| 1 | 1 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4329 |
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| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 3 | 3 | | ________________________________________ |
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| 4 | 4 | | HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, February 8, 2024. |
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| 5 | 5 | | The committee on The Judiciary to whom was referred the petition |
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| 6 | 6 | | (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1480) of Kimberly N. Ferguson and |
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| 7 | 7 | | others for an investigation by a special commission (including members of |
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| 8 | 8 | | the General Court) relative to the intentional misrepresentation of a service |
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| 9 | 9 | | animal and the petition (accompanied by bill, House. No. 1481) of |
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| 10 | 10 | | Kimberly N. Ferguson and others relative to the misrepresentation of a |
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| 11 | 11 | | service animal, reports recommending that the accompanying bill (House, |
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| 12 | 12 | | No. 4329) ought to pass. |
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| 13 | 13 | | For the committee, |
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| 14 | 14 | | MICHAEL S. DAY. 1 of 2 |
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| 15 | 15 | | FILED ON: 2/5/2024 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4329 |
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| 17 | 17 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 18 | 18 | | _______________ |
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| 19 | 19 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 21 | 21 | | _______________ |
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| 22 | 22 | | An Act relative to a commission to study the intentional misrepresentation of a service animal. |
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| 23 | 23 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 24 | 24 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 25 | 25 | | 1 (a) There shall be a special legislative commission established pursuant to section 2A of |
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| 26 | 26 | | 2chapter 4 of the General Laws to study and report on the use of service animals in the |
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| 27 | 27 | | 3commonwealth. The commission shall consist of 15 members: 2 of whom shall be the house and |
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| 28 | 28 | | 4senate chairs of the joint committee on the judiciary or their designees, who shall serve as co- |
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| 29 | 29 | | 5chairs; 1 of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the house; 1 of whom shall be appointed |
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| 30 | 30 | | 6by the senate president; 1 of whom shall be appointed by the house minority leader; 1 of whom |
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| 31 | 31 | | 7shall be appointed by the senate minority leader; 1 of whom shall be the attorney general or their |
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| 32 | 32 | | 8designee; 1 of whom shall be the director of the Massachusetts office on disability or their |
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| 33 | 33 | | 9designee; 1 of whom shall be the chair of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination |
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| 34 | 34 | | 10or their designee; 1 of whom shall be the chair of the municipal police training committee |
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| 35 | 35 | | 11established pursuant to section 116 of chapter 6 of the General Laws or their designee; 1 of |
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| 36 | 36 | | 12whom shall be the executive director of the mental health legal advisors committee established |
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| 37 | 37 | | 13pursuant to section 34E of chapter 221 of the General Laws or their designee; 1 of whom shall be |
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| 38 | 38 | | 14the president of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association or their designee; and 3 members who 2 of 2 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 15shall be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be a representative of a professional |
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| 40 | 40 | | 16organization specializing in the advocacy, education or training of service animals, 1 of whom |
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| 41 | 41 | | 17shall be a representative of a professional organization specializing in the advocacy, education, |
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| 42 | 42 | | 18and/or training of other animals, including emotional support, companion, or comfort animals, |
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| 43 | 43 | | 19and 1 of whom shall be a member of an association advocating for the interests of retailers in the |
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| 44 | 44 | | 20commonwealth. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 21 (b) The study shall include, but not be limited to: (i) reviewing current federal, state and |
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| 46 | 46 | | 22local laws and procedures governing the use of service animals in the commonwealth; (ii) |
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| 47 | 47 | | 23examining the use and benefit of service animals by individuals with disabilities in the |
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| 48 | 48 | | 24commonwealth; (iii) investigating the presence, prevalence and impact of fraud, |
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| 49 | 49 | | 25misrepresentation and other misuse of service animals in the commonwealth; (iv) researching |
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| 50 | 50 | | 26laws and practices in other jurisdictions with the objective to deter the misuse of service animals; |
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| 51 | 51 | | 27and (v) identifying training and educational opportunities aimed at increasing understanding of |
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| 52 | 52 | | 28laws governing the use of service animals among public officials, law enforcement, business |
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| 53 | 53 | | 29owners and members of the public in the commonwealth. The commission shall report on its |
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| 54 | 54 | | 30findings, including, but not limited to: (i) recommending changes to laws governing the use of |
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| 55 | 55 | | 31service animals in the commonwealth, if any, including the definition of “service animal” and |
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| 56 | 56 | | 32whether to introduce legislation prohibiting and civilly penalizing service animal fraud; and (ii) |
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| 57 | 57 | | 33determining the feasibility of certifying, registering or licensing service animals in the |
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| 58 | 58 | | 34commonwealth. |
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| 59 | 59 | | 35 (c) The commission shall file its report not later than April 1, 2025 with the clerks of the |
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| 60 | 60 | | 36house of representatives and the senate, who shall forward a copy of the report to the chairs of |
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| 61 | 61 | | 37the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on the judiciary. |
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