Amended IN Assembly April 22, 2025 Amended IN Assembly March 28, 2025 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20252026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 1382Introduced by Assembly Member Essayli Castillo(Coauthors: Senators Jones and Ochoa Bogh)February 21, 2025An act to add Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 122325) to Part 6 of Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to animals.LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAB 1382, as amended, Essayli Castillo. Animals: sale of pets: intentional genomic alterations.Existing law generally regulates the importation of wild animals into the state and the sale of dogs, cats, and birds. Existing law requires a person seeking to bring or import a dog into the state for purposes of resale or change of ownership to obtain a health certificate for that dog, as specified. Existing law requires a breeder of dogs to disclose to a purchaser of a dog certain information, including the breed, sex, color, and identifying marks at the time of sale, a record of inoculations and worming treatments administered, and whether the dog has any known disease, illness, or congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects its health, as specified.This bill would prohibit a person from importing for profit, selling, or offering for sale in this state a pet animal, as defined, that has been modified or developed by intentional genomic alterations, as defined, unless the intentional genomic alteration is to benefit the health of the animal or to enhance the animals interaction with humans, as specified. The bill would provide that each pet animal imported for profit, sold, or offered for sale in this state in violation of that prohibition is a separate violation and is punishable by a civil penalty of not less than $5,000. The bill would authorize the district attorney of the county in which the violation occurred, and the city attorney of the city in which the violation occurred, to bring an action to enforce that prohibition, as specified.Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill TextThe people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1. Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 122325) is added to Part 6 of Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code, to read: CHAPTER 6.5. Sale of Genetically Altered Pets122325. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Ethics Over Aesthetics Act.122325.2. For purposes of this chapter, all of the following definitions apply:(a) Intentional genomic alteration means a change to an animals genomic DNA produced using modern molecular technologies, which may include random or targeted DNA sequence changes, including, but not limited to, nucleotide insertions, substitutions, or deletions.(b) Pet animal means a dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, mouse, reptile, amphibian, bird, fish, or other species of animal kept for the purpose of being a household pet.122325.4. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a person shall not import for profit, sell, or offer for sale in this state a pet animal that has been modified or developed by intentional genomic alterations.(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a pet animal if either of the following applies:(A) The intentional genomic alteration is for the sole purpose of benefiting the health of the pet animal, including, but not limited to, making the pet animal resistant to a disease or condition.(B) (i) The intentional genomic alteration is for the sole purpose of enhancing the pet animals interaction with humans, including, but not limited to, promoting hypoallergenic traits.(ii) Cosmetic traits, including, but not limited to, novel fur, skin, or scale coloring, or fundamental changes to the natural traits of a pet animal, such as creating a cat with no claws or a dog without vocal cords or the addition or subtraction of appendages, do not enhance a pet animals interaction with humans.(b) Each pet animal imported for profit, sold, or offered for sale in this state in violation of this section shall be a separate violation and shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000). An action to enforce this section may be brought by the district attorney of the county in which the violation occurred or by the city attorney of the city in which the violation occurred. The civil penalty shall be paid to the city or county, as applicable, of the attorney that brings the action.
Amended IN Assembly April 22, 2025 Amended IN Assembly March 28, 2025 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20252026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 1382Introduced by Assembly Member Essayli Castillo(Coauthors: Senators Jones and Ochoa Bogh)February 21, 2025An act to add Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 122325) to Part 6 of Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to animals.LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAB 1382, as amended, Essayli Castillo. Animals: sale of pets: intentional genomic alterations.Existing law generally regulates the importation of wild animals into the state and the sale of dogs, cats, and birds. Existing law requires a person seeking to bring or import a dog into the state for purposes of resale or change of ownership to obtain a health certificate for that dog, as specified. Existing law requires a breeder of dogs to disclose to a purchaser of a dog certain information, including the breed, sex, color, and identifying marks at the time of sale, a record of inoculations and worming treatments administered, and whether the dog has any known disease, illness, or congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects its health, as specified.This bill would prohibit a person from importing for profit, selling, or offering for sale in this state a pet animal, as defined, that has been modified or developed by intentional genomic alterations, as defined, unless the intentional genomic alteration is to benefit the health of the animal or to enhance the animals interaction with humans, as specified. The bill would provide that each pet animal imported for profit, sold, or offered for sale in this state in violation of that prohibition is a separate violation and is punishable by a civil penalty of not less than $5,000. The bill would authorize the district attorney of the county in which the violation occurred, and the city attorney of the city in which the violation occurred, to bring an action to enforce that prohibition, as specified.Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO
Amended IN Assembly April 22, 2025 Amended IN Assembly March 28, 2025
Amended IN Assembly April 22, 2025
Amended IN Assembly March 28, 2025
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20252026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1382
Introduced by Assembly Member Essayli Castillo(Coauthors: Senators Jones and Ochoa Bogh)February 21, 2025
Introduced by Assembly Member Essayli Castillo(Coauthors: Senators Jones and Ochoa Bogh)
February 21, 2025
An act to add Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 122325) to Part 6 of Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to animals.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
## LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1382, as amended, Essayli Castillo. Animals: sale of pets: intentional genomic alterations.
