PRINTER'S NO. 422
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
416
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY MURT, BIZZARRO, V. BROWN, CALTAGIRONE, DEAN,
DRISCOLL, DUSH, FARRY, FREEMAN, GILLEN, JAMES, W. KELLER,
McNEILL, D. MILLER, NEILSON, ORTITAY, READSHAW, ROZZI,
SCHWEYER, SIMMONS, SOLOMON, WARD AND WATSON, FEBRUARY 8, 2017
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 8, 2017
AN ACT
Amending the act of October 27, 1955 (P.L.744, No.222),
entitled, as amended, "An act prohibiting certain practices
of discrimination because of race, color, religious creed,
ancestry, age or national origin by employers, employment
agencies, labor organizations and others as herein defined;
creating the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in the
Governor's Office; defining its functions, powers and duties;
providing for procedure and enforcement; providing for
formulation of an educational program to prevent prejudice;
providing for judicial review and enforcement and imposing
penalties," further providing for findings and declaration of
policy and for right to freedom from discrimination in
employment, housing and public accommodation; and providing
for therapy dogs and public transportation and unlawful
discriminatory practices.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 2 of the act of October 27, 1955
(P.L.744, No.222), known as the Pennsylvania Human Relations
Act, is amended by adding a subsection to read:
Section 2. Findings and Declaration of Policy.--
* * *
(b.1) It is hereby declared to be the public policy of this
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Commonwealth to safeguard the rights of all individuals with
disabilities, owners or handlers of therapy dogs and persons
licensed to train therapy dogs to use all forms of public
transportation regardless of the use of accompanying therapy
dogs because of disabilities of the users or because the users
are handlers or trainers of therapy dogs.
* * *
Section 2. Section 3 of the act is amended to read:
Section 3. Right to Freedom from Discrimination in
Employment, Housing and Public Accommodation.--(a) The
opportunity for an individual to obtain employment for which he
is qualified, and to obtain all the accommodations, advantages,
facilities and privileges of any public accommodation and of any
housing accommodation and commercial property without
discrimination because of race, color, familial status,
religious creed, ancestry, handicap or disability, age, sex,
national origin, the use of a guide or support animal because of
the blindness, deafness or physical handicap of the user or
because the user is a handler or trainer of support or guide
animals is hereby recognized as and declared to be a civil right
which shall be enforceable as set forth in this act.
(b) The opportunity for an individual with a disability, an
owner or handler of a therapy dog or a person licensed to train
therapy dogs to obtain all the accommodations, advantages,
facilities and privileges of any form of public transportation
without discrimination because of the use of an accompanying
therapy dog properly harnessed for purposes of aiding and
guiding an individual with a disability and riding on all
vehicles operated for public transportation is hereby recognized
as and declared to be a civil right which shall be enforceable
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as set forth in this act.
Section 3. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
Section 5.4. Therapy Dogs and Public Transportation and
Unlawful Discriminatory Practices.--(a) It shall be an unlawful
discriminatory practice for any form of public transportation
to:
(1) Deny, limit, discourage or attempt to discourage or
impose burdens or penalties on an individual with a disability,
an owner or handler of a therapy dog or a person licensed to
train therapy dogs with respect to accessing any accommodations,
advantages, facilities or privileges of any form of public
transportation because of the use of an accompanying therapy dog
properly harnessed for purposes of aiding and guiding an
individual with a disability and riding on all vehicles operated
for public transportation.
(2) Deny or limit a therapy dog properly harnessed,
accompanying an individual with a disability or an owner or
handler of a therapy dog or a person licensed to train therapy
dogs from aiding and guiding an individual with a disability or
from riding on all vehicles operated for public transportation,
or to charge a fee for the transportation of the therapy dog.
(b) The Department of Agriculture shall establish criteria
and standards with which a recognized therapy dog training
organization must comply regarding the certification and
registration of therapy dogs and their handlers.
(c) The following words and phrases shall have the meanings
given to them in this subsection unless the context clearly
indicates otherwise:
(1) The term "recognized therapy dog training organization"
means an organization which certifies or registers therapy dogs
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and their handlers in accordance with regulations established by
the Department of Agriculture under subsection (b).
(2) The term "therapy dog" means any dog that is trained to
work or perform specific tasks for the benefit of persons,
including those with special needs, autism, drug addiction,
distress due to emotional and physical abuse and clinical
depression or bipolar disease by a recognized therapy dog
training organization and is actually used for such purpose.
Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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