House Bill hb1819c1

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002             CS/HB 1819

        By the Council for Healthy Communities and Representatives
    Kottkamp, Greenstein and Bucher





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to guide dogs and service

  3         animals; providing a short title; prohibiting

  4         persons from interfering with, injuring, or

  5         killing guide dogs or service animals;

  6         providing penalties; defining the terms "guide

  7         dog" and "service animal" for purposes of the

  8         act; amending s. 413.08, F.S.; extending to

  9         people who have seizure disorders the right to

10         be accompanied by a trained service dog in

11         specified circumstances; providing penalties

12         for violations of this section; conforming a

13         provision relating to trainers of service dogs;

14         providing an effective date.

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16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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18         Section 1.  This act may be cited as "Scanner's Law."

19         Section 2.  (1)  Any person who, with reckless

20  disregard, interferes, or permits a dog that he or she owns or

21  is in the immediate control of to interfere, with the use of a

22  guide dog or service animal by obstructing, intimidating, or

23  otherwise jeopardizing the safety of the animal or its user is

24  guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree for the first

25  offense and a misdemeanor of the first degree for each

26  subsequent offense, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.

27  775.083, Florida Statutes.

28         (2)  Any person who, with reckless disregard, injures

29  or kills, or permits a dog that he or she owns or is in the

30  immediate control of to injure or kill, a guide dog or service

31  animal is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree,

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  1  punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, Florida

  2  Statutes.

  3         (3)  Any person who intentionally injures or kills, or

  4  permits a dog that he or she owns or is in the immediate

  5  control of to injure or kill, a guide dog or service animal is

  6  guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided

  7  in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, Florida Statutes.

  8         (4)(a)  A person who is convicted of a violation of

  9  this section, in addition to any other penalty, must make full

10  restitution for all damages that arise out of or are related

11  to the offense, including incidental and consequential damages

12  incurred by the guide dog or service animal's user.

13         (b)  Restitution includes the value of the animal;

14  replacement and training or retraining expenses for the animal

15  and the user; veterinary and other medical and boarding

16  expenses for the animal; medical expenses for the user; and

17  lost wages or income incurred by the user during any period

18  that the user is without the services of such an animal.

19         (5)  As used in this section, the term:

20         (a)  "Guide dog" means a dog that is trained for the

21  purpose of guiding blind persons or a dog trained for the

22  purpose of assisting hearing impaired persons.

23         (b)  "Service animal" means an animal that is trained

24  for the purposes of assisting or accommodating a disabled

25  person's sensory, mental, or physical disability.

26         Section 3.  Section 413.08, Florida Statutes, is

27  amended to read:

28         413.08  Rights of physically disabled persons; use of

29  dog guides or service dogs or nonhuman primates of the genus

30  Cebus; discrimination in public employment or housing

31  accommodations; penalties.--

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  1         (1)(a)  The deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually

  2  handicapped, and otherwise physically disabled are entitled to

  3  full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, and

  4  privileges on all common carriers, airplanes, motor vehicles,

  5  railroad trains, motor buses, streetcars, boats, and other

  6  public conveyances or modes of transportation and at hotels,

  7  lodging places, places of public accommodation, amusement, or

  8  resort, and other places to which the general public is

  9  invited, subject only to the conditions and limitations

10  established by law and applicable alike to all persons.

11  Nothing in This section does not shall require any person,

12  firm, or corporation, or any agent thereof, to modify or

13  provide any vehicle, premises, facility, or service to a

14  higher degree of accommodation than is required for a person

15  not so disabled.

16         (b)  Every deaf or hard of hearing person, totally or

17  partially blind person, person who is subject to epilepsy or

18  other such seizure disorders, or physically disabled person

19  has shall have the right to be accompanied by a dog guide or

20  service dog, specially trained for the purpose, in any of the

21  places listed in paragraph (a) without being required to pay

22  an extra charge for the dog guide or service dog; however,

23  such a person is shall be liable for any damage done to the

24  premises or facilities by such a dog. The dog guide or service

25  dog must be capable of being properly identified as being from

26  a recognized school for seeing-eye dogs, hearing-ear dogs,

27  service dogs, including, but not limited to, seizure-alert and

28  seizure-response dogs, or guide dogs.

29         (c)  Every person with paraplegia or quadriplegia has

30  shall have the right to be accompanied by a nonhuman primate

31  of the genus Cebus, specially trained for the purpose of

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  1  providing personal care services, in any of the places listed

  2  in paragraph (a) without being required to pay an extra charge

  3  for the nonhuman primate; however, such a person is shall be

  4  liable for any damage done to the premises or facilities by

  5  such nonhuman primate.

