Petfax Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5715 To improve honesty in pet sales, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 30, 2020 Mr. CRIST (for himself and Mr. RESCHENTHALER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To improve honesty in pet sales, 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 ‘‘Petfax Act of 2020’’. 4 SEC. 2. PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO PURCHASERS OF 5 DOGS AND CATS. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 8 means the Federal Trade Commission. 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jan 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.IH H5715 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5715 IH (2) COVERED DOG OR CAT.—The term ‘‘covered 1 dog or cat’’ means a dog or cat bred and raised by 2 any dealer that is required to be licensed under sec- 3 tion 3 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2133). 4 (3) COVERED SELLER.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered sell- 6 er’’ means— 7 (i) a dealer; 8 (ii) a retail pet store; and 9 (iii) any other person that sells, or of- 10 fers for sale, dogs or cats, including 11 through the internet, for compensation or 12 profit other than on an intermittent basis. 13 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered sell- 14 er’’ does not include— 15 (i) a public animal shelter; or 16 (ii) an organization— 17 (I) described in section 501(c)(3) 18 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 19 and exempt from taxation under 20 501(a) of that Code; and 21 (II) that is involved in bona fide 22 animal adoption or rescue activities. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jan 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.IH H5715 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5715 IH (4) DEALER.—The term ‘‘dealer’’ has the 1 meaning given the term in section 2 of the Animal 2 Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2132). 3 (5) FINANCIAL CONSIDERATION.—The term ‘‘fi- 4 nancial consideration’’ means any payment, includ- 5 ing a donation, but does not include— 6 (A) a payment made to a public animal 7 shelter; or 8 (B) a payment that is made solely to reim- 9 burse a person for the costs of caring for a dog 10 or cat. 11 (6) PURCHASER.—The term ‘‘purchaser’’ 12 means a person that— 13 (A) is not a dealer; and 14 (B) purchases a covered dog or cat. 15 (b) REQUIREMENT.—A covered seller may not sell, 16 or offer for sale, a covered dog or cat, including through 17 the internet, unless, before the purchase of the covered 18 dog or cat, the covered seller provides to the purchaser, 19 in a form prescribed by the Commission— 20 (1) information relating to the source of the 21 covered dog or cat, including— 22 (A) the name, address, telephone number, 23 and Department of Agriculture license or reg- 24 istration number (if such a number exists) of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jan 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.IH H5715 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5715 IH (i) the dealer that bred and raised the 1 covered dog or cat, and— 2 (I) the number of dogs and cats 3 bred by such dealer during the prior 4 2 years; and 5 (II) the number of dogs and cats 6 sold by such dealer during the prior 2 7 years; 8 (ii) the covered seller that acquired 9 the covered dog or cat from the dealer de- 10 scribed in clause (i), if any; and 11 (iii) each covered seller that acquired 12 the covered dog or cat thereafter, if any; 13 and 14 (B) a listing and description of each viola- 15 tion of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 16 et seq.), if any, during the prior 2 years by each 17 dealer and covered seller described in clauses 18 (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A), as appli- 19 cable; and 20 (2) information relating to the health history of 21 the covered dog or cat, including— 22 (A) the date of birth of covered dog or cat; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jan 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.IH H5715 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5715 IH (B)(i) if the covered dog or cat has re- 1 ceived individual examinations by a licensed vet- 2 erinarian— 3 (I) the most recent date on which the 4 covered cat or dog received an individual 5 examination by a licensed veterinarian; and 6 (II) the name, address, telephone 7 number, and State license number (if such 8 a number exists) of the licensed veteri- 9 narian described in subclause (I); or 10 (ii) if the covered dog or cat has not re- 11 ceived an individual examination by a licensed 12 veterinarian, a statement that the covered dog 13 or cat has not received an examination by a li- 14 censed veterinarian; and 15 (C) a list of— 16 (i) each vaccine administered to the 17 covered dog or cat; 18 (ii) each congenital deformity, disease, 19 disorder, or condition that the covered sell- 20 er knows, or should reasonably know, af- 21 fects the covered dog or cat; and 22 (iii) each infectious disease, disorder, 23 or condition that the covered seller knows, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jan 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.IH H5715 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5715 IH or should reasonably know, affects the cov- 1 ered dog or cat. 2 (c) TRANSFERS.—A covered seller providing to an- 3 other covered seller a covered dog or cat that will ulti- 4 mately be sold to a purchaser shall provide to the other 5 covered seller the information described in subsection (b). 6 (d) APPLICATION TO NON-PROFIT SELLERS.—Any 7 organization described in subsection (a)(3)(B)(ii) that ac- 8 quires a dog or cat in exchange for financial consideration 9 shall disclose to any person seeking to acquire such dog 10 or cat from such organization in exchange for financial 11 consideration— 12 (1) the fact that such organization acquired 13 such dog or cat in exchange for financial consider- 14 ation and the amount of such consideration; and 15 (2) the name of the person from which the or- 16 ganization acquired such dog or cat (if known to the 17 organization). 18 (e) REGULATIONS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis- 21 sion shall promulgate regulations under section 553 22 of title 5, United States Code, to carry out this sec- 23 tion. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jan 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.IH H5715 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5715 IH (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations under 1 paragraph (1) shall— 2 (A) include the manner and method by 3 which the information described in subsection 4 (b) may be provided to a potential purchaser 5 under that subsection, or to another covered 6 seller under subsection (c), as applicable, to 7 comply with this section; and 8 (B) provide that a covered seller that uses 9 a different manner or method than the manner 10 and method described in subparagraph (A) to 11 provide the information described in subsection 12 (b) to a potential purchaser under that sub- 13 section, or to another covered seller under sub- 14 section (c), as applicable, may not be deter- 15 mined to be in noncompliance with this section 16 solely because of the manner and method used. 17 (f) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section shall preempt 18 any State or local law. 19 SEC. 3. UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES WITH 20 RESPECT TO THE SALE OF ANIMALS FOR USE 21 AS PETS. 22 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jan 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.IH H5715 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5715 IH (1) COMMISSION; COVERED SELLER.