SACRAMENTO – The California Senate Committee on Governmental Organization voted 10-1 on Tuesday to approve SB 254, legislation by North Coast State Sen. Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa) to combat fraud related to the sale of horses.

Wiggins said that current state law lacks clarity and has “resulted in opportunities for unscrupulous individuals to defraud people in the sale of horses.” Her bill would “rewrite the business and professions code to mandate a reliable written record of horse transactions and punish, through treble damages and potential license revocation, those who use equine transactions to defraud.”

Specifically, SB 254 would require any sale, purchase, or transfer of an equine to be accompanied by a written bill of sale or acknowledgment of purchase, and a security agreement setting forth the purchase price, and signed by both the purchaser and seller or their duly authorized agents.

The bill would provide that it is unlawful for any person to act as a dual agent unless certain conditions are met, and would make it unlawful for a person acting as an agent to receive in excess of $500 in compensation or in other items of value, related to that transaction, other than from the agent's principal, unless certain conditions are met.

SB 254 would allow any person injured by a violation of its provisions to recover treble damages, plus other expenses.

The bill is supported by Stonestreet and Barretts Equine Limited.

Stonestreet, the sponsor of SB 254, writes that "the unfortunate reality of the equine world is that traditionally acceptable industry practices have resulted in an environment which provides an opportunity for unscrupulous individuals to defraud others and when such fraud has been both difficult to detect and correct. The intent of the statute is leveled at both correcting the business culture by mandating written agreements and deterring inappropriate behavior by providing enhanced damages. SB 254 does not change the intent of existing law, it simply clarifies the language and improves the efficacy of the statute.”

Wiggins represents California’s large 2nd Senate District, which is comprised of portions or all of six counties: Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano and Sonoma.