Minnesota House File 2815, which is scheduled to be considered by the House Civil Law and Data Practices Policy Committee on Thursday, March 8, seeks to make misrepresenting an animal as a service animal a misdemeanor. All Minnesota residents are encouraged to contact the members of the committee and express support of HF 2815.
The AKC strongly supports public accommodations that allow individuals with disabilities to use service dogs, which are defined as those that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. The AKC strongly condemns characterizing dogs as service animals when they are not, or attempting to benefit from a dog’s service dog status when the individual using the dog is not a person with a disability.
HF 2815 joins HF 3157 and SF 2646 as proposals pending in the Minnesota legislature that seek to prohibit the misrepresentation of a dog as a service dog. Read Misuse of Service Dogs Hurts the Disabled and Responsible Dog Owners for information on why misrepresenting a dog as a service animal is damaging to many.
The American Kennel Club supports HF 2815. We encourage all concerned Minnesota residents to contact the members of the Minnesota Civil Law and Data Practices Policy Committee and request they support House File 2815. They will consider the measure at their Thursday, March 8, meeting, which will take place at 8:15AM in the Basement Hearing Room of the State House, 175 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Saint Paul, MN 55155.
Representative Peggy Scott, Chair
651-296-4231
rep.peggy.scott@house.mn
Representative Dennis Smith, Vice Chair
651-296-5502
rep.dennis.smith@house.mn
Representative John Lesch, DFL Lead
651-296-4224
rep.john.lesch@house.mn
Representative Andrew Carlson
651-296-4218
rep.andrew.carlson@house.mn
Representative Raymond Dehn
651-296-8659
rep.raymond.dehn@house.mn
Representative Debra Hilstrom
651-296-3709
rep.debra.hilstrom@house.mn
Representative Jeff Howe
651-296-4373
rep.jeff.howe@house.mn
Representative Sheldon Johnson
651-296-4201
rep.sheldon.johnson@house.mn
Representative Bob Loonan
651-296-8872
rep.bob.loonan@house.mn
Representative Eric Lucero
651-296-1534
rep.eric.lucero@house.mn
Representative Ilhan Omar
651-296-4257
rep.ilhan.omar@house.mn
Representative Marion O’Neill
651-296-5063
rep.marion.oneill@house.mn
Representative Cindy Pugh
651-296-4315
rep.cindy.pugh@house.mn
Representative Bob Vogel
651-296-7065
rep.bob.vogel@house.mn
Representative Abigail Whelan
651-296-1729
rep.abigail.whelan@house.mn
Callie Lehman, Committee Administrator – callie.lehman@house.mn
For more information on HF 2815 or other legislation in Minnesota, contact AKC’s Government Relations Department at 919-816-3720 or doglaw@akc.org.