  6         (2)  Any person, firm, or corporation, or the agent of

  7  any person, firm, or corporation, who denies or interferes

  8  with admittance to, or enjoyment of, the public facilities

  9  enumerated in subsection (1) or otherwise interferes with the

10  rights of a deaf person, a hard of hearing person, a totally

11  or partially blind person, a person who is subject to epilepsy

12  or other such seizure disorders, or an otherwise physically

13  disabled person under this section, or the trainer of a dog

14  guide or service dog while engaged in the training of such a

15  dog pursuant to subsection (7), is guilty of a misdemeanor of

16  the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.

17  775.083.

18         (3)  It is the policy of this state that the deaf, hard

19  of hearing, blind, visually handicapped, and otherwise

20  physically disabled shall be employed in the service of the

21  state or political subdivisions of the state, in the public

22  schools, and in all other employment supported in whole or in

23  part by public funds, and an no employer may not shall refuse

24  employment to the deaf, the hard of hearing, the blind, the

25  visually handicapped, or the otherwise physically disabled on

26  the basis of the disability alone, unless it is shown that the

27  particular disability prevents the satisfactory performance of

28  the work involved.

29         (4)  Deaf persons, hard of hearing persons, blind

30  persons, visually handicapped persons, and otherwise

31  physically disabled persons are shall be entitled to rent,

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  1  lease, or purchase, as other members of the general public,

  2  any housing accommodations offered for rent, lease, or other

  3  compensation in this state, subject to the conditions and

  4  limitations established by law and applicable alike to all

  5  persons.

  6         (a)  As used in this subsection, the term "housing

  7  accommodations" means any real property or portion thereof

  8  which is used or occupied, or intended, arranged, or designed

  9  to be used or occupied, as the home, residence, or sleeping

10  place of one or more human beings, but does not include any

11  single-family residence the occupants of which rent, lease, or

12  furnish for compensation not more than one room therein.

13         (b)  Nothing in This section does not shall require any

14  person renting, leasing, or otherwise providing real property

15  for compensation to modify her or his property in any way or

16  provide a higher degree of care for a deaf person, hard of

17  hearing person, blind person, visually handicapped person, or

18  otherwise physically disabled person than for a person who is

19  not so handicapped.

20         (c)  Each deaf person, hard of hearing person, totally

21  or partially blind person, or otherwise physically disabled

22  person who has a dog guide, or who obtains a dog guide, is

23  shall be entitled to full and equal access to all housing

24  accommodations provided for in this section, and such a person

25  shall not be required to pay extra compensation for the such

26  dog guide.  However, such a person is shall be liable for any

27  damage done to the premises by such a dog guide.

28         (d)  Each person with paraplegia or quadriplegia who

29  has or obtains a nonhuman primate of the genus Cebus,

30  specially trained for the purpose of providing personal care

31  services, is shall be entitled to full and equal access to all

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  1  housing accommodations provided for in this section, and she

  2  or he shall not be required to pay extra compensation for such

  3  a nonhuman primate. However, the such person is shall be

  4  liable for any damage done to the premises by such a nonhuman

  5  primate.

  6         (5)  Any employer covered under subsection (3) who

  7  discriminates against the deaf, hard of hearing, blind,

  8  visually handicapped, or otherwise physically disabled in

  9  employment, unless it is shown that the particular disability

10  prevents the satisfactory performance of the work involved, or

11  any person, firm, or corporation, or the agent of any person,

12  firm, or corporation, providing housing accommodations as

13  provided in subsection (4) who discriminates against the deaf,

14  hard of hearing, blind, visually handicapped, or otherwise

15  physically disabled is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second

16  degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

17         (6)(a)  As used in For the purposes of this section,

18  the term "physically disabled person" means any person who has

19  having a physical impairment that substantially limits one or

20  more major life activities.

21         (b)  As used in For the purposes of this section, the

22  term "hard of hearing person" means an individual who has

23  suffered a permanent hearing impairment that which is severe

24  enough to necessitate the use of amplification devices to

25  discriminate speech sounds in verbal communication.

26         (7)  Any trainer of a dog guide or service dog, while

27  engaged in the training of such a dog, has the same rights and

28  privileges with respect to access to public facilities and the

29  same liability for damage as is provided for those deaf or

30  hard of hearing or blind or mobility impaired persons

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  1  described in paragraph (1)(b) accompanied by dog guides or

  2  service dogs.

  3         (8)  Any trainer of a nonhuman primate of the genus

  4  Cebus, while engaged in training such a nonhuman primate to

  5  provide personal care services to a person with paraplegia or

  6  quadriplegia, has the same rights and privileges with respect

  7  to access to public facilities and the same liability for

  8  damage as is provided for a person persons with paraplegia or

  9  quadriplegia who is accompanied by nonhuman primates of the

10  genus Cebus. As used in this the subsection, the term "trainer

11  of a nonhuman primate of the genus Cebus" means a paid

12  employee of a training organization, and does not include

13  volunteers chosen to raise the animals.

14         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.

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