ATLANTA (January 8, 2019) | Last month, Senator Renee Unterman (R – Buford) and members of the Senate Study Committee on Service Animals for Physically or Mentally Impaired Persons adopted committee recommendations.
The recommendations are:
- To address liability for individuals who help save animals from hot cars
- To consider a process for emotional support animals to be certified by a physician
- To certify animals capable of service
- To ensure that renters and landlords are educated on the qualifications of service animals
- To create educational resources to increase awareness and inform public schools and other interested parties on the difference between a “service animal” and “emotional support animal,” as well as the fraudulent misrepresentation of such terms and meanings
- To use the Department of Law’s Consumer Protection Unit to serve as the primary contact in addressing complaints
- To revise the Georgia code to clearly define the use of terms and definitions for service animals, emotional support animals, and assistance animals
The Senate Study Committee on Service Animals for Physically or Mentally Impaired Persons was created through Senate Resolution 467 during the 2018 Legislative Session. The committee was composed of five members of the Senate and examined current laws relating to the certification process for service animals. Members of the committee reviewed current procedures to determine if there is a need for “a uniform certification process or the issuance of information cards.” Additionally, the committee discussed the issue of “fake service animals” and examined if this should be a criminal act.
The entire committee report can be found here: http://www.senate.ga.gov/sro/Documents/StudyCommRpts/2018_Service_Animals.pdf
####
For Immediate Release:
Jan. 8, 2019
Ines Owens, Director
ines.owens@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028