Senate tightens service-animal rules, adds misdemeanor penalty for false claims

The Utah Senate adopted floor amendments and passed Senate Bill 192 on Feb. 22, 2007, which aligns state law with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and creates criminal penalties for knowingly misrepresenting a pet as a service animal or falsifying documentation to obtain certification.

Sponsor Senator McCoy said the amendment corrected a provision that was out of step with the ADA and added two misdemeanor provisions: making it a class B misdemeanor to intentionally and knowingly falsely represent an animal as a service animal and to knowingly misrepresent material facts to a health care provider to obtain a letter of certification. 'What this does is it helps tighten down the problem or concern that people will just have their pets and represent them as service animals,' McCoy said on the floor.

Senator Waddoups and others discussed oversight of practitioners who provide letters of certification; the floor record notes that professional licensing bodies could pursue ethical or licensing complaints against providers who improperly issue documentation. Senators also discussed how often a service-animal need must be verified; the sponsor noted federal ADA rules do not require periodic renewals but that landlords or others might require verification at lease renewal.

After debate, the amendment passed by voice vote and the underlying bill passed on roll call. The clerk recorded SB192 as amended receiving 24 yes votes, 1 nay and 4 absent; the bill will be transmitted to the House for consideration.

By the sponsor’s account, the measure is intended to clarify protections for people with disabilities while providing enforcement tools against fraudulent claims that could undermine legitimate users' access.