[NAGDU] Gov. Newsom Signs Bill Co-Sponsored by Guide Dogs for the Blind and Canine Companions to Combat Emotional Support Animal Fraud!

[Lilian Scaife]

Gov. Newsom Signs Bill Co-Sponsored by Guide Dogs for the Blind and Canine
Companions to Combat Emotional Support Animal Fraud

 

-California Leads Nation with Law Cracking Down on Fraudulent Service
Animals

 

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Courtesy of Guide Dogs for the Blind

Courtesy of Canine Companions

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September 23, 2021 01:38 PM Eastern Daylight Time

 

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--( BUSINESS WIRE

)--Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed the first bill in the nation to crack down
on fraudulent practices concerning emotional support animals, while
protecting

public access rights for people with legitimate service dogs such as guide
dogs or service dogs for physical disabilities. The legislation,
co-sponsored

by Guide Dogs for the Blind

(GDB) and Canine Companions

, garnered a rare groundswell of bipartisan support in the California
Assembly and Senate.

 

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“I co-authored AB 468 because California needs stronger laws to reduce fraud
and protect the reputations of legitimate service dogs and the people they

serve. AB 468 is a bipartisan victory for Californians, and I am honored to
have played a role in pushing the bill across the finish line.”

 

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block quote end

 

Assemblymember Laura Friedman

(D-Glendale) introduced the bill (AB 468) in the California Assembly and was
its champion throughout the process to passage. 

Senator Patricia Bates

(R-Laguna Niguel) managed the bill in the Senate. After passing the Assembly
and Senate, Gov. Newsom signed it last week, and it will go into effect on

January 1, 2022.

 

The legislation addresses the growing online sale of fraudulent emotional
support and service animal certificates by opportunists who promise
consumers

access for their pets equal to that of people with legitimate service
animals. The new law also requires clear disclosures for selling dogs for
use as

emotional support animals as well as for selling tags and other services
relating to them. It imposes civil penalties to combat fraud and misleading
business

practices, which bilk money from consumers and put innocent, untrained
animals in scary and dangerous situations.

 

“I’m grateful to my colleagues and Gov. Newsom for supporting this measure
to protect the rights of people who are blind or visually impaired and other

users of legitimate service animals in their equal access to public spaces,
safety, and independence,” said Assemblymember Friedman. “By ending the
practice

of misinformation and fraud that has occurred with the sale of emotional
support animals and service dogs, we can create a safer community for all –
especially

people with disabilities who rely on formally trained service dogs in their
daily lives.”

 

“It was a pleasure joining forces with Assemblymember Friedman and
stakeholders to combat the fraudulent practice of misrepresenting emotional
support

dogs as trained service dogs,” said Senator Bates. “I co-authored AB 468
because California needs stronger laws to reduce fraud and protect the
reputations

of legitimate service dogs and the people they serve. AB 468 is a bipartisan
victory for Californians, and I am honored to have played a role in pushing

the bill across the finish line.”

 

“The online sales of fraudulent certificates have become increasingly
dangerous for the public and for dogs alike, causing confusion about
legitimate service

animals and complicating the lives of legitimate service-dog handlers whose
disabilities are cruelly questioned,” said Rabih Dow, director of advocacy

and outreach programs for Guide Dogs for the Blind. “This law will curtail
selling fraudulent tags and certificates for untrained dogs, a practice that

has confused people with false promises of access for their dogs to
restricted public spaces such as restaurants, stores, planes, and public
buildings.”

 

“It has been a pleasure working with Assemblymember Friedman and our
colleagues at Guide Dogs for the Blind to craft such an important bill,”
said Paige

Mazzoni, chief executive officer of Canine Companions. “This law will help
clarify the differing public access rights for service dogs and emotional
support

animals, as well as protect people with disabilities from unethical business
practices around selling fraudulent documentation. We are committed to
protecting

and ensuring access for people with disabilities and the trained service
dogs on whom they rely to live independently.”

