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A1649
ASSEMBLY, No. 1649
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman MELINDA KANE
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
���� Allows dog owners to procure identification cards for
guide or service dogs; appropriates $100,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning guide and service dogs, amending and
supplementing P.L.1941, c.151, and making an appropriation.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� Section 2 of P.L.1941,
c.151 (C.4:19-15.2) is amended to read as follows:
���� 2.� Any person who shall own,
keep or harbor a dog of licensing age shall annually or every third year, in
accordance with a 3-year dog license or renewal thereof issued under subsection
b. of section 12 of this act (C. 4:19-15.12b), apply for and procure from the
clerk of the municipality or other official designated by the governing body thereof
to license dogs in the municipality in which
[
he
]
the owner
resides, a license and official metal registration tag for each
[
such
]
dog so owned,
kept or harbored, and shall place upon each
[
such
]
dog a collar
or harness with the registration tag securely fastened thereto.� A person or
group temporarily caring for a dog placed in a foster home as part of a
formalized training to be a guide dog or service dog shall be exempt from
applying for and procuring a license and registration tag for the dog while the
dog remains in the foster home for such training.
����
A person who owns a guide
dog or service dog may also, at the same time the owner applies for and
procures a license and registration tag for the dog or renews the license and
registration tag, apply for and procure a card, developed by the Department Health
pursuant to section 3 of P.L.��� , c.�� (C.��� ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill), identifying the dog as a guide dog or service dog.
����
The application for the
identification card shall include an affidavit signed by the owner attesting
that the dog for which the card is being sought has been trained as a guide dog
or service dog.� A person who knowingly submits a false affidavit with the
application for the identification card is liable to a civil penalty of $500.
���� For the purposes of this
section, "guide dog" and "service dog" mean a guide dog or
service dog as defined in section 5 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-5).
(cf: P.L. 2015, c.163, s.1)
���� 2.� Section 3 of P.L.1941,
c.151 (C.4:19-15.3) is amended to read as follows:
���� 3.� The person applying for
the license and registration tag shall pay the fee fixed or authorized to be
fixed in section 12 of this act, and the sum of
[
$1.00
]
$1
for a one-year
registration tag or
[
$3.00
]
$3
for
a three-year registration tag for each dog; and for each renewal, the fee for
the license and for the registration tag shall be the same as for the original
license and tag; and said licenses, registration tags and renewals thereof
shall expire no later than June 30 in the year stated on the license; except
that this expiration date shall not require a municipality to alter its
schedule for administering rabies inoculations to any dog to be licensed and
registered; nor shall this expiration date require a municipality to alter its
schedule for renewing licenses and registration tags, provided that the
registration period precedes June 30.� The governing body of a municipality may
stagger the expiration of such annual licenses so long as all expirations occur
no later than June 30 in the calendar year stated on the license.
���� Only one license and
registration tag shall be required in any licensing year for any dog owned in
New Jersey, and such license and tag shall be accepted by all municipalities as
evidence of compliance with this section.�
����
An identification card
issued to an owner of a guide dog or service dog pursuant to section 2 of
P.L.1941, c.151 (C. 4:19-15.2) shall not expire and shall be accepted by all
municipalities as evidence that the owner�s dog has been trained as a guide dog
or service dog.
���� Dogs used as guide dogs or
service dogs shall be licensed and registered as other dogs hereinabove
provided for, except that the owner or keeper of a guide dog or service dog
shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.�
A person who owns a guide
dog or service dog and applies for an identification card pursuant to section 2
of P.L.1941, c.151 (C. 4:19-15.2) shall not be charged a fee to procure the
card.
� A dog temporarily placed in a foster home as part of a formalized
training to be a guide dog or service dog shall not be required to be licensed
and registered while the dog remains in the foster home for such training.
���� For the purposes of this
section, "guide dog" and "service dog" mean a guide dog or
service dog as defined in section 5 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-5).
���� License forms and uniform
official metal registration tags designed by the Department of Health shall be
furnished by the municipality and shall be numbered serially and shall bear the
year of issuance and the name of the municipality.�
(cf: P.L. 2015, c.163, s.2)
���� 3.� (New section)� The
Department of Health shall develop and make available to the clerk of a
municipality or other official designated by a governing body to license dogs
in the municipality, a card that can be used to identify a person�s dog as a
guide dog or service dog as defined in section 5 of P.L.1945, c.169
(C.10:5-5).� The person who owns the guide or service dog may request to apply
for the identification card, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1941, c.151
(C4:19-15.2), on a form prescribed by the department.� The form shall include
the name and address of the owner of the guide dog or service dog and any other
information prescribed by the department by rule.
���� 4.� The Department of Health shall
adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure
Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the provisions
of this act.
���� 5.� There is appropriated from
the General Fund $100,000 to the Department of Health for the purpose of
implementing the provisions of this act.
���� 6.� This act shall take effect
immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires the Department
of Department of Health (DOH) to develop and make available to the clerk of a
municipality or other official designated by a governing body to license dogs,
a card that can be used to identify a person�s dog as a guide or service dog.� The
person who owns the guide or service dog may request to apply for the
identification card, and the application is to include the owner�s name and
address and any other information prescribed by the DOH.
���� The bill amends section 2 of
P.L.1941, c.151 (C4:19-15.2) to allow the owner of a guide or service dog, at
the same time the owner applies for a dog license and registration tag or
renews the license and registration tag, to apply for and procure the identification
card.� The application is to include an affidavit signed by the owner attesting
that the dog has been trained as a guide or service dog.� A person who
knowingly submits a false affidavit with the application is liable to a civil
penalty of $500.
���� The bill also amends section 3
of P.L.1941, c.151 (C.4:19-15.3) to stipulate that an identification card
issued to a guide or service dog owner does not expire and is to be accepted by
all municipalities as evidence that the dog has been trained as a guide or
service dog.�
���� The bill provides that a guide
or service dog owner who applies for an identification card is not to be
charged a fee to procure the card.