[Cagdu] FW: Definition of service animal - AB 1252 (Committee on Health)

[Tina Thomas]

Subject: Definition of service animal - AB 1252 (Committee on Health)

Assembly Bill

No. 1252

________________________________

Introduced by Committee on Health (Pan (Chair), Logue (Vice Chair), Ammiano,
Chesbro, Gomez, Lowenthal, Mitchell, Nazarian, Nestande, Wieckowski, and
Wilk)


February 22, 2013

An act to amend Sections 113818, 113903, 113949.2, 113953.3, 113973, 114047,
114099.7, 114268, 114271, 114294, 114295, 114315, 114325, and 114335 of, and
to add Sections 113806 and 113975 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating
to food safety.

(5) The code requires a food facility to prevent the entrance and harborage
of animals and prohibits a food employee from caring for or handling animals
that may be present. The code permits a food employee with a service animal
to handle or care for the service animal if the employee washes his or her
hands as required. The code defines a service animal to mean a guide dog,
signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an
individual with a disability.
This bill would revise the definition of a "service animal" for purposes of
the code to mean a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform
tasks for the benefit of, and directly related to, an individual with a
disability. The definition would specifically exclude other species of
animals, as specified.
SEC. 3.
Section 113903 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
113903.
(a) "Service animal" means an animal such as a guide dog, signal dog, or
other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual
with a disability any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform
tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a
physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.
"Service animal" does not include any other species of animals, whether wild
or domestic, trained or untrained.
(b) The work or tasks performed by a service animal shall be directly
related to the individual's disability. Examples of work or tasks include,
but are not limited to, assisting individuals who are blind or have low
vision with navigation and other tasks, alerting individuals who are deaf or
hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds, providing nonviolent
protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual
during a seizure, alerting individuals to the presence of allergens,
retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical
support and assistance with balance and stability to individuals with
mobility disabilities, and helping persons with psychiatric and neurological
disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive
behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence and the
provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not
constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this subdivision.

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=2013201
40AB1252&search_keywords=guide+dog