New Jersey S 2485: Regulates performance of pet grooming services.

Bill Text

SENATE, No. 2485  
 
STATE OF NEW JERSEY 
220th LEGISLATURE 
   
INTRODUCED MAY 12, 2022 
 
 
Sponsored by: 
Senator  ANTHONY M. BUCCO 
District 25 (Morris and Somerset) 
 
 
 
 
SYNOPSIS 
 Regulates performance of pet grooming services.  
 
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT  
 As introduced. 
    

 
S2485 A.M.BUCCO 
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AN ACT concerning  pet  grooming  and  supplementing P.L.1960, 1 
c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.). 2 
 3 
 BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 4 
of New Jersey: 5 
 6 
 1. As used in this act: 7 
 “Director”  means  the  Director  of  the  Division  of  Consumer 8 
Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety. 9 
 “Division”  means  the  Division  of Consumer   Affairs   in   the 10 
Department of Law and Public Safety. 11 
 “Negligent  performance  of  pet  grooming”  occurs  when  a  pet 12 
experiences any of the following: 13 
 (1) an   injury   that   required   veterinary   contact   which   was 14 
sustained while at a pet grooming facility; 15 
 (2) severe  illness  reasonably  believed  to  be  contracted  while 16 
receiving pet grooming services; 17 
 (3) pet escape; or 18 
 (4) pet death. 19 
 “Person” means a  natural  person  or  an  organization,  including  a 20 
corporation, partnership, proprietorship, association, cooperative, or 21 
any other business entity. 22 
 “Pet”  means  any  animal  placed  in  the  care  of  a  person  who 23 
performs pet grooming services. 24 
 “Pet grooming” means the act of bathing, brushing, clipping, or 25 
styling a pet. 26 
 27 
 2. a.    A  person  performing  pet  grooming  services  who  is  the 28 
subject   of   three   or   more   complaints   alleging   the   negligent 29 
performance  of  pet  grooming  and  determined  to  be  valid  by  the 30 
director,  pursuant  to  section  3  of  this  act,  within  a  period  of  one 31 
calendar year shall register on forms to be provided by the division 32 
in accordance with the provisions of this act.   33 
 b. A  person  who  is  required  to register under  the provisions  of 34 
this  act  shall  remain  registered  for  a  period  of  one  calendar  year.  35 
The  registration  requirement  shall  expire  at  the  end of  the  calendar 36 
year, unless extended pursuant to subsection c. of this section. 37 
 c. For  every  complaint  that  is  received  and  determined  to  be 38 
valid  by  the  director  while  the  person  is  registered  pursuant  to  this 39 
section,  the  person  shall  be  required  to  remain  registered  for  one 40 
additional calendar year. 41 
 42 
 3. A pet owner who has been aggrieved by a person performing 43 
pet   grooming  services   may   file   a   complaint   with   the  division 44 
alleging  an  incident  constituting  the  negligent  performance  of  pet 45 
grooming.  A pet owner shall file a complaint no later than 90 days 46 
after the  alleged  incident  occurred. The  director  shall  investigate 47 
each complaint filed pursuant to this section to determine whether it 48 

 
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is  valid.   The  director shall  render  a  final  disposition of the  inquiry 1 
within  90  days  of  the  date  the  complaint  was  filed.    In  order  to 2 
accomplish  the  objectives  of  this  section,  the  director  may  hold 3 
investigative   hearings   as   may   be   necessary   and   may   issue 4 
subpoenas to compel the attendance of any person or the production 5 
of books, records, or other evidence. 6 
 7 
 4. a.  The director shall maintain and publish the registration by 8 
means   of   a   list   that   contains   the   name,   business   address, 9 
municipality,  and  any  other  identifying  information  the  director 10 
determines   is   necessary,   of   every   person   required   to   register 11 
pursuant to section 2 of this act. The published registration list shall 12 
provide an explanation of every person’s registration, including a 13 
description of the person’s negligent performance of pet grooming, 14 
the  calendar  date  the  person  first  appeared  on  the  registration  list, 15 
and any other information the director determines is necessary.  The 16 
list shall be made available to the public and prominently displayed 17 
on an Internet website maintained by the division. 18 
 b. The  director  shall  remove  a  registrant’s  name,  business 19 
address,    municipality,    and    any    other    information    from    the 20 
registration list after the registrant’s applicable registration period 21 
has expired pursuant to section 2 of this act. 22 
 23 
 5. A  person  who  is  registered  pursuant  to  section  2  of  this  act 24 
shall provide notification, in a form issued by the director, to every 25 
pet  owner  who  engages  the  person  in  the  performance  of  pet 26 
grooming services.  In addition, the person shall conspicuously post 27 
the  notification  in  a  place  or  places  accessible  to  all  consumers  in 28 
any  facility  used  by  the  person  t