BILL NUMBER: AB 2131 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 28, 2008
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Niello
FEBRUARY 20, 2008
An act to add Section 54.25 to the Civil Code, and to
amend Section 365.5 of the Penal Code, relating to peace
officers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2131, as amended, Niello. Peace officers: canine units.
Existing law provides that individuals with disabilities are
entitled to full and equal access, as other members of the general
public, to accommodations, advantages, facilities, medical
facilities, including hospitals, clinics, and physicians' offices,
and privileges of all common carriers, airplanes, motor vehicles,
railroad trains, motorbuses, streetcars, boats, or any other public
conveyances or modes of transportation (whether private, public,
franchised, licensed, contracted, or otherwise provided), telephone
facilities, adoption agencies, private schools, hotels, lodging
places, places of public accommodation, amusement, or resort, and
other places to which the general public is invited, as specified.
Existing law also permits disabled individuals to be accompanied in
those places by guide dogs, signal dogs, or service dogs without
paying an extra charge. Existing law provides that
any person, firm, association, or corporation, or the agent of any
person, firm, association, or corporation, who prevents a disabled
person from exercising, or interferes with a disabled person in the
exercise of, the rights to have with him or her a specially trained
guide dog, signal dog, or service dog, as specified, is guilty of a
misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $2,500.
This bill would permit provide that
a peace officer or firefighter assigned to a canine unit,
who is on official assignment for travel away from his or her home
jurisdiction, to be accompanied in those places by his or
her peace officer dog without paying an extra charge
may not be discriminated against i n hotels, lodging
establishments, eating establishments, or public transportation by
being required to pay an extra charge or security deposit for the
peace officer's or firefighter's dog .
Existing law provides that any person, firm, association, or
corporation, or the agent of any person, firm, association, or
corporation, who prevents a disabled person from exercising, or
interferes with a disabled person in the exercise of, the rights to
have with him or her a specially trained guide dog, signal dog, or
service dog, as specified, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by
a fine not exceeding $2,500.
This bill would similarly make it a
crime misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding
$1,000 for any person, firm, association, or corporation, or
the agent of any person, firm, association, or corporation, to
prevent a peace officer , as defined, or
firefighter from exercising, or interfering with a
peace officer in the exercise of, the
specified rights to have with him or her a peace
officer dog, as specified .
The bill would state the intent of the Legislature in regard to
access by a peace officer or firefighter with a trained service dog
to lodging, eating establishments, and public transportation, during
a declared emergency.
By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 54.25 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
54.25. (a) A peace officer assigned to a canine unit on official
assignment for travel away from his or her home jurisdiction has the
right to be accompanied by a peace officer dog in any of the places
specified in Section 54.1 without being required to pay an extra
charge or security deposit for the peace officer dog. However, the
peace officer's law enforcement agency shall be liable for any damage
done to the premises or facilities by the peace officer dog.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "peace officer dog" means a
dog owned by a public law enforcement agency and under the control of
a peace officer assigned to a canine unit that has been trained in
matters including, but not limited to, discovering controlled
substances, explosives, cadavers, and on-command searches for
suspects at crime scenes.
54.25. (a) (1) A peace officer or firefighter assigned to a
canine unit assigned to duty away from his or her home jurisdiction
because of a declared federal, state, or local emergency, and in the
course and scope of his or her duties shall not be discriminated
against in hotels, lodging establishments, eating establishments, or
public transportation by being required to pay an extra charge or
security deposit for the peace officer's or firefighter's dog.
However, the peace officer's law enforcement agency or the
firefighter's fire agency shall be liable for any damages to the
premises or facilities caused by the peace officer's or firefighter's
dog.
