2001 House Bill 5154 ↩

House Roll Call 745: Passed

To adopt a statute against harassing or impeding a guide dog based on the State of Washington’s guide dog protection statute, which certain guide dog associations promote as a model law for all states. It would create four classes of offense related to service animals, depending on the recklessness or intent of the violator, and the amount of harm to either the animal or the person, with penalties ranging from fines to up to 10 years in prison. The substitute would authorize a court to order the violator to reimburse the service animal user for all expenses incurred related to the offense, and would not preclude any civil remedies.