Substitute Senate Bill No. 594
Public Act No. 19-82
AN ACT PROHIBITING THE USE OF CERTAIN CO NTRACTS FOR
THE SALE OR LEASE OF CATS AND DOGS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) Any contract entered
into on or after October 1, 2019, that is described in subdivision (1) or
(2) of this subsection shall be deemed void: (1) A contract to transfer
ownership of a dog or cat that is contingent upon the making of
payments over a period of time by one party subsequent to the transfer
of possession of such dog or cat to such party, and (2) any contract for
the lease of a dog or cat that provides for or offers the option of the
transfer of ownership of such dog or cat at the end of such lease. The
provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not be deemed to
apply to any payment to repay an unsecured loan for the purchase of
any dog or cat.
(b) In addition to any other remedy provided under state or federal
law, any person who takes possession of a dog or cat that is transferred
pursuant to a contract described in subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection
(a) of this section shall be deemed the owner of such dog or cat and
shall be entitled to the return of all amounts said person paid pursuant
to such contract. Substitute Senate Bill No. 594
Public Act No. 19-82 2 of 2
(c) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to apply to
any lease or rental of any of the following animals provided such
animal is used in accordance with any applicable provision of federal
or state law or any municipal ordinance: (1) Any purebred dog that is
rented for the purpose of breeding, pursuant to a written lease, when
such lease is recorded with a national purebred dog registry and such
lease is for a specific period of time and contains an end date for such
lease, (2) any animal used in a spectator event, show, exhibition,
motion picture, audiovisual media, including, but not limited to, any
animal exhibition, any racing event, any field trial, polo or any rodeo,
or (3) any working animal that is trained or utilized to perform tasks,
including, but not limited to, guide dogs, security dogs, law
enforcement dogs and any assistance animal.