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S3512
SENATE, No. 3512
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 12, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� ANTHONY M. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
���� Regulates performance of pet grooming services.�
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning pet grooming and supplementing
P.L.1960,
c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.).
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� As used in this act:
���� �Director� means the Director
of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
���� �Division� means the Division
of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
���� �Negligent performance of pet
grooming� occurs when a pet experiences any of the following:
���� (1)�� an injury that required
veterinary contact which was sustained while at a pet grooming facility;
���� (2)�� severe illness
reasonably believed to be contracted while receiving pet grooming services;
���� (3)�� pet escape; or
���� (4)�� pet death.
���� �Person� means a natural
person or an organization, including a corporation, partnership,
proprietorship, association, cooperative, or any other business entity.
���� �Pet� means any animal placed
in the care of a person who performs pet grooming services.
���� �Pet grooming� means the act
of bathing, brushing, clipping, or styling a pet.
���� 2.��� a.� A person performing
pet grooming services who is the subject of three or more complaints alleging
the negligent performance of pet grooming and determined to be valid by the
director, pursuant to section 3 of this act, within a period of one calendar
year shall register on forms to be provided by the division in accordance with
the provisions of this act.�
���� b.��� A person who is required
to register under the provisions of this act shall remain registered for a
period of one calendar year.� The registration requirement shall expire at the
end of the calendar year, unless extended pursuant to subsection c. of this
section.
���� c.���� For every complaint
that is received and determined to be valid by the director while the person is
registered pursuant to this section, the person shall be required to remain
registered for one additional calendar year.
���� 3.��� A pet owner who has been
aggrieved by a person performing pet grooming services may file a complaint
with the division alleging an incident constituting the negligent performance
of pet grooming.� A pet owner shall file a complaint no later than 90 days after
the alleged incident occurred. The director shall investigate each complaint
filed pursuant to this section to determine whether it is valid.� The director
shall render a final disposition of the inquiry within 90 days of the date the
complaint was filed.� In order to accomplish the objectives of this section,
the director may hold investigative hearings as may be necessary and may issue
subpoenas to compel the attendance of any person or the production of books,
records, or other evidence.
���� 4.��� a.� The director shall
maintain and publish the registration by means of a list that contains the
name, business address, municipality, and any other identifying information the
director determines is necessary, of every person required to register pursuant
to section 2 of this act. The published registration list shall provide an
explanation of every person�s registration, including a description of the
person�s negligent performance of pet grooming, the calendar date the person
first appeared on the registration list, and any other information the director
determines is necessary.� The list shall be made available to the public and
prominently displayed on an Internet website maintained by the division.
���� b.��� The director shall
remove a registrant�s name, business address, municipality, and any other
information from the registration list after the registrant�s applicable
registration period has expired pursuant to section 2 of this act.
���� 5.��� A person who is
registered pursuant to section 2 of this act shall provide notification, in a
form issued by the director, to every pet owner who engages the person in the
performance of pet grooming services.� In addition, the person shall
conspicuously post the notification in a place or places accessible to all
consumers in any facility used by the person to perform pet grooming services.�
The requirements of this section shall apply only during the period of time
which the person is registered.
���� 6.��� The director shall
establish and undertake a public awareness campaign to ensure that the public,
pet owners, and persons who perform pet grooming services in this State are
educated and informed of the provisions of this act, including the provisions
concerning the registration requirement, complaint process, and penalties.� The
public awareness campaign shall include, but not be limited to, the
preparation, printing and distribution of booklets, pamphlets, or other written
and digital pertinent information.
���� 7.��� a.� It is an unlawful
practice and a violation of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.) to violate any
provision of this act.
���� b.��� In addition to any other
penalty provided by law, a person is liable for a penalty of $1,000 per day for
each day that the person continues to perform pet grooming services without
registering as required under this act.� The penalty shall be collected by the
director in a summary proceeding in accordance with the �Penalty Enforcement
Law of 1999,� P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
���� 8.��� This act shall take
effect on the 90th day after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires a person
who is found to have negligently performed pet grooming services to register
with the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public
Safety.
���� The bill provides that a
person performing pet grooming services who is the subject of three or more
consumer complaints alleging the negligent performance of pet grooming, and
determined to be valid by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, within
a period of one calendar year must register in accordance with the provisions
of the bill.�
���� For the purposes of the bill
the negligent performance of pet grooming occurs when a pet experiences any of
the following:
���� (1)�� an injury that required
veterinary contact which was sustained while at a pet grooming facility;
���� (2)�� severe illness
reasonably believed to be contracted while receiving pet grooming services;
���� (3)�� pet escape; or
���� (4)�� pet death.
���� A person who is required to
register under the provisions of this bill will remain registered for a period
of one calendar year.� The registration requirement expires at the end of the
calendar year, unless extended.� For every complaint that is received and
determined to be valid by the director while the person is registered, the
person will be required to remain registered for one additional calendar year.
���� The bill provides that a pet
owner who has been aggrieved by a person performing pet grooming services may
file a complaint with the division alleging an incident constituting the
negligent performance of pet grooming.� A pet owner must file a complaint no
later than 90 days after the alleged incident occurred.� The director will
investigate each complaint filed to determine whether it is valid.� The
director must render a final disposition of the inquiry within 90 days of the
date the complaint was filed.� The bill also provides that the director may
hold investigative hearings as may be necessary and may issue subpoenas to
compel the attendance of any person or the production of books, records, or
other evidence.
���� The director will maintain and
publish the registration required by the bill by means of a list that contains
the name, business address, municipality, and any other identifying information
the director determines is necessary, of every person required to register.�
The published registration list will provide an explanation of every person�s
registration, including a description of the person�s negligent performance of
pet grooming, the calendar date the person first appeared on the registration
list, and any other information the director determines is necessary.� The list
must be made available to the public and prominently displayed on an Internet
website maintained by the division.� The director must remove a registrant�s
name, business address, municipality, and any other information from the
registration list after the registrant�s applicable registration period has
expired.
���� A person who is registered
pursuant to the provisions of the bill must provide notification, in a form
issued by the director, to every pet owner who engages the person in the
performance of pet grooming services.� In addition, the person must conspicuously
post the notification in a place or places accessible to all consumers in any
facility used by the person to perform pet grooming services.�
���� The bill requires the director
to establish and undertake a public awareness campaign to ensure that the
public, pet owners, and persons who perform pet grooming services in this State
are educated and informed of the provisions of the bill, including the
provisions concerning the registration requirement, complaint process, and
penalties.� The public awareness campaign must include, but not be limited to,
the preparation, printing and distribution of booklets, pamphlets, or other
written and digital pertinent information.
���� Finally, the bill provides
that it is an unlawful practice and a violation of the New Jersey consumer
fraud act, P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.), to violate any provision of the
bill.� In addition, a person is liable for a penalty of $1,000 per day for each
day that the person continues to perform pet grooming services without
registering as required under the bill.