 

About Guide Dogs for the Blind

 

Headquartered in San Rafael, Calif., Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) is the
largest guide dog school in North America. It is a passionate community that

prepares highly qualified guide dogs to empower individuals who are blind or
visually impaired to move through the world more safely and confidently.
More

than 16,000 guide teams have graduated from GDB since it was founded in
1942. GDB not only improves mobility for its clients, but it also furthers
inclusion

and advocates for policy reforms that change how the world views blindness.
All of GDB’s services are provided free of charge, and it receives no
government

funding. The organization was the subject of an award-winning 2018
documentary feature called 

Pick of the Litter, which was developed into a television docu-series by the
same name that debuted in 2019 on Disney+. For more information, visit 

guidedogs.com , or call 800.295.4050.

 

About Canine Companions

 

Canine Companions provides expertly trained service dogs and ongoing
follow-up services to adults, children and veterans with disabilities – at
no cost

to clients. Since 1975, Canine Companions has been leading the way to
greater independence for people with disabilities. As the largest provider
of service

dogs for people with disabilities, Canine Companions has matched more than
7,000 life-changing service dogs trained in 45 commands including retrieving

dropped items, pulling a manual wheelchair, alerting to sounds in the
environment and interrupting flashbacks and nightmares. Canine Companions
has six

training centers across the country in California, Florida, Ohio, New York
and Texas and is recognized worldwide for the excellence of its dogs, and
the

quality and longevity of the matches it makes between dogs and people. Learn
more about our program by visiting 

canine.org or calling 1-800-572-BARK.

 

Contacts

 

Barbara Zamost

Guide Dogs for the Blind

(415) 389-0210

barbara at zamostpr.com <mailto:barbara at zamostpr.com> 

 

Wallis Brozman

Canine Companions

(707) 577-1775

wbrozman at canine.org <mailto:wbrozman at canine.org> 

 

Blake Dellinger

Assemblymember Friedman Office

(818) 558-3043

Blake.Dellinger at asm.ca.gov <mailto:Blake.Dellinger at asm.ca.gov> 

article end

 

GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND

 

Twitter Ads info and privacy

 

Tweets by ‎@GDB_official

list of 3 items

Guide Dogs for the Blind Retweeted

Second Sense (screen name: yoursecondsense)

Second Sense (screen name: yoursecondsense)

This video from @ GDB_official

is aimed at transit service providers and drivers to promote their belief
that "...everyone can move through the world safely and confidently, and
that

should include using public transportation." 

# NationalGuideDogAwareness http:// ow.ly/OOLW50GdToH  

 

  

Guide Dogs for the Blind Launches Video to Educate Public Transit Agencies
and Operators on...

As part of National Guide Dog Month, Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) is
launching a short, animated video, to help create a more respectful, safe,
and

 

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Guide Dogs for the Blind (screen name: GDB_official)

Guide Dogs for the Blind (screen name: GDB_official)

 

Gov. Newsom Signs Bill Co-Sponsored by Guide Dogs for the Blind and Canine
Companions to Combat Emotional Support Animal Fraud | Business Wire 

 

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d-and-Canine-Companions-to-Combat-Emotional-Support-Animal-Fraud#.YUzi2ufHMD
4.twitter …

 

  

Gov. Newsom Signs Bill Co-Sponsored by Guide Dogs for the Blind and Canine
Companions to Combat...

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed the first bill in the nation to crack down on
fraudulent practices concerning emotional support animals, while protecting

 

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Guide Dogs for the Blind Retweeted

 

Canine Companions® (screen name: canineorg)

Canine Companions® (screen name: canineorg)

 

Victory! A newly signed California bill AB 468, co-sponsored by 

@ canineorg & 

@ gdb_official

, is first in the nation to crack down on fraudulent practices concerning
emotional support animals, while protecting people w/ legitimate service &
guide

 

# dogs .