Existing law generally regulates the importation of wild animals into the state and the sale of dogs, cats, and birds. Existing law requires a person seeking to bring or import a dog into the state for purposes of resale or change of ownership to obtain a health certificate for that dog, as specified. Existing law requires a breeder of dogs to disclose to a purchaser of a dog certain information, including the breed, sex, color, and identifying marks at the time of sale, a record of inoculations and worming treatments administered, and whether the dog has any known disease, illness, or congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects its health, as specified.This bill would prohibit a person from importing for profit, selling, or offering for sale in this state a pet animal, as defined, that has been modified or developed by intentional genomic alterations, as defined, unless the intentional genomic alteration is to benefit the health of the animal or to enhance the animals interaction with humans, as specified. The bill would provide that each pet animal imported for profit, sold, or offered for sale in this state in violation of that prohibition is a separate violation and is punishable by a civil penalty of not less than $5,000. The bill would authorize the district attorney of the county in which the violation occurred, and the city attorney of the city in which the violation occurred, to bring an action to enforce that prohibition, as specified.
Existing law generally regulates the importation of wild animals into the state and the sale of dogs, cats, and birds. Existing law requires a person seeking to bring or import a dog into the state for purposes of resale or change of ownership to obtain a health certificate for that dog, as specified. Existing law requires a breeder of dogs to disclose to a purchaser of a dog certain information, including the breed, sex, color, and identifying marks at the time of sale, a record of inoculations and worming treatments administered, and whether the dog has any known disease, illness, or congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects its health, as specified.
This bill would prohibit a person from importing for profit, selling, or offering for sale in this state a pet animal, as defined, that has been modified or developed by intentional genomic alterations, as defined, unless the intentional genomic alteration is to benefit the health of the animal or to enhance the animals interaction with humans, as specified. The bill would provide that each pet animal imported for profit, sold, or offered for sale in this state in violation of that prohibition is a separate violation and is punishable by a civil penalty of not less than $5,000. The bill would authorize the district attorney of the county in which the violation occurred, and the city attorney of the city in which the violation occurred, to bring an action to enforce that prohibition, as specified.
## Digest Key
## Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1. Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 122325) is added to Part 6 of Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code, to read: CHAPTER 6.5. Sale of Genetically Altered Pets122325. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Ethics Over Aesthetics Act.122325.2. For purposes of this chapter, all of the following definitions apply:(a) Intentional genomic alteration means a change to an animals genomic DNA produced using modern molecular technologies, which may include random or targeted DNA sequence changes, including, but not limited to, nucleotide insertions, substitutions, or deletions.(b) Pet animal means a dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, mouse, reptile, amphibian, bird, fish, or other species of animal kept for the purpose of being a household pet.122325.4. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a person shall not import for profit, sell, or offer for sale in this state a pet animal that has been modified or developed by intentional genomic alterations.(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a pet animal if either of the following applies:(A) The intentional genomic alteration is for the sole purpose of benefiting the health of the pet animal, including, but not limited to, making the pet animal resistant to a disease or condition.(B) (i) The intentional genomic alteration is for the sole purpose of enhancing the pet animals interaction with humans, including, but not limited to, promoting hypoallergenic traits.(ii) Cosmetic traits, including, but not limited to, novel fur, skin, or scale coloring, or fundamental changes to the natural traits of a pet animal, such as creating a cat with no claws or a dog without vocal cords or the addition or subtraction of appendages, do not enhance a pet animals interaction with humans.(b) Each pet animal imported for profit, sold, or offered for sale in this state in violation of this section shall be a separate violation and shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000). An action to enforce this section may be brought by the district attorney of the county in which the violation occurred or by the city attorney of the city in which the violation occurred. The civil penalty shall be paid to the city or county, as applicable, of the attorney that brings the action.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
