[NAGDU] what about Florida?

[Sherrill O'Brien]

Top o' the mornin' to all!

Julie, FLAGDU supported the Florida law which was revised in 2015 to include
penalties for fraud regarding service animals. Here is what the law says:
(9) A person who knowingly and willfully misrepresents  
herself or himself, through conduct or verbal or written notice,  
as using a service animal and being qualified to use a service  
animal or as a trainer of a service animal commits a misdemeanor  
of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.  
775.083 and must perform 30 hours of community service for an  
organization that serves individuals with disabilities, or for  
another entity or organization at the discretion of the court,  
to be completed in not more than 6 months.  

It's important that people look at the wording which speaks to the fraud of
pretending to have a disability. The emphasis is almost always on the person
pretending his/her dog is a service animal, when in fact they are doing
something just as serious in faking they have a disability, even though they
may not consider that part of the fraud when they decide to carry out this
masquerade.

But to address your question about whether this new part of the law has
reduced fraud, I have no idea. Fraud is  extremely hard to prove or measure.
I haven't heard of anyone being prosecuted. That doesn't mean it hasn't
happened, but I think it would be the sort of human/animal interest story
that the press would be eager to publish. Social media would be all over it.
I really doubt that most people even know about this law. It's possible it
could actually be a deterrent if people were aware of its existence. Perhaps
FLAGDU should work to get copies of the pertinent part of the law into vet's
offices, grooming facilities and pet stores. 
We've started a project to get information into  businesses to help them
know their rights as well as their responsibilities.

Okay, I'd better get that second cup of green coffee!

Sherrill O'Brien, FLAGDU President



-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Julie Johnson via
NAGDU
Sent: March 17, 2017 7:06 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users; NAGDU
Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Julie Johnson
Subject: [NAGDU] what about Florida?

Several years ago Florida passed it's new/revised laws regarding 
disability fraud and misrepresentation of pets as service animals.  
NAGDU was supporting that law as the model for other states wanting to 
pass revised service dog legislation.  At least this is what I'm 
remembering.


I've read the Florida law, although not recently, and it's very good.  
It addresses the core of the problem faking disability and also supports 
businesses to exclude dogs who are not under the handler's control.


So my question is: how has that law worked in practice?  On paper it 
looks great, but I'm wondering if it has been enforceable.  Has 
disability and service dog fraud been reduced?   Have people been 
caught, proceeded through the criminal justice system and been found 
guilty? What is the impact of that law?


If it's worked out well, we need to use the hard facts and available 
statistics to show that this type of law works.  That will go a long way 
in helping other states address law revisions.


This issue keeps coming up year after year in multiple states. At some 
point in time there will be a law that gets passed that is in direct 
opposition to the ADA.  Our freedom as blind people and guide dog users 
will be reduced.  If we have a solid alternative that we can suggest to 
law makers, the chances go way up of getting laws that actually address 
the problem in a way that does not violate our civil rights.


Personally I have not experienced people faking a disability to take 
their pet dog with them.  I have experienced people with actual 
disabilities and ill behaved actual service dogs.  I think we need a law 
that addresses both of these.   Florida's law had the potential to do 
just that.  I'm hopeful that it's stood the test of time and has been 
successfully implemented.


Julie


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