[Flagdu] New FL service dog law

[Janet DeLuca]

Hi Pat, it does take a few minutes to come up. However I did copy and paste
it for everyone.
A bill aimed at making it easier for people with service animals to get fair
treatment in stores and housing moved on to its last House committee today.
The bill would require public places to accommodate disabled people who
require the help of trained dogs or miniature horses.  
Toni King sat in her office Thursday afternoon at Lighthouse of the Big
Bend, a nonprofit that helps people with vision loss. King's service dog
slept on a big plaid cushion beside her. As she talked, she twisted a
dog-bone-shaped charm on her silver necklace.
"I actually have a necklace on that has a little dog bone on it. And I got
it for my birthday two years ago. I love dogs, I always have. But yeah, I
wear this thinking a lot about my boy," she says.
The dog is a 2-year-old black and tan Labrador. King doesn't share his name,
she says, because that can distract him from working. She's had people feed
him and pet him without asking her. And when she travels the state helping
other blind people learn independence, she says sometimes she and her dog
run into trouble. 
"One convenience store owner was very, very adamant that he wanted me out of
his establishment, so we did so, but I later pulled up the ADA law and sent
that to the owner of that business," she says.
The federal ADA, or Americans with Disabilities Act, says businesses and
housing must accommodate service animals for people with disabilities.  But
Rep. Jimmie Smith (R-Inverness) says Florida law lags behind in spelling out
that protection. His bill aims to fix that and also expands the definition
of "service animal" to include dogs and horses trained to help people with
mental illnesses like post-traumatic stress disorder.
Smith says, "They get into a certain mode because of their PTSD. Well the
dogs can actually be trained to A) Make sure that people don't crowd the
individual by stepping up in front of somebody or B) They can start tugging
on the individual."
Smith says the animals his bill protects must be trained to perform a
specific function related to a person's disorder. That's why he included a
provision allowing landlords to ask for verification of the disorder.
But, as the bill mentions, federal housing law also protects another class
of creature called "emotional support animals," meaning they too must be
allowed to live in pet-free buildings free of charge, even though they are
not required to be trained and can be any type of animal. That's caused
headaches for landlords. Community Association Leadership Lobby director
Yeline Goin testified before the House Judiciary Committee that the
emotional support animal industry is rife with fraud.
"There are so-called medical professionals who advertise that for $99 they
will write you a letter for an emotional support animal," she said.
King says emotional support animals can cause problems for people like her
with "legitimate" service animals too.
"I've had friends whose guide dogs have been attacked by little dogs on
planes, and they had brought their dog on the plane claiming it was an
emotional support animal," she says.
Smith's bill doesn't do anything to specifically address emotional support
animal fraud-something Goin's group is hoping for. But the bill does make
misrepresenting an animal as a service animal a crime punishable by up to
two months in jail and a $500 fine. In addition, the offender would have to
do 30 hours of community service for an organization that serves people with
disabilities.
Tags: 
service dogs
Lighthouse of the Big Bend
emotional support animals
service animals
PTSD
disabilities
ADA



-----Original Message-----
From: Flagdu [mailto:flagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Patricia A.
Lipovsky
Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2014 10:23 PM
To: Florida Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [Flagdu] New FL service dog law

I'm sorry, but I was not able to access this law through the link.  Can
someone please cut and paste it into an email?

Thanks.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Jody W Ianuzzi" <jody at thewhitehats.com>
To: "Florida Association of Guide Dog Users" <flagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2014 11:52 AM
Subject: [Flagdu] New FL service dog law


> New FL service dog law:
>
> http://m.news.wfsu.org/?utm_referrer=#mobile/48084
>
>
>
> JODY
>
> "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!" Thomas Jefferson
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