F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 849 2022
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to pet protection; providing a
3 directive to the Division of Law Revision; creating s.
4 468.901, F.S.; providing a short title; creating s.
5 468.903, F.S.; defining terms; creating s. 468.905,
6 F.S.; requiring the licensure of retail pet stores ;
7 requiring the Department of Business and Professional
8 Regulation to adopt standards and procedures for such
9 licensure; prohibiting unlicensed retail pet stores
10 from taking certain actions regarding certain
11 household pets; creating s. 468.907, F.S.; defining
12 the term "qualified breeder"; limiting the sources
13 from which retail pet stores may acquire household
14 pets for specified purposes; prohibiting certain
15 household pets from being used by retail pet stores
16 for specified purposes; requiring certain
17 documentation of the sources from which retail pet
18 stores acquire household pets for sale; providing
19 requirements for the living conditions for household
20 pets at retail pet stores; providing retail pet store
21 veterinarian, exercise, and socialization
22 requirements; creating s. 468.909, F.S.; requiring the
23 department to conduct periodic inspections of retail
24 pet stores and to audit sales records; requiring the
25 department to establish procedures for the inspections
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26 and records of the inspections; authorizing contracts
27 with certain veterinarians to conduct inspections;
28 creating s. 468.911, F.S.; requiring the department to
29 deny a retail pet store license under certain
30 circumstances; authorizing disciplinary action under
31 certain circumstances; specifying administrative
32 procedures; providing civil penalties; authorizing the
33 department to adopt rules; creating s. 468.913, F.S.;
34 authorizing civil actions for purposes of enforcement;
35 creating s. 468.915, F.S.; providing criminal
36 penalties for specified violations; creating s.
37 468.917, F.S.; requiring certain moneys to be
38 deposited into the department's Professional
39 Regulation Trust Fund; creating s. 468.919, F.S.;
40 providing construction; creating s. 468.921, F.S.;
41 prohibiting county and municipal ordinances and
42 regulations from prohibiting or regulating the
43 breeding, purchase, or sale of certain working dogs;
44 providing applicability with regard to new and
45 existing county and municipal ordinances and
46 regulations; amending s. 823.15, F.S.; requiring
47 certain public or private animal agencies to report on
48 a monthly basis certain animal records to the
49 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services;
50 requiring public animal rescues to make records
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51 available to the public; requiring the department to
52 make the data reported by the agencies available on
53 its website in a specified manner; requiring public
54 and private animal rescues and humane organizations to
55 provide for the sterilization of adopted dogs and cats
56 according to certain requirements; authorizing public
57 or private animal rescues to implant dogs and cats
58 with radio frequency identification microchips and to
59 contact the owners of such devices to verify pet
60 ownership; requiring certain public or private animal
61 agencies to disclose a dog's bite history before
62 adoption; prohibiting certain public or private animal
63 agencies from intentionally breeding dogs or cats for
64 sale to the public and from exchanging payment or
65 compensation to obtain dogs or cats from certain
66 persons; providing applicability; amending s. 474.203,
67 F.S.; conforming a provision to changes made by the
68 act; providing an effective date.
69
70 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
71
72 Section 1. The Division of Law Revision is directed to
73 create part XVII of chapter 468, Florida Statutes, consistin g of
74 ss. 468.901-468.921, Florida Statutes, to be entitled "Retail
75 Pet Stores."
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76 Section 2. Section 468.901, Florida Statutes, is created
77 to read:
78 468.901 Short title.—This part may be cited as the
79 "Florida Pet Protection Act."
80 Section 3. Section 468.903, Florida Statutes, is created
81 to read:
82 468.903 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term:
83 (1) "Animal rescue" means a nonprofit organization exempt
84 from federal income taxation under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal
85 Revenue Code which keeps, houses, and maintains household pets
86 and which is dedicated to the welfare, health, safety, and
87 protection of such pets. The term includes an organization that
88 offers spayed or neutered household pets for adoption and
89 charges only reasonable adoption fees to cover the
90 organization's costs, including, but not limited to, costs
91 related to spaying or neutering the pets.
92 (2) "Animal shelter" means a public facility, or a private
93 facility operated by a nonprofit organization exempt from
94 federal income taxation under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal
95 Revenue Code, which keeps, houses, and maintains household pets,
96 such as a county or municipal animal control agency or pound, a
97 humane society, an animal welfare society, a society for the
98 prevention of cruelty to animals, or another nonprofit
99 organization devoted to the welfare, protection, and humane
100 treatment of household pets.
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101 (3) "Department" means the Department of Business and
102 Professional Regulation.
103 (4) "Household pet" means a domestic dog or a domestic
104 cat.
105 (5) "Pet broker" means a person who buys, sells, or offers
106 for sale household pets for resale to other persons, or who
107 sells or gives one or more pets to a retail pet store, and who
108 holds a valid Class B animal dealer license issued by the United
109 States Department of Agriculture.
110 (6) "Professional breeder" means a person required to be
111 licensed as a Class A animal dealer by the United States
112 Department of Agriculture.
113 (7) "Retail pet store" means a retail store that sells or
114 offers for sale household pets to the public. The term does not
115 include an animal rescue; an animal shelter; or a breeder who
116 sells or transfers, directly to the public, household pets bred
117 and raised on the breeder's premises.
