[nagdu] Arizona Legislature anti-service dog bill defeated

[Ginger Kutsch]

Arizona Legislature anti-service dog bill defeated

A bill to ban guide dogs from restaurants failed in committee after
resistance from the public.

The bill was intended to root out those who improperly bring pets to
restaurants.

By Ronald J. Hansen, The Republic February 19, 2015

Source:
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2015/02/19/arizona-serv
ice-dog-restaurant-ban/23685007/]

 

Swayed by a roomful of vocal adults and quiet dogs, Arizona lawmakers
abandoned a bill Thursday that would have allowed restaurants to ban service
animals.

By the end of the lengthy hearing, even the bill's sponsor, Rep. Bob Thorpe,
R-Flagstaff, couldn't vote for it.

Thorpe pitched his amendment to House Bill 2179 as a way of punishing those
who improperly bring their dogs to restaurants by claiming a medical need.
The bill would have required service animals to be registered with the state
and carry permits in public.

At the same time, it provided a punishment for scofflaws. It also permitted
restaurants to exclude service animals if it posed a health code risk.

But dozens of people with disabilities ranging from blindness to epilepsy
showed up on short notice to say the bill's language was at odds with
federal protections and would have isolated them from society. At least a
half dozen dogs sat quietly next to their owners in a sign that the trained
animals aren't typically a nuisance in public.

Maricopa resident Tim Mullen, who suffers seizures, showed up with his

$18,000 service

dog Garth to say he already encounters discrimination from restaurants that
shunt him to dark corners.

"He's saved my life four times already," Mullen said, noting the dog
activated a watch-like sensor that summons emergency workers to his
location.

At 47, Mullen said he was looking at life in assisted living without the
dog, which he has had for a year. He said Garth has helped give him a
measure of independence, something that would be lost if Garth's presence
was limited by the bill.

More than a dozen people planned to speak against the bill, including
veterans with brain injuries and those with vision problems who said it
would limit their ability to hold business meetings at restaurants.

The pushback convinced the House Government and Higher Education Committee
to drop Thorpe's amendment, with all eight members present voting against
the measure, including Thorpe.

"We talked a lot about bad actors. ... I would much rather tolerate a few
bad actors than to impinge on the rights of persons with disabilities," said
Rep.

Randall Friese,

D-Tucson.

For his part, Thorpe stressed throughout the hearing that his intent was to
get rid of people improperly taking their dogs to restaurants, not to burden
those with genuine disabilities. He repeatedly called his measure "a work in
progress,"

but conceded

by the end that it needed more mending than could be done at the moment.

"It was my hope we could continue to craft this bill," Thorpe said in
explaining his vote. "It was brought to me by constituents who were very
concerned about the bad actors. There wasn't any intention on my part to
craft a bill that would cause concerns on the part of the disabled
community."