—The 1 terms ‘‘Commission’’ and ‘‘covered seller’’ have the 2 meanings given those terms in section 2. 3 (2) HIGH-VOLUME BREEDER.—The term ‘‘high- 4 volume breeder’’ means any person that— 5 (A) is engaged in the breeding of dogs or 6 cats; and 7 (B)(i) is required to be licensed as a dealer 8 under section 3 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 9 U.S.C. 2133); 10 (ii) keeps on the premises of the person 11 not fewer than 4 breeding dogs or cats; or 12 (iii) during a 1-year period, sells not fewer 13 than 25 dogs or cats that were bred on the 14 premises of the person. 15 (b) UNLAWFUL ACTIVITY.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful to engage in 17 an unfair or deceptive act or practice with respect to 18 any sale of an animal for use as a pet. 19 (2) MISREPRESENTATIONS RELATING TO THE 20 SOURCE OF DOGS AND CATS.—It is a violation of 21 paragraph (1) for a covered seller, in selling, or ne- 22 gotiating the purchase or sale of, a dog or cat, to 23 misrepresent where the dog or cat was bred or the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jan 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.IH H5715 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5715 IH source from which the covered seller acquired the 1 dog or cat, including by misrepresenting whether— 2 (A) a high-volume breeder bred the dog or 3 cat; or 4 (B) the covered seller acquired the dog or 5 cat from a high-volume breeder. 6 (3) VIOLATION OF REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE 7 CERTAIN INFORMATION.—It is a violation of para- 8 graph (1) for a covered seller to sell a dog or cat 9 in violation of section 2 on or after the date that is 10 60 days after the date on which the Commission 11 promulgates regulations under subsection (e)(1) of 12 that section. 13 (c) ENFORCEMENT BY THE COMMISSION.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall be en- 15 forced by the Commission under the Federal Trade 16 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 17 (2) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC- 18 TICES.—A violation of this section shall be treated 19 as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or decep- 20 tive act or practice prescribed under section 21 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act 22 (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 23 (3) ACTIONS BY THE COMMISSION.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jan 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.IH H5715 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5715 IH (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 1 prevent any person from violating this section 2 in the same manner, by the same means, and 3 with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties 4 as though all applicable terms and provisions of 5 the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 6 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a 7 part of this section. 8 (B) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Any 9 person who violates this section shall be subject 10 to the penalties and entitled to the privileges 11 and immunities provided under the Federal 12 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 13 (d) EFFECT.— 14 (1) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in this 15 section shall be construed to limit the authority of 16 the Commission, the Secretary of Commerce, or the 17 Secretary of Agriculture under any other provision 18 of law. 19 (2) PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this section shall 20 preempt any State or local law. 21 SEC. 4. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF REGULATORY RECORDS. 22 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later 23 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 24 Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this section as the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jan 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.IH H5715 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5715 IH ‘‘Secretary’’) shall maintain and promptly make available 1 to the public in an online searchable database in a ma- 2 chine-readable format on the website of the Department 3 of Agriculture information relating to the administration 4 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) and 5 the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1821 et seq.), includ- 6 ing— 7 (1) the entirety of each report of any inspection 8 conducted, and record of any enforcement action 9 taken, at any time under— 10 (A) either of those Acts; or 11 (B) any regulation issued under those 12 Acts; 13 (2) with respect to the Animal Welfare Act— 14 (A) the entirety of each annual report sub- 15 mitted by a research facility under section 13 of 16 that Act (7 U.S.C. 2143); and 17 (B) the name, address, and license or reg- 18 istration number of each research facility, ex- 19 hibitor, dealer, and other person or establish- 20 ment— 21 (i) licensed by the Secretary under 22 section 3 or 12 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 23 2133, 2142); or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jan 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.IH H5715 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 5715 IH (ii) registered with the Secretary 1 under section 6 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 2 2136); and 3 (3) with respect to the Horse Protection Act, 4 the name and address of— 5 (A) any person that is licensed to conduct 6 any inspection under section 4(c) of that Act 7 (15 U.S.C. 1823(c)); or 8 (B) any organization or association that is 9 licensed by the Department of Agriculture to 10 promote horses through— 11 (i) the showing, exhibiting, sale, auc- 12 tion, or registry of horses; or 13 (ii) the conduct of any activity that 14 contributes to the advancement of horses. 15 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON ISSUING LICENSES TO CERTAIN 16 PERSONS AS A RESULT OF LICENSE REVOCA- 17 TION. 18 (a) DEFINITION OF IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER.— 19 Section 2 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2132) is 20 amended by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘(p) The term ‘immediate family member’ means, 22 with respect to a dealer— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jan 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.IH H5715 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 5715 IH ‘‘(1) a spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, 1 brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild of the 2 dealer; and 3 ‘‘(2) a spouse or domestic partner of a child, 4 parent, brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild of 5 the dealer.’’. 6 (b) PROHIBITION ON ISSUING LICENSES TO CERTAIN 7 PERSONS AS A RESULT OF LICENSE REVOCATION.—Sec- 8 tion 3 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2133) is 9 amended— 10 (1) by striking the section designation and all 11 that follows through ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and in- 12 serting the following: 13 ‘‘SEC. 3. LICENSES. 14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; 15 (2) in subsection (a) (as so designated), in the 16 first sentence, in the first proviso— 17 (A) by inserting ‘‘or renewed’’ after 18 ‘‘issued’’; and 19 (B) by str [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]