providing a 18 veterinary prescription, but only if the pre- 19 scriber requires immediate payment in the case 20 of an examination that reveals no requirement 21 for an animal drug. 22 (b) ELECTRONIC OPTIONS.—The Federal Trade 23 Commission shall ensure that the requirements promul- 24 gated under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1290.IS S1290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1290 IS (a)(1) allow for the provision of copies of prescriptions by 1 electronic or other means. 2 SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT. 3 (a) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACT OR PRACTICE.—A 4 violation of a rule prescribed pursuant to section 3 of this 5 Act shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an 6 unfair or deceptive act or practice prescribed under section 7 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 8 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 9 (b) POWERS OF COMMISSION.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Trade Commis- 11 sion shall enforce this Act in the same manner, by 12 the same means, and with the same jurisdiction as 13 though all applicable terms and provisions of the 14 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 15 seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this 16 Act. 17 (2) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Any person 18 who violates a rule prescribed pursuant to section 3 19 of this Act shall be subject to the penalties and enti- 20 tled to the privileges and immunities provided in the 21 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 22 seq.). 23 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 24 In this Act: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1290.IS S1290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1290 IS (1) ANIMAL DRUG.—The term ‘‘animal drug’’ 1 means a drug intended to be administered to an ani- 2 mal that may not be dispensed without a prescrip- 3 tion. 4 (2) DOMESTICATED HOUSEHOLD ANIMAL.—The 5 term ‘‘domesticated household animal’’ means a 6 companion animal permitted under applicable State 7 and local law to be kept in a home for noncommer- 8 cial purposes. 9 (3) PET OWNER.—The term ‘‘pet owner’’ 10 means the legal owner of a domesticated household 11 animal or a person designated by such owner to 12 present such animal to the prescriber for care. 13 (4) PRESCRIBER.—The term ‘‘prescriber’’ 14 means a health care practitioner who is licensed to 15 practice veterinary medicine or other person per- 16 mitted under State law to issue prescriptions for 17 animal drugs. 18 (5) VETERINARY PRESCRIPTION.—The term 19 ‘‘veterinary prescription’’— 20 (A) means a written, oral, or electronic 21 order from a prescriber authorizing the dis- 22 pensing of an animal drug for use by a domes- 23 ticated household animal and normally adminis- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1290.IS S1290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1290 IS tered to the animal by its owner, issued in ac- 1 cordance with State and Federal law; and 2 (B) does not include an animal drug ad- 3 ministered by the veterinarian in the course of 4 providing acute care. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 May 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1290.IS S1290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS