[NAGDU] HB2992

[NAGDU President]

Dan,

	We are working to change some of these misconceptions about the law
among our law enforcement and state's attorneys. I am of the opinion that we
need to be on the front lines and push for enforcement and prosecution. At
this very writing, we are attempting to press the State Attorney of the 13th
Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County (Tampa), Florida to prosecute a case
of clear and unambiguous access denial with obvious criminal intent and full
knowledge. Our SAO is asserting that all previous cases have been null
proxed (dismissed) telling him the law is unenforceable. He is refusing to
do any further research to get the details which would demonstrate that the
law is, indeed, enforceable and all the dismissals came after the dfendants
performed up to 40 hours of community service. I believe it is now time for
us to urge prosecution and refuse plea bargains that give the appearance of
poor legislation. In addition, NAGDU is completing work on a toolkit that
will help law enforcement and prosecutors understand the law better.

Fraternally yours,
Marion



Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc. (NAGDU)
National Federation of the Blind
(813) 626-2789
President at NAGDU.ORG


The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise
expectations because low expectations create barriers between blind  people
and our dreams. You can live the life you want! Blindness is not what holds
you back.


-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dan Weiner via
NAGDU
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2017 7:49 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Dan Weiner
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] HB2992

misdemeanor offense, it will probably have the same enforcement value as 
our access laws, in short pretty much nothing, any time I've had access 
law violations the police tell me that it's a civil matter and they 
can't do anything.

Such is the state of affairs almost ninety years after the beginning of 
the guide dog movement.


Dan



On 4/14/2017 1:55 AM, Jessica N. Naert via NAGDU wrote:
> Some of us have discussed this a little bit before. On Monday in Texas, HB
2992 is going to committee to be discussed. Victoria Neave's office authored
this bill. Here is what it hopes to accomplish:
>
> Would provide that a person commits a misdemeanor offense when they
falsely represent their animal as a service animal in order to gain access,
permission, or benefits reserved for people with disabilities who use
service animals. False representation would occur when a person fits an
animal with a harness, collar, vest, sign, tag, or leash of the type
commonly used by service animals when the animal has not in fact been
specially trained.
>
> For the actual language of the bill:
> http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/85R/billtext/html/HB02992I.htm
>
> What do you all think?
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