An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Task Force To Ensure Integrity in the Use of Service Animals
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1601
Committee: Judiciary
Amends: 5 MRSA §4553, 5 MRSA §4582-A, 5 MRSA §4592, 7 MRSA §3907, 7 MRSA §3961-A, 17 MRSA §1011, 17 MRSA §1312, 17 MRSA §1314-A

Legislative Document 
No. 1601 
H.P. 1092 
House of Representatives, February 23, 2016 
An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Task Force To 
Ensure Integrity in the Use of Service Animals 
Reported by Representative HICKMAN of Winthrop for the Joint Standing Committee on 
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Resolve 2015, chapter 36, section 3. 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 218. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §4553, sub-§1-H is enacted to read: 
1-H.  Assistance animal.  "Assistance animal" means, for the purposes of subchapter 
4: 
A.  An animal that has been determined necessary to mitigate the effects of a physical 
or mental disability by a physician, psychologist, physician assistant, nurse 
practitioner or licensed social worker; or 
B.  An animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an 
individual with a physical or mental disability, including, but not limited to, guiding 
individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing 
to intruders or sounds, providing reasonable protection or rescue work, pulling a 
wheelchair or retrieving dropped items. 
Sec. 2.  5 MRSA §4553, sub-§9-E, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 369, §2, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 3.  5 MRSA §4582-A, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2011, c. 613, §13 and 
affected by §29, is further amended to read: 
3.  Assistance animals.  For any owner, lessor, sublessor, managing agent or other 
person having the right to sell, rent, lease or manage a housing accommodation or any of 
their agents to refuse to permit the use of a service an assistance animal or otherwise 
discriminate against an individual with a physical or mental disability who uses a service 
an assistance animal at the housing accommodation unless it is shown by defense that the 
service assistance animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others or the use 
of the service assistance animal would result in substantial physical damage to the 
property of others or would substantially interfere with the reasonable enjoyment of the 
housing accommodation by others.  The use of a service an assistance animal may not be 
conditioned on the payment of a fee or security deposit, although the individual with a 
physical or mental disability is liable for any damage done to the premises or facilities by 
such a service an assistance animal. 
Sec. 4.  5 MRSA §4592, sub-§8, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 664, §7, is amended to 
read: 
8.  Service animals.  For any public accommodation or any person who is the owner, 
lessor, lessee, proprietor, operator, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any 
place of public accommodation to refuse to permit the use of a service animal or 
otherwise discriminate against an individual with a physical or mental disability who uses 
a service animal at the public accommodation unless it is shown by defense that the 
service animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others or the use of the 
service animal would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others or 
would substantially interfere with the reasonable enjoyment of the public accommodation 
by others.  The use of a service animal may not be conditioned on the payment of a fee or 
security deposit, although the individual with a physical or mental disability is liable for 
any damage done to the premises or facilities by such a service animal.  This subsection 
does not apply to an assistance animal as defined in section 4553, subsection 1-H unless 
the assistance animal also qualifies as a service animal. 
Sec. 5.  7 MRSA §3907, sub-§24-A, as amended by PL 2011, c. 369, §3, is 
further amended to read: 
24-A.  Service dog.  "Service dog" means a dog that meets the definition of "service 
animal" set forth in Title 5, section 4553, subsection 9-E, paragraph A or B or "assistance 
animal" set forth in Title 5, section 4553, subsection 1-H. 
Sec. 6.  7 MRSA §3961-A, as amended by PL 2011, c. 369, §4, is further amended 
to read: 
§3961-A.  Attack on service animal or assistance animal 
A person who owns or keeps a dog that attacks, injures or kills a service animal or 
assistance animal while the service animal or assistance animal is in discharge of its 
duties commits a civil violation for which a forfeiture of not more than $1,000 may be 
adjudged. 
When a person is adjudicated of a violation of this section, the court shall order the 
person to make restitution to the owner of the service animal or assistance animal for any 
veterinary bills and necessary retraining costs or replacement costs of the service animal 
or assistance animal if it is disabled or killed. 
For the purposes of this section, "service animal" has the same meaning as set forth in 
Title 5, section 4553, subsection 9-E, paragraph A or B. For the purposes of this section, 
"assistance animal" has the same meaning as set forth in Title 5, section 4553, subsection 
1-H. 
Sec. 7.  17 MRSA §1011, sub-§24-A, as amended by PL 2011, c. 369, §5, is 
further amended to read: 
24-A.  Service dog.  "Service dog" means a dog that meets the definition of "service 
animal" set forth in Title 5, section 4553, subsection 9-E, paragraph A or B or "assistance 
animal" set forth in Title 5, section 4553, subsection 1-H. 
Sec. 8.  17 MRSA §1312, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2011, c. 369, §6, is further 
amended to read: 
7.  Service dog; definition.  As used in this section, "service dog" means a dog that 
meets the definition of "service animal" in Title 5, section 4553, subsection 9-E, 
paragraph B. 
Sec. 9.  17 MRSA §1314-A, as amended by PL 2011, c. 369, §8, is repealed and 
the following enacted in its place: 
§1314-A.  Misrepresentation as service dog or assistance animal 
A person who knowingly misrepresents as a service dog or an assistance animal any 
dog that does not meet the definition of "service dog" pursuant to section 1312, 
subsection 7 or "assistance animal," as defined in Title 5, section 4553, subsection 1-H, 
commits a civil violation.  Misrepresentation as a service dog or an assistance animal 
includes, but is not limited to: 
1.  False documents.  Knowingly creating documents that falsely represent that a dog 
is a service dog or an assistance animal; 
2.  Providing false documents.  Knowingly providing to another person documents 
falsely stating that a dog is a service dog or an assistance animal; 
3.  Harness, collar, vest or sign.  Knowingly fitting a dog, when the dog is not a 
service dog, with a harness, collar, vest or sign of the type commonly used by a person 
with a disability to indicate a dog is a service dog; or 
4.  Falsely representing dog as service dog.  Knowingly representing that a dog is a 
service dog, when the dog has not completed training to perform disability-related tasks 
or do disability-related work for a person with a disability. 
For a civil violation under this section a fine of not more than $1,000 may be 
adjudged. 
SUMMARY 
This bill implements the recommendations of the task force to ensure integrity in the 
use of service animals established pursuant to Resolve 2015, chapter 36. 
The committee has not taken a position on the substance of the recommendations or 
this bill and by reporting this bill out the committee is not suggesting and does not intend 
to suggest that it agrees or disagrees with any aspect of the task force's recommendations 
or this bill.  The committee is reporting the bill out for the sole purpose of turning the task 
force's proposal into a printed bill that can be referred to the committee for an appropriate 
public hearing and subsequent processing in the normal course.  The committee is taking 
this action to ensure clarity and transparency in the legislative review of the task force's 
proposal. 
The bill creates a definition for "assistance animal," which distinguishes assistance 
animals from service animals, and amends the definition of "service animal" to achieve 
this distinction.  It amends the provisions in the Maine Human Rights Act related to fair 
housing and public accommodations to provide clarity regarding their application to 
service animals compared to assistance animals.  It also amends provisions in the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 7 to align with the new definitions.  Finally, it increases the 
penalty for misrepresentation as a service dog or assistance animal.