(2) Any person, firm, association, or the agent of any person,
firm, association, or corporation who prevents a peace officer or a
firefighter assigned to a canine unit and his or her dog from
exercising, or interferes in the exercise of, the rights specified in
this section is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not
exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(b) (1) For purposes of this section a "peace officer's or
firefighter's dog" means a dog owned by a public law enforcement
agency or fire department and under the control of a peace officer or
firefighter assigned to a canine unit that has been trained in
matters including, but not limited to, discovering controlled
substances, explosives, cadavers, victims in collapsed structures,
and peace officer on-command searches for suspects and victims at
crime scenes.
(2) "Declared emergency" is any emergency declared by the
President of the United States, the Governor of a state, or local
authorities.
(c) Nothing in this section is intended to affect any civil
remedies available for a violation of this section.
(d) This section is intended to provide accessibility without
discrimination to a peace officer or firefighter with a trained,
public-owned dog in hotels, lodging places, eating establishments,
and public transportation during declared emergencies.
SEC. 2. Section 365.5 of the Penal Code is
amended to read:
365.5. (a) Any blind person, deaf person, disabled person, or a
peace officer, who is a passenger on any common carrier, airplane,
motor vehicle, railway train, motorbus, streetcar, boat, or any other
public conveyance or mode of transportation operating within this
state, shall be entitled to have with him or her a specially trained
guide dog, signal dog, service dog, or peace officer dog.
(b) No blind person, deaf person, disabled person, or peace
officer and his or her specially trained guide dog, signal dog,
service dog, or peace officer dog shall be denied admittance to
accommodations, advantages, facilities, medical facilities, including
hospitals, clinics, and physicians' offices, telephone facilities,
adoption agencies, private schools, hotels, lodging places, places of
public accommodation, amusement, or resort, and other places to
which the general public is invited within this state because of that
guide dog, signal dog, service dog, or peace officer dog.
(c) Any person, firm, association, or corporation, or the agent of
any person, firm, association, or corporation, who prevents a
disabled person or a peace officer from exercising, or interferes
with a disabled person or a peace officer in the exercise of, the
rights specified in this section is guilty of a misdemeanor,
punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500).
(d) (1) Nothing in this section is intended to affect any civil
remedies available for a violation of this section.
(2) This section is intended to provide equal accessibility for
all owners or trainers of animals that are trained as guide dogs,
signal dogs, or service dogs in a manner that is no less than that
provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Public Law
101-336) and the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-435).
(e) The exercise of rights specified in subdivisions (a) and (b)
by any person may not be conditioned upon payment of any extra
charge, provided that the person shall be liable for any provable
damage done to the premises or facilities by his or her dog.
(f) Any trainer or individual with a disability may take dogs in
any of the places specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) for the
purpose of training the dogs as guide dogs, signal dogs, or service
dogs. The person shall ensure that the dog is on a leash and tagged
as a guide dog, signal dog, or service dog by an identification tag
issued by the county clerk or animal control department as authorized
by Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 30850) of Division 14 of the
Food and Agricultural Code. In addition, the person shall be liable
for any provable damage done to the premises or facilities by his or
her dog.
(g) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions
apply:
(1) "Guide dog" means any guide dog or Seeing Eye dog that was
trained by a person licensed under Chapter 9.5 (commencing with
Section 7200) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code or
that meets the definitional criteria under federal regulations
adopted to implement Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990 (Public Law 101-336).
(2) "Peace officer" means any peace officer assigned to a canine
unit who is on official assignment to travel outside his or her home
jurisdiction.
(3) "Peace officer dog" means any dog owned by a public law
enforcement agency and under the control of a peace officer assigned
to a canine unit that has been trained in matters including, but not
limited to, discovering controlled substances, explosives, cadavers,
and on-command searches for suspects at crime scenes.
(4) "Service dog" means any dog individually trained to do work or
perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability,
including, but not limited to, minimal protection work, rescue work,
pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items.
(5) "Signal dog" means any dog trained to alert a deaf person, or
a person whose hearing is impaired, to intruders or sounds.
SEC. 3. SEC. 2. No reimbursement is
required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred
by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this
act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or
infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within
the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the
definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII
B of the California Constitution.