[Oagdu] Fwd: [nagdu] Fake service dog bill passes Florida House, advances in Senate

[Aleeha Dudley]

I think that this is something we should really consider adding into our legislative effort. Let's use very similar language to this bill.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 31, 2015, at 2:33 PM, Marianne Denning via Oagdu <oagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> This was posted on the NAGDU list today and I am forwarding it.
> Please make comments.
> 
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Ginger Kutsch via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2015 13:01:07 -0400
> Subject: [nagdu] Fake service dog bill passes Florida House, advances in Senate
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> 
> Fake service dog bill passes Florida House, advances in Senate
> 
> Tuesday, March 31, 2015 |
> 
> Palm Beach Post
> 
> Source:
> http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/fake-ser
> vice-dog-bill-passes-florida-house/nkhwb/
> 
> 
> 
> Florida lawmakers are considering a bill that would tighten restrictions on
> service animals.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The reason that Cesar Silva came to Tallahassee sat under a podium on Monday
> as Silva urged members of a Florida Senate committee to approve a bill that
> would protect him and his service dog from being harassed by people who
> can't see his invisible war wounds - post-traumatic stress disorder and
> shrapnel in his back.
> 
> 
> 
> Sophia, a German shepherd, sat silently and still while Silva told the
> Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee about problems he has encountered when
> he has tried bringing her into parks and restaurants. He also said he has
> gone to court - and won - a legal battle over his right to enter a public
> park with Sophia.
> 
> 
> 
> "We really need this bill to define what is an invisible disability," the
> Tampa man said. "I was kicked out of an iHop once because I didn't have a
> service dog identification card, which doesn't exist."
> 
> 
> 
> The bill (SB 414), sponsored by Sen. Thad Altman, R-Sebastian, moved a step
> closer to becoming law Monday as the committee passed it on a unanimous
> vote. The House version of the bill, HB 71, was unanimously passed by the
> House on Friday, after passing three committees there. The Senate version
> still has two more committee stops.
> 
> 
> 
> The bill would make interfering with the disabled and their service animals
> a second-degree misdemeanor, carrying penalties of up to 60 days in jail, up
> to $500 in fines and 30 hours of community service for an organization that
> serves people with disabilities or another entity, at the discretion of a
> judge.
> 
> 
> 
> Under the bill, the same crime and penalties would apply to pet owners who
> lie about having a disability and falsely claim that their pet is a service
> animal.
> 
> 
> 
> Service animal owners cannot be asked about their disability or whether they
> are entitled to have a service animal, but they may be asked if the animal
> is a service animal and what tasks it performs to assist its owner.
> 
> 
> 
> Much of the bill reiterates rights and rules already provided by the federal
> Americans with Disabilities Act, but what would make the Florida bill
> distinctive is the part that would make it a criminal offense to harass a
> disabled person with a service animal or to misrepresent a pet as a service
> animal.
> 
> 
> 
> Republican Sen. Aaron Bean of Jacksonville asked during Monday's meeting if
> animals besides dogs were covered by the bill and learned it limited service
> animals to dogs and miniature horses.
> 
> 
> 
> "If I have a monkey, I'm out of luck?" Bean asked.
> 
> 
> 
> The bill also would allow service animals to be removed from a business or
> other public place if the animal is not under the handler's control, is not
> housebroken or poses a serious threat to others.
> 
> 
> 
> The Senate bill now moves Senate Community Affairs Committee.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> -- 
> Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
> Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
> (513) 607-6053
> 
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