BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 339
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 339 (Dickinson)
As Amended June 25, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |63-10|(May 23, 2013) |SENATE: |30-4 |(August 19, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY : Prohibits a swap meet vendor, beginning January 1,
2016, and except as specified, from offering animals for sale
unless the local jurisdiction has adopted standards for the care
and treatment of those animals when they are present at, or
being transported to or from, the swap meet.
The Senate amendments reduce the fine for a second or subsequent
violation from $1,000 to $500 and remove the enhanced penalty
for a first-time offender who causes or permits an animal to
suffer, be injured, or be placed in a situation in which the
animals' life or health may be endangered.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines "swap meet" to include a flea market or an open-air
market and means an event at which two or more persons offer
merchandise for sale or exchange and that meets one of the
following conditions:
a) A fee is charged for the privilege of offering or
displaying merchandise for sale or exchange;
b) A fee is charged to prospective buyers for parking or
for admission to the area where merchandise is offered or
displayed for sale or exchange; or,
c) The event is held more than six times in any 12-month
period.
2)Makes it unlawful, with specified exceptions, for any person
to willfully sell or offer for sale, display, or give away or
offer to give away as part of a commercial transaction a live
animal on any street, highway, public right-of-way, parking
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lot, carnival, or boardwalk.
3)Makes it a wobbler, chargeable as a felony or misdemeanor,
punishable by imprisonment in the county jail, a fine not to
exceed $20,000, or both a fine and imprisonment for every
person who maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates,
tortures, wounds or kills a living animal, except as
specified, or who overloads, overworks, denies sustenance,
cruelly beats, mutilates, or cruelly kills any animal, and
whoever having custody of an animal, either as owner or
otherwise, subjects an animal to needless suffering or
inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon the animal, or in any manner
abuses any animal, or fails to provide an animal with proper
food, drink, or shelter or proper protection from the weather.
4)Regulates, under the Lockyer-Polanco-Farr Pet Protection Act
(Act), the sale and care of dogs and cats by pet dealers, as
defined, and provides for civil penalties enforced by the
local district attorney or city attorney in an amount up to
$1,000 for violations of the Act. Requires, in part, a pet
dealer to maintain facilities where dogs are kept in a
sanitary condition and provide adequate nutrition, potable
water, and space appropriate to the age, size, weight, and
breed of dog.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Required that any local ordinance adopted to allow the sale of
animals at swap meets to require, at a minimum, that the swap
meet vendor do all of the following:
a) Maintain the facilities used for the keeping of animals
in a sanitary condition;
b) Provide proper heating and ventilation for the
facilities used for the keeping of animals;
c) Provide adequate nutrition for, and humane care and
treatment of, all animals that are under his or her care
and control;
d) Take reasonable care to release for sale, trade, or
adoption only those animals that are free of disease or
injuries;
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e) Provide adequate space appropriate to the size, weight,
and species of animals;
f) Have a documented program of routine care, preventative
care, emergency care, disease control and prevention, and
veterinary treatment and euthanasia that is established and
maintained by the vendor in consultation with a licensed
veterinarian employed by the vendor or a
California-licensed veterinarian, to ensure adherence to
the program with respect to each animal, including a
documented onsite visit to the swap meet premises by a
California-licensed veterinarian at least once a year;
g) Provide buyers of an animal with general written
recommendations for the generally accepted care of the type
of animal sold, including recommendations as to the
housing, equipment, cleaning, environment, and feeding of
the animal;
h) Present for inspection and display a current business
license issued by the local jurisdiction where the animals
are principally housed; and,
i) Maintain records for identification purposes of the
person from whom the animals offered for sale were
acquired, including that person's name, address, e-mail
address, and telephone number and the date the animals were
acquired.
2)Provided that this bill does not apply to the sale of a
particular species of animal if a local jurisdiction has
adopted an ordinance before January 1, 2013, that applies
specifically to the sale of that particular species of animal
at swap meets.
3)Made a swap meet vendor guilty of an infraction punishable by
a fine of not more than $250 if he or she offers animals for
sale at a swap meet without an authorizing local ordinance.
Makes a swap meet vendor guilty of an infraction punishable by
a fine of not more than $1,000 per violation if he or she a)
violates this provision for the first time and that violation
causes or permits any animal to suffer, be injured, or be
placed in a situation in which its life or health may be
endangered or b) violates this provision for a second or
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subsequent time. This provision does not preclude punishment
under any provision of law.
4)Provided that the prohibition against live animal sales at a
swap meet without an authorizing local ordinance does not
apply to the following:
a) Events held by 4-H Clubs, Junior Farmers Clubs, or
Future Farmers Clubs.
b) California Exposition and State Fair, district
agricultural association fairs, or county fairs.
c) Stockyards that are regulated under federal law.
d) Specified livestock for sale at public sales.
e) Live animal markets regulated under state law.
f) A public animal control agency or shelter, society for
the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane
society shelter, or rescue group, as specified.
g) The sale of fish or shellfish, live or dead, from a
fishing vessel, at a pier or wharf, or at a farmer's market
by any licensed commercial fisherman to the public for
human consumption.
h) A cat show, dog show, or bird show providing that all of
the following circumstances exist:
i) The show is validly permitted by the city or county
in which the show is held;
ii) Each and every participant in the show complies with
all federal, state, and local animal welfare control
laws;
iii) The participant has written documentation of the
payment of a fee for the entry of his or her cat, dog, or
bird in the show;
iv) The sale of a cat, dog, or bird occurs only on the
premises and within the confines of the show; and,
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v) The show is a competitive event where the cats,
dogs, or birds are exhibited and judged by an established
standard or set of ideals established for each breed or
species.
FISCAL EFFECT : According the Senate Appropriations Committee,
pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Animals are currently being
sold at flea markets and swap meets in often abysmal conditions
where there is no legal oversight of the seller and no consumer
accountability. AB 339 would prohibit the sale of animals at
swap meets and flea markets to alleviate the suffering of these
animals, ensure that public health and safety is protected, and
safeguard consumers."
The author further states that "Laws that apply to pet shop do
not apply to the sale of animals at flea markets and swap meets.
Swap meets and flea markets have also historically been prime
outlets for the sale of smuggled birds presenting conservation,
welfare and disease risk concerns. The bargain-sales atmosphere
of flea markets and swap meets encourages impulse-buying and
leads to increased costs to local government for sheltering
discarded animals."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Shaun Naidu / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN:
0001638