118 (8) "Veterinarian" means a health care practitioner
119 licensed under chapter 474, or licensed in another state by the
120 applicable entity in that state, to engage in the practice of
121 veterinary medicine.
122 Section 4. Section 468.905, Florida Statutes, is created
123 to read:
124 468.905 Licensure of retail pet stores.—
125 (1) A person may not operate a retail pet store in this
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126 state without having a valid retail pet store license issued by
127 the department in accordance with this section.
128 (2) The department shall adopt standards and procedures
129 for the licensure of retail pet stores consistent with this act.
130 An applicant for a retail pet store license must apply to the
131 department on a form prescribed by the department for each
132 premises. Upon licensure, the department shall assign a unique
133 license number for each licensed premises.
134 (3) The department may establish annual licenses that are
135 valid for 1 year and that may be renewed. An application for
136 renewal of a license must be submitted to the department in a
137 format prescribed by the department.
138 (4) A retail pet store that does not have a valid license
139 may not display, offer for sale, deliver, barter, auction,
140 broker, give away, transfer, or sell any household pet from the
141 store.
142 Section 5. Section 468.907, Florida Statutes, is created
143 to read:
144 468.907 Sale or transfer of household pets by retail pet
145 stores.—
146 (1) As used in this section, the term "qualified breeder"
147 means a professional breeder located within or outside this
148 state who meets all of the following requirements:
149 (a) Holds a valid Class A animal license issued by the
150 United States Department of Agriculture and, if required by the
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151 state in which he or she is located, is licensed by a state
152 agency.
153 (b) Has not been issued a report of a finally adjudicated
154 direct noncompliance violation by the United States Department
155 of Agriculture under the federal Animal Welfare Act, 7 U.S.C.
156 ss. 2131 et seq., in the 2 years immediately before offering for
157 sale, delivering, bartering, auctioning, brokering, giving away,
158 transferring, or selling a household pet. However, a
159 professional breeder is not considered a qualified breeder until
160 any pending report of a direct noncompliance violation is
161 finally adjudicated.
162 (c) Has not had three or more finally adjudicated
163 noncompliance violations documented in any report issued by the
164 United States Department of Agriculture under the federal Animal
165 Welfare Act, 7 U.S.C. ss. 2131 et seq., for the year immediately
166 before offering for sale, delivering, bartering, auctioning,
167 brokering, giving away, transferring, or selling a ho usehold
168 pet. However, a professional breeder is not considered a
169 qualified breeder until any pending report of a noncompliance
170 violation is finally adjudicated.
171 (2) A retail pet store may not display, offer for sale,
172 deliver, barter, auction, broker, give away, transfer, or sell
173 any household pet from the store unless such pet was acquired
174 from one of the following sources:
175 (a) A qualified breeder.
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176 (b) A person who, pursuant to 9 C.F.R. s. 2.1(a)(3)(ii) -
177 (vii), is exempt from licensure by the United States Department
178 of Agriculture.
179 (c) An animal rescue.
180 (d) An animal shelter.
181 (e) A pet broker; however, if the pet broker acquires the
182 pet from a professional breeder, the breeder must be a qualified
183 breeder.
184 (3) A retail pet store may not sell, deliver, barter,
185 auction, broker, give away, or transfer any household pet:
186 (a) Younger than 8 weeks of age.
187 (b) That has not been implanted with an International
188 Organization for Standardization (ISO) identification microchip.
189 (c) That does not have a valid veterinary certification,
190 including the United States Interstate and International
191 Certificate of Health Examination for Small Animals prescribed
192 by the United States Department of Agriculture or the official
193 certificate of veterinary inspection prescribed by the
194 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services pursuant to s.
195 828.29.
196 (d) To a person younger than 18 years of age, as verified
197 by a valid driver license, state identification card, or other
198 government-issued identification card bearing a photograph of
199 the cardholder.
200 (e) Acquired from a qualified breeder or pet broker,
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201 unless the retail pet store provides to the buyer acquiring the
202 pet, before completing the transaction, a written certification
203 that includes the following:
204 1. The name, address, and, if applicable, United States
205 Department of Agriculture license number of the breeder who bred
206 the household pet.
207 2. An electronic or paper copy of the breeder's most
208 recent United States Department of Agriculture inspection
209 report, if applicable.
210 3. The household pet's date of birth, if known.
211 4. The date the retail pet store took possession of the
212 household pet.
213 5. The breed, gender, color, and any identifying marks of
214 the household pet.
215 6. A signed statement by the retail pet store's Florida-
216 licensed veterinarian, in a format prescribed by the department,
217 which describes any known disease, illness, or congenital or
218 hereditary condition that adversely affects the