Connecticut House Bill 5566, which is scheduled to be considered by the Joint Judiciary Committee on Monday, March 26, seeks to make it an infraction for an individual to knowingly misrepresent a pet as a service animal or being trained to be a service animal.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) supports House Bill 5566 and encourages all Connecticut residents to contact the members of the Joint Judiciary Committee and encourage them to support House Bill 5566.
House Bill 5566:
- Would make it an infraction for an individual to knowingly represent, either expressly or impliedly, that a dog is a service animal or being trained as a service animal, for the purpose of obtaining any rights or privileges afforded to an individual with a disability, unless such dog is a service animal or being trained to be a service animal. Infractions in Connecticut may result in a non-criminal fine.
- Uses the federal government’s definitions of “service animal” and “individual with a disability” for the purposes of this new law.
AKC’s position statement on Misuse of Service Dogs 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.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: All Connecticut residents are encouraged to submit letters of support to the Joint Judiciary Committee. HB 5566 is one of 26 bills and 112 other issues the committee is scheduled to consider at its Monday, March 26, meeting, which is scheduled to start at 10AM in Room 2C of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, 300 Capitol Ave, #5100, Hartford, CT 06106.
Testimony to the full committee should be submitted to judtestimony@cga.ct.gov.
A complete list of committee members may be viewed at https://www.cga.ct.gov/committees/membersprint.asp?doc_year=2018&comm_code=jud.
For more information on HB 5566 or other pending legislation in Connecticut, contact the Connecticut Federation of Dog Clubs & Responsible Dog Owners or AKC’s Government Relations Department at 919-816-3720 or doglaw@akc.org.