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Committee considers bill to expand protections for service animals and handlers
Summary
Sen. Denley Loge introduced Senate Bill 300 to strengthen protections for service animals and their handlers, citing harassment and the high cost and training required for service animals; proponents said the measure amends existing "vicious dog" statutes to better address harassment and harm to service animals.
Senator Denley Loge introduced Senate Bill 300 to the House Health and Human Services Committee, describing the proposal as providing protections for service animals and handlers and creating the offense of harassment or harm of a service animal.
Loge said service animals undergo extensive training and can cost between $20,000 and $40,000 to obtain and train. He described incidents of harassment of service animals and handlers in public and emphasized that service animals perform specific tasks distinct from emotional-support animals.
Jacob Krizovich of the National Federation of the Blind of Montana testified in support and said advocates rewrote the bill after prior committee feedback. Rather than creating a wholly new penalty structure, Krizovich said the proposal primarily amends existing statutes already used by law enforcement and judges—specifically the state—s provisions governing vicious or dangerous dogs—to make them more applicable to attacks and harassment directed at service animals.
Proponents told the committee the revised approach responds to real-world incidents of harassment and aims to give enforcement and judicial actors clearer tools to protect handlers and trained animals. No opponents testified in the transcript; no committee vote is recorded.
