[nagdu] Legislative Consideration

Ginger Kutsch gingerKutsch at yahoo.com
Sun Jan 17 20:29:26 UTC 2010


Dear Marion,

Pasted below are several of the states that offer protection
against misrepresentation.

California
Penal Code, Section 365.7(1994) Misrepresentation of Disability: 
"Any person who knowingly and fraudulently 
represents himself or herself, through verbal or written notice,
to be the owner or trainer  of any canine licensed as, to be
qualified as, or identified as, a guide, signal or service  dog,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in
the county jail not  exceeding six months, by a fine not
exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by both that  fine and
imprisonment."


Idaho
§ 18-5811A. Unlawful use of assistance device or dog
"Any person, not being a disabled person or being trained to
assist disabled persons, who  uses an assistance device or
assistance dog in an attempt to gain treatment or benefits as a
disabled person, is guilty of a misdemeanor."


New Hampshire
Section XII-167-D:7(1990)  "II. It is unlawful for any person to
fit a dog with a collar, leash, or harness of the type  which
represents that the dog is a hearing ear dog, guide dog, or
service dog, if in fact  said dog is not and to thus use the dog
to misrepresent the physical status of said person."


Texas
 Section 121.006. PENALTIES FOR IMPROPER USE OF ASSISTANCE
ANIMALS. 
"(a) A person who uses an assistance animal with a harness or
leash of the type commonly  used by persons with disabilities who
use trained animals, in order to represent that his or  her
animal is a specially trained assistance animal when training of
the type described in  Section 121.002(1)(B) of this chapter has
not in fact been provided, is guilty of a  misdemeanor and on
conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more than $200." 


North Carolina
§ 168-4.5. Penalty
"It is unlawful to disguise a dog as an assistance dog, or to
deprive a visually impaired person, a hearing impaired person, or
a mobility impaired person of any rights granted the person
pursuant to G.S. 168-4.2 through G.S. 168-4.4, or of any rights
or privileges granted the general public with respect to being
accompanied by dogs, or to charge any fee for the use of the
assistance dog. Violation of this section shall be a Class 3
misdemeanor."


Washington
Section 70.84.060. Unauthorized use of white cane, dog guide, or
service animal
"It shall be unlawful for any pedestrian who is not totally or
partially blind to use a  white cane or any pedestrian who is not
totally or partially blind or is not hearing  impaired to use a
dog guide or any pedestrian who is not otherwise physically
disabled to  use a service animal in any of the places,
accommodations, or conveyances listed in RCW  70.84.010 for the
purpose of securing the rights and privileges accorded by the
chapter to  totally or partially blind, hearing impaired, or
otherwise physically disabled people.
(misdemeanor and on conviction shall be punished by a fine of not
more than $200.”




   
-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Marion & Martin
Sent: Sunday, January 17, 2010 9:33 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog
Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Legislative Consideration

Peter,
    When you say that "several other white Cane Laws have such a
provision", are you referring to the violation for carrying a
white cane or for fraudulently passing off a service animal? If
the latter, do you have citations for this? If so, it would
certainly help our efforts.

Fraternally yours,
Marion


----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue1 at sbcglobal.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog
Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 16, 2010 12:44 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Legislative Consideration


> Hello Marion and listers,
>
> Several other state white cane laws all ready have such a
provision.
> Go for it.
> Peter Donahue
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Marion & Martin" <swampfox1833 at verizon.net>
> To: "FLAGDU List" <flagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: "NYAGDU List" <nyagdu at nfbnet.org>; "NAGDU List"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, January 16, 2010 10:10 AM
> Subject: [nagdu] Legislative Consideration
>
>
> Dear All,
>    Last week, someone claiming protection under the ADA brought
what they
> purported to be a service animal onto a Hillsborough Area
Regional Transit
> (HART) vehicle and this animal bit the employee. Though we are
unclear 
> about
> all of the circumstances, such as if it was a fixed route or
para transit
> vehicle or if the dog was a legitimate service animal, the
incident has
> caused some issues.
>    When Merry was coming home from her internship last
Wednesday, the
> operator told her she needed to provide documentation for
Kappie, which 
> she
> refused to do. He refused to move the vehicle while he
contacted the
> dispatcher. ITM, Merry called me concerning this. When I called
the
> dispatcher, I was told that HART had implemented a new policy
that "all
> animals, including service animals, must show proof of
vaccination" (his
> words). I advised him that such a policy was in violation of
the ADA, to
> which he asserted it was not. When I asked him if he was an
attorney, he
> said he was not but he would be happy to transfer me to HART's
legal
> counsel. He also told me that Merry could ride this time, but
would need 
> to
> provide such documentation  of vaccination the next time she
traveled.
>    I left a message for HART's counsel, Sylvia Berrien,  and
received a
> return call the following morning. I have discussed this issue
with Ms.
> Berrien, with HART's  Director of Customer Service, Sylvia
Castillo, and
> Katherine Eagan, HART's Chief of Route Development, all of whom
apologized
> for the incident, assured me that there was no such policy, and

> immediately
> issued a memorandum to all HART operators concerning this.
>    This all leads me to the subject of this message. Florida
statute
> 316.1301, Commonly known as the "White Cane Law", states in
paragraph (1),
> "It is unlawful for any person, unless totally or partially
blind or
> otherwise incapacitated, while on any public street or highway,
to carry 
> in
> a raised or extended position a cane or walking stick which is
white in
> color or white tipped with red. A person who is convicted of a
violation 
> of
> this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second
degree". In
> addition to this incident (HART seems to believe this animal
was not a
> service animal under the definition of the ADA), we have
encountered 
> others
> claiming their pets were service animals in order to gain
access with 
> them.
>    How would you feel about a measure to create a criminal
penalty for
> those who pass their pets off as service animals in order to
gain access
> with them, similar to those provisions mentioned above? I am
also
> circulating this message to other affiliate divisions and to
the NAGDU 
> list
> to gain input on this issue. All comments are invited!
>
>
>
> Fraternally yours,
>
> Marion Gwizdala, President
>
> National Association of Guide Dog Users
>
> National Federation of the Blind
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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