Assembly BillPassed first houseHealth and Safety
AB 1382: Ethics Over Aesthetics Act.
What AB 1382 does, verified August 15, 2026
The bill aims to regulate the importation and sale of transgenic pet animals with cosmetic traits. It prohibits the importation, sale, or offering for sale of such animals in the state, except under certain conditions. Violations of this prohibition are punishable by a civil penalty of not less than $5,000. The district attorney or city attorney can bring an action to enforce the prohibition. The bill adds new regulations to existing laws regarding the importation and sale of wild animals and pets in the state.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
4Second ChamberCurrent
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: In committee: Held under submission. (2026-08-13)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions25 total · showing 5
| Aug. 13, 2026 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| Jun. 29, 2026 | In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Jun. 17, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 16). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun. 01, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (June 1). Re-referred to Com. on JUD. |
| May. 13, 2026 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on B. P. & E.D. |
Latest bill textAmended version, May 13, 2026 · 863 words
| Amended IN Senate May 13, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly January 05, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly April 22, 2025 |
| Amended IN Assembly March 28, 2025 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1382
| Introduced by Assembly Member Castillo (Coauthors: Assembly Members Bryan and Dixon) (Coauthors: Senators Jones and Ochoa Bogh) |
February 21, 2025 |
An act to add Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 122325) to Part 6 of Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to animals.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1382, as amended, Castillo. Ethics Over Aesthetics Act.
Existing law generally regulates the importation of wild animals into the state and the sale of dogs, cats, and birds. Existing law requires a person seeking to bring or import a dog into the state for purposes of resale or change of ownership to obtain a health certificate for that dog, as specified. Existing law requires a breeder of dogs to disclose to a purchaser of a dog certain information, including the breed, sex, color, and identifying marks at the time of sale, a record of inoculations and worming treatments administered, and whether the dog has any known disease, illness, or congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects its health, as specified.
This bill would prohibit, except as specified, a person from importing for profit, selling, or offering for sale in this state a transgenic pet animal that possesses a cosmetic transgenic trait, as specified. The bill would provide that each transgenic pet animal imported for profit, sold, or offered for sale in this state in violation of that prohibition is a separate violation and is punishable by a civil penalty of not less than $5,000. The bill would authorize the district attorney of the county in which the violation occurred, or the city attorney of the city in which the violation occurred, to bring an action to enforce that prohibition, as specified.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 122325) is added to Part 6 of Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:CHAPTER 6.5. Ethics Over Aesthetics Act
122325.
This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Ethics Over Aesthetics Act.122325.2.
For purposes of this chapter, all of the following definitions apply:(a) “Cosmetic transgenic trait” means a transgenic trait that alters, modifies, or engineers a transgenic pet animal’s appearance or natural functions, which may include, but not be limited to, novel fur, skin, feather, or scale coloring, the removal of claws or vocal cords, or the addition or subtraction of appendages.
(b) “Pet animal” means a dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, mouse, reptile, amphibian, bird, fish, or other species of animal kept for the purpose of being a household pet.
(c) “Transgenic pet animal” means a pet animal that possesses a transgenic trait, and includes the progeny of a transgenic pet animal.
(d) “Transgenic trait” means a trait that has been deliberately altered, modified, or engineered, through means not possible under natural conditions, by insertion of a foreign gene using genetic engineering methods, including, but not limited to, the introduction of chromosomes containing artificially transferred genetic material from any other organism or a laboratory construct, regardless of whether the original source’s genetic material was altered, modified, or engineered before insertion, or whether the originally transferred genetic material was inherited through normal reproduction.
122325.4.
(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a person shall not import for profit, sell, or offer for sale in this state a transgenic pet animal that possesses a cosmetic transgenic trait.(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a transgenic pet animal if any of the following apply:
(A) The transgenic trait is for the sole purpose of benefiting the health of the transgenic pet animal, including, but not limited to, making the transgenic pet animal resistant to a disease or condition.
(B) The transgenic trait is for the sole purpose of enhancing the transgenic pet animal’s interaction with humans, including, but not limited to, promoting hypoallergenic traits, and does not alter the natural functions of the transgenic pet animal.
(C)The transgenic pet animal is of an aquatic pet animal species produced through breeding, conjugation, fermentation, hybridization, in vitro fertilization, or tissue culture, and no transgenic organisms are involved.
(D)The transgenic pet animal is of an aquatic pet animal species produced through whole genome ploidy manipulation.
(C) The transgenic pet animal is of a fish species that satisfies the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 1.92 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(b) Each transgenic pet animal imported for profit, sold, or offered for sale in this state in violation of this section shall be a separate violation and shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000). An action to enforce this section may be brought by the district attorney of the county in which the violation occurred or by the city attorney of the city in which the violation occurred. The civil penalty shall be paid to the city or county, as applicable, of the attorney that brings the action.
Text of AB 1382 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions