1     
SUPPORT ANIMALS AMENDMENTS

2     
2019 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: James A. Dunnigan

5     
Senate Sponsor: Curtis S. Bramble

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     Committee Note:
9          The Business and Labor Interim Committee recommended this bill.
10     General Description:
11          This bill amends provisions related to animals that provide support for individuals with
12     disabilities.
13     Highlighted Provisions:
14          This bill:
15          ▸     defines terms;
16          ▸     amends housing and criminal provisions relating to the use of a service animal or a
17     support animal;
18          ▸     amends provisions related to liability for an individual training an animal to become
19     a service animal or a police service canine; and
20          ▸     makes technical and conforming changes.
21     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
22          None
23     Other Special Clauses:
24          None
25     Utah Code Sections Affected:
26     AMENDS:
27          62A-5b-101, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2007, Chapter 22
28          62A-5b-102, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2011, Chapter 94
29          62A-5b-103, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2007, Chapter 22
30          62A-5b-104, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 389
31          62A-5b-105, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2007, Chapter 22
32          62A-5b-106, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2007, Chapter 22
33     

34     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
35          Section 1. Section 62A-5b-101 is amended to read:
36     
CHAPTER 5b. RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES OF AN INDIVIDUAL WITH A

37     
DISABILITY

38          62A-5b-101. Title.
39          This chapter is known as "Rights and Privileges of [a Person] an Individual with a
40     Disability."
41          Section 2. Section 62A-5b-102 is amended to read:
42          62A-5b-102. Definitions.
43          As used in this chapter:
44          (1) "Disability" has the same meaning as defined in 42 U.S.C. 12102 of the Americans
45     With Disabilities Act of 1990, as may be amended in the future, and 28 C.F.R. 36.104 of the
46     Code of Federal Regulations, as may be amended in the future.
47          [(2) "Restaurant":]
48          [(a) includes any coffee shop, cafeteria, luncheonette, soda fountain, dining room, or
49     fast-food service where food is prepared or served for immediate consumption; and]
50          [(b) does not include:]
51          [(i) any retail establishment whose primary business or function is the sale of fuel or
52     food items for off-premise, but not immediate, consumption; and]
53          [(ii) except for a dinner theater, a theater that sells food items.]
54          [(3)] (2) (a) "Service animal" includes any dog that:
55          (i) is trained, or is in training, to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an
56     individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other
57     mental disability; and
58          (ii) performs work or tasks, or is in training to perform work or tasks, that are directly
59     related to the individual's disability, including:
60          (A) assisting an individual who is blind or has low vision with navigation or other
61     tasks;
62          (B) alerting an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or
63     sounds;
64          (C) providing non-violent protection or rescue work;
65          (D) pulling a wheelchair;
66          (E) assisting an individual during a seizure;
67          (F) alerting an individual to the presence of an allergen;
68          (G) retrieving an item for the individual;
69          (H) providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability [to an
70     individual with a mobility disability]; or
71          (I) helping an individual with a psychiatric or neurological disability by preventing or
72     interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors.
73          (b) "Service animal" does not include:
74          (i) an animal other than a dog, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained; or
75          (ii) an animal used solely to provide:
76          (A) a crime deterrent;
77          (B) emotional support;
78          (C) well-being;
79          (D) comfort; or
80          (E) companionship.
81          (3) "Support animal" means an animal, other than a service animal, that qualifies as a
82     reasonable accommodation under federal law for an individual with a disability.
83          Section 3. Section 62A-5b-103 is amended to read:
84          62A-5b-103. Rights and privileges of an individual with a disability.
85          (1) [A person] An individual with a disability has the same rights and privileges in the
86     use of highways, streets, sidewalks, walkways, public buildings, public facilities, and other
87     public areas as [a person] an individual who is not [a person] an individual with a disability.
88          (2) [A person] An individual with a disability has equal rights to accommodations,
89     advantages, and facilities offered by common carriers, including air carriers, railroad carriers,
90     motor buses, motor vehicles, water carriers, and all other modes of public conveyance in this
91     state.
92          (3) [A person] An individual with a disability has equal rights to accommodations,
93     advantages, and facilities offered by hotels, motels, lodges, and all other places of public
94     accommodation in this state, and to places of amusement or resort to which the public is
95     invited.
96          (4) (a) [A person] An individual with a disability has equal rights and access to public
97     and private housing accommodations offered for rent, lease, or other compensation in this state.
