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GCPD Recommends 88th Texas Legislature to Further Define Legal Use of Service Animals

Laws and regulations on the use of service animals have led to misunderstandings about the purpose of service animals and their legal use in public. The terms “service animal,” “assistance animal,” “emotional support animal”, and “comfort animal” are often used interchangeably leading to further confusion.

Certification and licensing for service animals is not required by federal law. When a disability is not evident, only two questions can be asked of service animal owners: 1) Is the animal a service animal required because of a disability? and 2) What work or task has the animal been trained to perform? Since many public entities are unaware of this legal guidance, a person with a legitimate service animal may experience the indignity of inappropriate questions or being asked to leave the establishment.

While Texas Human Resources Code Chapter 121 currently addresses service animals, the language could be clarified to reduce the ambiguity on service animal usage. GCPD recommends that the Texas Legislature clarify terminology in Human Resources Code Chapter 121 to align with applicable federal laws regarding service animals and emotional support animals and reduce confusion among members of the public, business owners and housing providers regarding the different rights and responsibilities of service animal handlers and emotional support animal owners. Appendix A of our Biennial Report to the 88^th Texas Legislature offers improved language to HRC Chapter 121.

GCPD’s report also includes the following recommendations:

1. Designate GCPD with the lead coordination responsibility among state agencies with the annual distribution of service animal education materials to public facilities and businesses operating within the state.
2. Remove “approved” from the term “approved trainer” in the Human Resources Code Sec. 121.003(i). as the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed that individuals may train their own service animal under the Americans with Disabilities Act and no state agency is designated to approve service animal training.
3. Ensure effective training of law enforcement regarding service or assistance animals and their legitimacy.
4. Increase the penalty of fraudulent representation of service or assistance animals and include additional penalty options such as community service and taking a court-ordered disability public awareness class.
5. Designate a state agency to work in collaboration to create public awareness training/classes and support a robust public education campaign regarding service and assistance animals.
6. Adopt criteria to reduce fraud for health care practitioners issuing a letter for an emotional support animal. Health care practitioners must be prohibited from providing documentation relating to an individual’s need for an emotional support dog unless they meet specific requirements.
7. Require that a person or business that sells or provides a certificate, identification, tag, vest, leash, or harness for an emotional support animal must provide a written notice to the buyer or recipient on applicable laws and penalties for misrepresenting the animal as a service animal.
8. Mandate a person or business that sells or provides a dog for use as an emotional support dog to provide a written notice – in at least 12-point bold type, on the receipt or a separate paper – to the buyer or recipient of the dog stating that: 

   • the dog does not have the special training required to qualify as a guide, signal, or service dog;

   • the handler of the dog is not entitled to the rights and privileges accorded by law to a handler of a guide, signal, or service dog; and

   • knowingly and fraudulently representing oneself to be the owner or trainer of any canine licensed as, to be qualified as, or identified as, a guide, signal, or service dog is a misdemeanor.

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