| 1 | 1 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2820 |
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| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 3 | 3 | | _______________ |
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| 4 | 4 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 5 | 5 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 6 | 6 | | _______________ |
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| 7 | 7 | | SENATE, June 13, 2024. |
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| 8 | 8 | | The committee on Environment and Natural Resources, to whom was referred the |
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| 9 | 9 | | petitions (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 549) of Patrick M. O'Connor, Adam Scanlon, Jack |
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| 10 | 10 | | Patrick Lewis, Michael O. Moore and other members of the General Court for legislation to ban |
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| 11 | 11 | | the retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits in new pet shops; (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 550) |
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| 12 | 12 | | of Patrick M. O'Connor, Angelo J. Puppolo, Jr., Steven S. Howitt, John F. Keenan and other |
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| 13 | 13 | | members of the General Court for legislation banning the retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits in |
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| 14 | 14 | | pet shops; and (accompanied by bill, House, No. 826) of Natalie M. Higgins, Kimberly N. |
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| 15 | 15 | | Ferguson and others for legislation to further regulate the retail sale of certain domestic animals |
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| 16 | 16 | | in new pet shops, report the accompanying bill (Senate, No. 2820). |
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| 17 | 17 | | For the committee, |
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| 18 | 18 | | Rebecca L. Rausch 1 of 2 |
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| 19 | 19 | | FILED ON: 6/12/2024 |
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| 20 | 20 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2820 |
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| 21 | 21 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 22 | 22 | | _______________ |
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| 23 | 23 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | An Act banning the retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits in new pet shops. |
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| 27 | 27 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 28 | 28 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 29 | 29 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 39A of Chapter 129 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 |
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| 30 | 30 | | 2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting before the word “Every”, in line 1, the letter:- |
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| 31 | 31 | | 3(a). |
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| 32 | 32 | | 4 SECTION 2. Said section 39A is hereby further amended by striking out the word |
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| 33 | 33 | | 5“section”, in line 13, and inserting in place thereof the following word:- paragraph. |
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| 34 | 34 | | 6 SECTION 3. Said section 39A is hereby further amended by inserting after paragraph (a) |
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| 35 | 35 | | 7the following new paragraphs:- |
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| 36 | 36 | | 8 (b) No person engaged in the business of operating a pet shop for which a license must be |
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| 37 | 37 | | 9obtained pursuant to paragraph (a) shall sell or offer for sale a dog, cat, or rabbit. |
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| 38 | 38 | | 10 (c) Paragraph (b) shall not be construed to prohibit a pet shop from offering space to an |
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| 39 | 39 | | 11animal rescue or shelter organization to showcase dogs, cats, or rabbits for adoption so long as |
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| 40 | 40 | | 12the pet shop does not have an ownership interest in the animals offered for adoption. 2 of 2 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 13 (d) Nothing in paragraphs (b) or (c) shall affect the authority of any town, city, or other |
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| 42 | 42 | | 14locality to regulate or prohibit the sale of dogs, cats, or rabbits. |
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| 43 | 43 | | 15 (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 43 of this chapter, a person who violates |
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| 44 | 44 | | 16paragraph (b) of this section shall be: (i) assessed a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for the |
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| 45 | 45 | | 17first offense, not more than $2,500 for the second offense, and not more than $5,000 for third and |
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| 46 | 46 | | 18subsequent offenses; and (ii) subject to suspension or revocation of the person’s pet shop license. |
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| 47 | 47 | | 19Each advertisement or offer for sale or actual sale of an animal in violation of paragraph (b) shall |
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| 48 | 48 | | 20constitute a separate violation. |
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| 49 | 49 | | 21 SECTION 4. The provisions of paragraph (b) of section 39A of Chapter 129 of the |
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| 50 | 50 | | 22General Laws shall not apply to a pet shop lawfully offering dogs, cats, or rabbits for sale in the |
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| 51 | 51 | | 23Commonwealth on or before the effective date of this act, provided that the pet shop: (i) |
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| 52 | 52 | | 24maintains a valid license to operate and engage in such sales; (ii) remains in the same ownership |
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| 53 | 53 | | 25as existed on the effective date of this act; and (iii) sells dogs, cats, and rabbits only from the |
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| 54 | 54 | | 26location listed on the applicable license. |
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| 55 | 55 | | 27 SECTION 5. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2025. |
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