[Cagdu] FW: [nagdu] Florida: Is your pet really a service animal? Bill makes it a crime to lie about it

[Juanita Herrera]

Is this a bill we can get implemented in California as well? Who would we have to speak about it to? A senator or a congress member?
Juanita 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Dec 17, 2014, at 9:51 AM, Tina Thomas <judotina48kg at gmail.com> wrote:
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> Subject: [nagdu] Florida: Is your pet really a service animal? Bill makes it a crime to lie about it
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> Florida: Is your pet really a service animal? Bill makes it a crime to lie about it
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> Palm Beach Post - Blog
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>  December 15, 2014      | Filed in: State House. 
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> Source URL: http://postonpolitics.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2014/12/15/is-your-pet-really-a-service-animal-bill-makes-it-a-crime-to-lie-about-it/ 
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> Trying to pass your family pet off as a service animal would be against the law under a bill proposed by Rep. Jimmie Smith, R-Inverness.
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> “I love that people love their animals and want to take them with them,” said Smith. But when people bring their pet into restaurants and businesses pretending it is a service animal and that animal misbehaves, “it distracts from people’s trust in what a service dog is.”
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> Smith filed a similar bill last year after he was approached by disability rights groups about the increase in pet owners claiming their pet is a service animal. The bill failed when it was not called up for a committee hearing.
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> Smith said he tweaked this year’s bill, HB 71, after he spoke with representatives of restaurant, entertainment and business trade groups.
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> Although much of the bill reiterates rights and rules included in the Americans with Disabilities Act, in also makes misrepresenting your pet as a service animal a second-degree misdemeanor.
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> The punishment: 30 hours of community service for an organization that assists the disabled or other group decided by a judge. The community service must be completed within six months.
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> “It’s so easy to basically defraud the system,” Smith said. “All you have to do is buy a vest or tags and when you’re challenged you say, “talk to my lawyer.””
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> To combat that defense, Smith’s bill also includes two questions that businesses can ask: Is the animal a service animal required because of a disability? What tasks has the animal been trained to perform?
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> The bill also defines service animal to apply to dogs and miniature horses, not flying squirrels or other animals.
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> “One amusement park said someone came in with a flying squirrel and claimed it was a service animal,” Smith said, adding that the law is specifically intended to protect those with invisible disabilities, such as PTSD, allergies, diabetes and vertigo
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> “It’s quite apparent some are not service animals.”
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> Text of Florida HB71 is located at:
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> http://myfloridahouse.com/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=53081 
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