98          (b) This chapter does not require a person renting, leasing, or selling private housing or
99     real property to modify the housing or property in order to accommodate [a person] an
100     individual with a disability or to provide a higher degree of care for that [person] individual
101     than for someone who is not [a person] an individual with a disability.
102          (c) A person renting, leasing, or selling private housing or real property to [a person]
103     an individual with a disability shall comply with the provisions of Section 62A-5b-104[,
104     regarding the right of the person to be accompanied by a service animal specially trained for
105     that purpose].
106          Section 4. Section 62A-5b-104 is amended to read:
107          62A-5b-104. Right to be accompanied by service animal or support animal --
108     Security deposits -- Discrimination -- Liability -- Identification.
109          (1) (a) [A person] An individual with a disability has the right to be accompanied by a
110     service animal, unless the service animal is a danger or nuisance to others as interpreted under
111     the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 12102:
112          (i) in any of the places specified in Section 62A-5b-103; and
113          (ii) without additional charge for the service animal.
114          [(b) This section does not prohibit an owner or lessor of private housing
115     accommodations from charging a person, including a person with a disability, a reasonable
116     deposit as security for any damage or wear and tear that might be caused by a service animal if
117     the owner or lessor would charge a similar deposit to other persons for potential wear and tear.]
118          [(c)] (b) An owner or lessor of private housing accommodations:
119          (i) may not, in any manner, discriminate against [a person] an individual with a
120     disability on the basis of the [person's] individual's possession of a service animal[.] or a
121     support animal, including by charging an extra fee or deposit for a service animal or a support
122     animal; and
123          (ii) may recover a reasonable cost to repair damage caused by a service animal or a
124     support animal.
125          (2) [A person] An individual who is not [a person] an individual with a disability has
126     the right to be accompanied by an animal that is in training to become a service animal or a
127     police service canine, as defined in Section 53-16-102:
128          (a) in any of the places specified in Section 62A-5b-103; and
129          (b) without additional charge for the animal.
130          [(3) A person with a disability is liable for any loss or damage caused or inflicted to the
131     premises by the person's service animal.]
132          [(4) A person accompanied by a service animal is encouraged to identify the animal by
133     exhibiting one or more of the following:]
134          [(a) the animal's laminated identification card;]
135          [(b) the animal's service vest; or]
136          [(c) another form of identification.]
137          (3) An individual described in Subsection (1) or (2) is liable for any loss or damage the
138     individual's accompanying service animal, support animal, or animal described in Subsection
139     (2) causes or inflicts to the premises of a place specified in Section 62A-5b-103.
140          (4) Nothing in this section prohibits the exclusion, as permitted under federal law, of a
141     service animal or a support animal from a place described in Section 62A-5b-103.
142          Section 5. Section 62A-5b-105 is amended to read:
143          62A-5b-105. Policy of state to employ individuals with a disability.
144          It is the policy of this state that [a person] an individual with a disability [shall be] is
145     employed in the state service, the service of the political subdivisions of the state, in the public
146     schools, and in all other employment supported in whole or in part by public funds on the same
147     terms and conditions as [a person] an individual who is not [a person] an individual with a
148     disability, unless it is shown that the particular disability prevents the performance of the work
149     involved.
150          Section 6. Section 62A-5b-106 is amended to read:
151          62A-5b-106. Interference with rights provided in this chapter --
152     Misrepresentation of rights under this chapter.
153          (1) Any [person] individual, or agent of any [person] individual, who denies or
154     interferes with the rights provided in this chapter is guilty of a class C misdemeanor.
155          (2) [A person] An individual is guilty of a class [B] C misdemeanor if:
156          (a) the [person] individual intentionally and knowingly falsely represents to another
157     person that an animal is a service animal [as defined in Section 62A-5b-102;] or a support
158     animal;
159          (b) the [person] individual knowingly and intentionally misrepresents a material fact to
160     a health care provider for the purpose of obtaining documentation from the health care provider
161     necessary to designate an animal as a service animal [as defined in Section 62A-5b-102.] or a
162     support animal; or
163          (c) the individual, except for an individual with a disability, uses an animal to gain
164     treatment or benefits only provided for an individual with a disability.
165          (3) This section does not affect the enforceability of any criminal law, including
166     Subsection 76-6-501(2).
167          (4) An agent of a protection and advocacy agency, acting in the agent's professional
168     capacity and in compliance with 29 U.S.C. Sec. 794e et seq., 42 U.S.C. Sec. 15041 et seq., and
169     42 U.S.C. Sec. 1801 et seq., is not criminally liable under Subsection (2).