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La Crosse committee adopts ordinance to prohibit harassment of service animals, 6–1
Summary
The committee adopted an ordinance aligning municipal code with state law to prohibit harassment of service animals. The measure clarifies enforcement through municipal citations and passed 6–1.
The Judiciary & Administration Committee voted 6–1 on Feb. 3 to adopt an ordinance that clarifies municipal code regarding harassment of service animals and aligns city language with existing Wisconsin statutes.
Sponsor Council member Bedford explained the ordinance fills a gap in local code and cited a local incident involving a guide dog that motivated the change. Committee members asked whether violations would produce warnings or fines; city staff and the city attorney explained officers have discretion to warn or issue citations and that citations are processed through municipal court with prosecutorial discretion.
Council member Weston said she would not support the ordinance because the conduct is already covered by state statute; the attorney responded that adopting local language provides municipal court as an enforcement option and may give victims an additional remedy.
The committee adopted the ordinance by a 6–1 vote; the item will appear on next week’s full council agenda.