## The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 122325) is added to Part 6 of Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code, to read: CHAPTER 6.5. Sale of Genetically Altered Pets122325. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Ethics Over Aesthetics Act.122325.2. For purposes of this chapter, all of the following definitions apply:(a) Intentional genomic alteration means a change to an animals genomic DNA produced using modern molecular technologies, which may include random or targeted DNA sequence changes, including, but not limited to, nucleotide insertions, substitutions, or deletions.(b) Pet animal means a dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, mouse, reptile, amphibian, bird, fish, or other species of animal kept for the purpose of being a household pet.122325.4. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a person shall not import for profit, sell, or offer for sale in this state a pet animal that has been modified or developed by intentional genomic alterations.(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a pet animal if either of the following applies:(A) The intentional genomic alteration is for the sole purpose of benefiting the health of the pet animal, including, but not limited to, making the pet animal resistant to a disease or condition.(B) (i) The intentional genomic alteration is for the sole purpose of enhancing the pet animals interaction with humans, including, but not limited to, promoting hypoallergenic traits.(ii) Cosmetic traits, including, but not limited to, novel fur, skin, or scale coloring, or fundamental changes to the natural traits of a pet animal, such as creating a cat with no claws or a dog without vocal cords or the addition or subtraction of appendages, do not enhance a pet animals interaction with humans.(b) Each pet animal imported for profit, sold, or offered for sale in this state in violation of this section shall be a separate violation and shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000). An action to enforce this section may be brought by the district attorney of the county in which the violation occurred or by the city attorney of the city in which the violation occurred. The civil penalty shall be paid to the city or county, as applicable, of the attorney that brings the action.
SECTION 1. Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 122325) is added to Part 6 of Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
### SECTION 1.
CHAPTER 6.5. Sale of Genetically Altered Pets122325. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Ethics Over Aesthetics Act.122325.2. For purposes of this chapter, all of the following definitions apply:(a) Intentional genomic alteration means a change to an animals genomic DNA produced using modern molecular technologies, which may include random or targeted DNA sequence changes, including, but not limited to, nucleotide insertions, substitutions, or deletions.(b) Pet animal means a dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, mouse, reptile, amphibian, bird, fish, or other species of animal kept for the purpose of being a household pet.122325.4. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a person shall not import for profit, sell, or offer for sale in this state a pet animal that has been modified or developed by intentional genomic alterations.(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a pet animal if either of the following applies:(A) The intentional genomic alteration is for the sole purpose of benefiting the health of the pet animal, including, but not limited to, making the pet animal resistant to a disease or condition.(B) (i) The intentional genomic alteration is for the sole purpose of enhancing the pet animals interaction with humans, including, but not limited to, promoting hypoallergenic traits.(ii) Cosmetic traits, including, but not limited to, novel fur, skin, or scale coloring, or fundamental changes to the natural traits of a pet animal, such as creating a cat with no claws or a dog without vocal cords or the addition or subtraction of appendages, do not enhance a pet animals interaction with humans.(b) Each pet animal imported for profit, sold, or offered for sale in this state in violation of this section shall be a separate violation and shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000). An action to enforce this section may be brought by the district attorney of the county in which the violation occurred or by the city attorney of the city in which the violation occurred. The civil penalty shall be paid to the city or county, as applicable, of the attorney that brings the action.
