Writing letters still works - Tips when writing your representatives!

Appearing in person is, of course, an incredibly effective way of letting your legislators know where you stand on an issue. However, between disability and distance I know that's not always going to be possible for many of us. We just watched a pretty ugly bill related to service dogs go down in flames in Arizona after huge public outcry against the darn thing. So many citizens expressed discontent that (IIC) the Bill's original sponsor voted no so the Bill wouldn't make it out of Committee! Our voices do count! If you're in Oregon or Maine, it's time to make your voice heard.

Thankfully, well-written letters can be almost as effective as appearing in person. For those who've never written their legislators, here are a couple of links that provide some great tips.  Please note that each of these is a bit focused towards writing your representatives at the federal level, not the state, but the concept is the same.

http://www.nea.org/home/19657.htm

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/letterscongress.htm 

The people you'll want to write first are the ones whose names appear right in the text of the Bill itself. At the start of the Oregon proposed Bill just a few lines in, for example, there's the following text, "Sponsored by Representatives ESQUIVEL, KRIEGER, WITT..." Those are going to be the first three people you'll want to make sure you write to. After that, you'll want to do a google search to find out who YOUR representatives to the state are and write those people. Keep in mind that you're not searching for your senators and congressional representatives to Washington D.C.! You're searching for the people from your local area who are supposed to be representing your voice at your state capitol.

Happy writing!  

Dailyah Rudek and Riley, Service Dog

Item for Immediate Action - Maine

I thought I had a link for this readily available, but in the interest of getting it out before I need to dash out the door ya'll are getting the full text instead!

As a colleague and well-known trainer put it (paraphrased), 'Uh-oh! Problems right out of the gate!  Where and who are the "certified animal trainers" to certify the SD????'  If you live in Maine, please contact your Representatives.  Please point out the problems with the language being used and let them know how you feel about what they are trying to do.

Dailyah Rudek and SD Riley

127th MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST REGULAR SESSION-2015
Legislative Document No. 547
H.P.
371 House of Representatives, February 26, 2015

An Act Regarding Service Dogs

Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and ordered printed.

49

ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk

Presented by Representative CAMPBELL of Orrington. (BY REQUEST)

Cosponsored by Senator SAVIELLO of Franklin and
Representatives: DOORE of Augusta, LAJOIE of Lewiston, MAKER of Calais, NADEAU of Winslow, STANLEY of Medway, TUELL of East Machias.

Printed on recycled paper
table with 2 columns and 33 rows

1

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 7 MRSA §3922, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2007, c. 664, §11, is further amended to read:

4. Service dogs. If a service dog has not been previously registered or licensed by the municipal clerk to whom the application is being made, the clerk may not register the dog nor issue to its owner or keeper a license and tag that identifies the dog as a service dog unless the applicant presents written evidence to the municipal clerk that the dog meets the definition of "service dog." For the purpose of this subsection "written
evidence" means a service dog certification form approved by the department in consultation with the Maine Human Rights Commission. The service dog certification form must include a letter signed by a physician, psychologist, physician assistant or nurse practitioner indicating that the owner or keeper or a member of the owner's or keeper's household requires the service dog and a certification or other document
indicating that the service dog has completed training from an established service animal training organization or has been evaluated by a certified animal trainer and found to have a sound temperament suitable for a service dog.

17

Sec. 2. 7 MRSA §3923-B, sub-§1-A is enacted to read:

1-A. Service dog registration tag. In accordance with subsection 1, the department shall ensure that, with regard to the registration and licensing of a service dog, the service dog's registration tag clearly indicates that the dog is a service animal pursuant to Title 5, section 4553, subsection 9-E. The department shall devise a method of ensuring that a service dog's registration tag is clearly visible to the public.

23

SUMMARY

This bill requires that an individual registering a service dog present to the municipal clerk a letter signed by a physician, psychologist, physician assistant or nurse practitioner indicating that the individual or a member of the individual's household requires the service dog and a certification or other document indicating that the service dog has completed training from an established service animal training organization or has been
evaluated by a certified animal trainer and found to have a sound temperament suitable for a service dog. It also requires the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to ensure that the registration tag of a service dog clearly indicates that the dog is a service animal and to devise a method of ensuring that a service dog's registration tag is visible to the public.

table end

Page 1 -127LR0304(01)-1

Immediate Action Item for Oregon Residents* HB 3077

*I've heard rumors that one of the people who started this in OR moved to or is otherwise now working in Washington State towards a similar goal.  Keep on the lookout!

Here's the link to Oregon House Bill 3077  https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2015R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB3077/Introduced

I'm not planning to provide summaries for these, but please don't hesitate to contact me if there's confusion. I know that the language used in this type of writing can be difficult to wade through.

Please also let me know if it'd be good for me to include the text of the bill in the post.  For now, I'm going to figure that the link is sufficient.

Dailyah and SD Riley

Reviving this blog - The Service Dog industry in crisis!

We've now had three states attempt to create legislation that stands to pose real problems for disabled people choosing to be accompanied through life by highly trained service dogs.  Thankfully, AZ's died before it got very far.  Maine and Oregon still have things on the table for consideration.  (I will put the text up for both of these later this afternoon.)  The service dog industry and service dog handlers are in real trouble.

I fear it won't be long before we see even more states trying to put these sorts of problematic laws in place. I will be using this space for the occasional ethics, policy, law and/or legislation-related blog, but primarily this space will be used to try to keep folks up to date with what's going on where.  Whether you are a Service Dog handler of any type (Guide/Hearing/Mobility/Psych/Medical Alert/Other), family or support team member for a handler, work in the industry, or are simply a private citizen who cares about the rights of the disabled, you're going to want to stay on top of the language various states are trying to push through.  We've fought too hard to have our civil rights recognized to have them taken away because we aren't paying attention.

I'll do my best to keep current, but please do contact me if there's something going on in your state that you think others should know about.

My hope is that my readers will choose to act.  The AZ bill (which would have impacted disabled peoples' ability to have their service dog in restaurants - among other things) was squashed before getting very far thanks to public outcry.

Will the Americans with Disabilities Act and other Federal law "override" much of what some states are trying to do?  Yes.  Will we see mass confusion and will handlers have to deal with complications anyway in the event any of these things pass?  Undoubtedly.