[nagdu] Florida: Is your pet really a service animal? Bill makes it a crime to lie about it

[Ginger Kutsch]

Florida: Is your pet really a service animal? Bill makes it a crime to lie about it

Palm Beach Post - Blog

 December 15, 2014      | Filed in: State House. 

Source URL: http://postonpolitics.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2014/12/15/is-your-pet-really-a-service-animal-bill-makes-it-a-crime-to-lie-about-it/ 

 

Trying to pass your family pet off as a service animal would be against the law under a bill proposed by Rep. Jimmie Smith, R-Inverness.

 

“I love that people love their animals and want to take them with them,” said Smith. But when people bring their pet into restaurants and businesses pretending it is a service animal and that animal misbehaves, “it distracts from people’s trust in what a service dog is.”

 

Smith filed a similar bill last year after he was approached by disability rights groups about the increase in pet owners claiming their pet is a service animal. The bill failed when it was not called up for a committee hearing.

 

Smith said he tweaked this year’s bill, HB 71, after he spoke with representatives of restaurant, entertainment and business trade groups.

 

Although much of the bill reiterates rights and rules included in the Americans with Disabilities Act, in also makes misrepresenting your pet as a service animal a second-degree misdemeanor.

 

The punishment: 30 hours of community service for an organization that assists the disabled or other group decided by a judge. The community service must be completed within six months.

 

“It’s so easy to basically defraud the system,” Smith said. “All you have to do is buy a vest or tags and when you’re challenged you say, “talk to my lawyer.””

 

To combat that defense, Smith’s bill also includes two questions that businesses can ask: Is the animal a service animal required because of a disability? What tasks has the animal been trained to perform?

 

The bill also defines service animal to apply to dogs and miniature horses, not flying squirrels or other animals.

 

“One amusement park said someone came in with a flying squirrel and claimed it was a service animal,” Smith said, adding that the law is specifically intended to protect those with invisible disabilities, such as PTSD, allergies, diabetes and vertigo

 

“It’s quite apparent some are not service animals.”

 

Text of Florida HB71 is located at:

http://myfloridahouse.com/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=53081