CHAPTER 6.5. Sale of Genetically Altered Pets122325. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Ethics Over Aesthetics Act.122325.2. For purposes of this chapter, all of the following definitions apply:(a) Intentional genomic alteration means a change to an animals genomic DNA produced using modern molecular technologies, which may include random or targeted DNA sequence changes, including, but not limited to, nucleotide insertions, substitutions, or deletions.(b) Pet animal means a dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, mouse, reptile, amphibian, bird, fish, or other species of animal kept for the purpose of being a household pet.122325.4. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a person shall not import for profit, sell, or offer for sale in this state a pet animal that has been modified or developed by intentional genomic alterations.(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a pet animal if either of the following applies:(A) The intentional genomic alteration is for the sole purpose of benefiting the health of the pet animal, including, but not limited to, making the pet animal resistant to a disease or condition.(B) (i) The intentional genomic alteration is for the sole purpose of enhancing the pet animals interaction with humans, including, but not limited to, promoting hypoallergenic traits.(ii) Cosmetic traits, including, but not limited to, novel fur, skin, or scale coloring, or fundamental changes to the natural traits of a pet animal, such as creating a cat with no claws or a dog without vocal cords or the addition or subtraction of appendages, do not enhance a pet animals interaction with humans.(b) Each pet animal imported for profit, sold, or offered for sale in this state in violation of this section shall be a separate violation and shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000). An action to enforce this section may be brought by the district attorney of the county in which the violation occurred or by the city attorney of the city in which the violation occurred. The civil penalty shall be paid to the city or county, as applicable, of the attorney that brings the action.
CHAPTER 6.5. Sale of Genetically Altered Pets
CHAPTER 6.5. Sale of Genetically Altered Pets
##### CHAPTER 6.5. Sale of Genetically Altered Pets
122325. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Ethics Over Aesthetics Act.
122325. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Ethics Over Aesthetics Act.
###### 122325.
122325.2. For purposes of this chapter, all of the following definitions apply:(a) Intentional genomic alteration means a change to an animals genomic DNA produced using modern molecular technologies, which may include random or targeted DNA sequence changes, including, but not limited to, nucleotide insertions, substitutions, or deletions.(b) Pet animal means a dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, mouse, reptile, amphibian, bird, fish, or other species of animal kept for the purpose of being a household pet.
122325.2. For purposes of this chapter, all of the following definitions apply:
###### 122325.2.
(a) Intentional genomic alteration means a change to an animals genomic DNA produced using modern molecular technologies, which may include random or targeted DNA sequence changes, including, but not limited to, nucleotide insertions, substitutions, or deletions.
(b) Pet animal means a dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, mouse, reptile, amphibian, bird, fish, or other species of animal kept for the purpose of being a household pet.
122325.4. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a person shall not import for profit, sell, or offer for sale in this state a pet animal that has been modified or developed by intentional genomic alterations.(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a pet animal if either of the following applies:(A) The intentional genomic alteration is for the sole purpose of benefiting the health of the pet animal, including, but not limited to, making the pet animal resistant to a disease or condition.(B) (i) The intentional genomic alteration is for the sole purpose of enhancing the pet animals interaction with humans, including, but not limited to, promoting hypoallergenic traits.(ii) Cosmetic traits, including, but not limited to, novel fur, skin, or scale coloring, or fundamental changes to the natural traits of a pet animal, such as creating a cat with no claws or a dog without vocal cords or the addition or subtraction of appendages, do not enhance a pet animals interaction with humans.(b) Each pet animal imported for profit, sold, or offered for sale in this state in violation of this section shall be a separate violation and shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000). An action to enforce this section may be brought by the district attorney of the county in which the violation occurred or by the city attorney of the city in which the violation occurred. The civil penalty shall be paid to the city or county, as applicable, of the attorney that brings the action.
122325.4. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a person shall not import for profit, sell, or offer for sale in this state a pet animal that has been modified or developed by intentional genomic alterations.
###### 122325.4.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a pet animal if either of the following applies:
(A) The intentional genomic alteration is for the sole purpose of benefiting the health of the pet animal, including, but not limited to, making the pet animal resistant to a disease or condition.
(B) (i) The intentional genomic alteration is for the sole purpose of enhancing the pet animals interaction with humans, including, but not limited to, promoting hypoallergenic traits.
(ii) Cosmetic traits, including, but not limited to, novel fur, skin, or scale coloring, or fundamental changes to the natural traits of a pet animal, such as creating a cat with no claws or a dog without vocal cords or the addition or subtraction of appendages, do not enhance a pet animals interaction with humans.
(b) Each pet animal imported for profit, sold, or offered for sale in this state in violation of this section shall be a separate violation and shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000). An action to enforce this section may be brought by the district attorney of the county in which the violation occurred or by the city attorney of the city in which the violation occurred. The civil penalty shall be paid to the city or county, as applicable, of the attorney that brings the action.