[Flagdu] New 413.08

Sat Mar 12 20:11:34 UTC 2011

Here is the Florida Statute for Guide and Service Dogs in Florida:

Service Animals

FLORIDA STATUTE 413.08  

Rights of an individual with a disability; use of a service animal;
discrimination in public employment or housing accommodations; penalties.

(1)  As used in this section and s. 413.081, the term:

(a)  "Housing accommodation" means any real property or portion thereof
which is used or occupied, or intended, arranged, or designed to be used or
occupied, as the home, residence, or sleeping place of one or more persons,
but does not include any single-family residence, the occupants of which
rent, lease, or furnish for compensation not more than one room therein.

(b)  "Individual with a disability" means a person who is deaf, hard of
hearing, blind, visually impaired, or otherwise physically disabled. As used
in this paragraph, the term:

1.  "Hard of hearing" means an individual who has suffered a permanent
hearing impairment that is severe enough to necessitate the use of
amplification devices to discriminate speech sounds in verbal communication.

2.  "Physically disabled" means any person who has a physical impairment
that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

(c)  "Public accommodation" means a common carrier, airplane, motor vehicle,
railroad train, motor bus, streetcar, boat, or other public conveyance or
mode of transportation; hotel; lodging place; place of public accommodation,
amusement, or resort; and other places to which the general public is
invited, subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law
and applicable alike to all persons.

(d)  "Service animal" means an animal that is trained to perform tasks for
an individual with a disability. The tasks may include, but are not limited
to, guiding a person who is visually impaired or blind, alerting a person
who is deaf or hard of hearing, pulling a wheelchair, assisting with
mobility or balance, alerting and protecting a person who is having a
seizure, retrieving objects, or performing other special tasks. A service
animal is not a pet.

(2)  An individual with a disability is entitled to full and equal
accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges in all public
accommodations. This section does not require any person, firm, business, or
corporation, or any agent thereof, to modify or provide any vehicle,
premises, facility, or service to a higher degree of accommodation than is
required for a person not so disabled.

(3)  An individual with a disability has the right to be accompanied by a
service animal in all areas of a public accommodation that the public or
customers are normally permitted to occupy.

(a)  Documentation that the service animal is trained is not a precondition
for providing service to an individual accompanied by a service animal. A
public accommodation may ask if an animal is a service animal or what tasks
the animal has been trained to perform in order to determine the difference
between a service animal and a pet.

(b)  A public accommodation may not impose a deposit or surcharge on an
individual with a disability as a precondition to permitting a service
animal to accompany the individual with a disability, even if a deposit is
routinely required for pets.

(c)  An individual with a disability is liable for damage caused by a
service animal if it is the regular policy and practice of the public
accommodation to charge nondisabled persons for damages caused by their
pets.

(d)  The care or supervision of a service animal is the responsibility of
the individual owner. A public accommodation is not required to provide care
or food or a special location for the service animal or assistance with
removing animal excrement.

(e)  A public accommodation may exclude or remove any animal from the
premises, including a service animal, if the animal's behavior poses a
direct threat to the health and safety of others. Allergies and fear of
animals are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to an
individual with a service animal. If a service animal is excluded or removed
for being a direct threat to others, the public accommodation must provide
the individual with a disability the option of continuing access to the
public accommodation without having the service animal on the premises.

(4)  Any person, firm, or corporation, or the agent of any person, firm, or
corporation, who denies or interferes with admittance to, or enjoyment of, a
public accommodation or otherwise interferes with the rights of an
individual with a disability or the trainer of a service animal while
engaged in the training of such an animal pursuant to subsection (8),
commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s.
775.082 or s. 775.083.

(5)  It is the policy of this state that an individual with a disability be
employed in the service of the state or political subdivisions of the state,
in the public schools, and in all other employment supported in whole or in
part by public funds, and an employer may not refuse employment to such a
person on the basis of the disability alone, unless it is shown that the
particular disability prevents the satisfactory performance of the work
involved.

(6)  An individual with a disability is entitled to rent, lease, or
purchase, as other members of the general public, any housing accommodations
offered for rent, lease, or other compensation in this state, subject to the
conditions and limitations established by law and applicable alike to all
persons.

(a)  This section does not require any person renting, leasing, or otherwise
providing real property for compensation to modify her or his property in
any way or provide a higher degree of care for an individual with a
disability than for a person who is not disabled.

(b)  An individual with a disability who has a service animal or who obtains
a service animal is entitled to full and equal access to all housing
accommodations provided for in this section, and such a person may not be
required to pay extra compensation for the service animal. However, such a
person is liable for any damage done to the premises or to another person on
the premises by such an animal. A housing accommodation may request proof of
compliance with vaccination requirements.

(7)  An employer covered under subsection (5) who discriminates against an
individual with a disability in employment, unless it is shown that the
particular disability prevents the satisfactory performance of the work
involved, or any person, firm, or corporation, or the agent of any person,
firm, or corporation, providing housing accommodations as provided in
subsection (6) who discriminates against an individual with a disability,
commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s.
775.082 or s. 775.083.

(8)  Any trainer of a service animal, while engaged in the training of such
an animal, has the same rights and privileges with respect to access to
public facilities and the same liability for damage as is provided for those
persons described in subsection (3) accompanied by service animals.

History.--s. 1, ch. 25268, 1949; s. 1, ch. 61-217; s. 361, ch. 71-136; s. 1,
ch. 71-276; s. 1, ch. 73-110; s. 1, ch. 74-286; s. 1, ch. 77-174; s. 19, ch.
77-259; s. 178, ch. 79-400; s. 1, ch. 82-111; s. 73, ch. 83-218; s. 60, ch.
85-81; s. 1, ch. 87-312; s. 1, ch. 89-317; s. 1, ch. 90-8; s. 1, ch. 91-94;
s. 1, ch. 93-18; s. 57, ch. 97-103; s. 1, ch. 98-19; s. 3, ch. 2002-176; s.
1, ch. 2005-63. 