REPORT TITLE:
Animal Quarantine


DESCRIPTION:
Establishes quarantine laws for service animals.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        1999
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO ANIMAL QUARANTINE.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  Findings and purpose.  The legislature finds
 
 2 that the State has a responsibility to meet the needs of its
 
 3 resident disability community, as well as visitors with
 
 4 disabilities wishing to visit the State.  This includes the needs
 
 5 of persons with disabilities who use service animals to maintain
 
 6 an independent existence.  Service animals are essential to the
 
 7 independent functioning of individuals with disabilities.  If
 
 8 separated from their owners for a prolonged period of time, as
 
 9 they are when subjected to the State's thirty day quarantine
 
10 requirement, these animals suffer a loss of effectiveness that
 
11 seriously undermines the safety of their owners.
 
12      The legislature further finds that the risk presented by
 
13 service animals (predominantly dogs), in terms of spreading the
 
14 rabies virus, is virtually nonexistent.  Due to the high level of
 
15 care and individual medical attention these animals receive, the
 
16 probability of a service animal contracting the rabies virus is
 
17 infinitesimally remote.  Surveys indicate that service animals
 
18 undergo prolonged periods of training, are isolated from other
 
19 animals during that time, are constantly under strict control and
 

 
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 1 surveillance during training, possesses well documented health
 
 2 records, receive regularly scheduled vaccinations for prolonged
 
 3 periods, have no history of rabies exposure, are positively
 
 4 identifiable by either tattoo or implanted microchip, and are of
 
 5 value that mandates continued control and medical care beyond
 
 6 that of the common household pet.
 
 7      The legislature further finds that amendments were made to
 
 8 the department of agriculture's administrative rules in June,
 
 9 1998 which modified quarantine requirements for the entry of
 
10 certified guide dogs for persons who are blind.  With this
 
11 experience as a basis, it is clear that the safety of the public
 
12 can be ensured while the rights of persons with other types of
 
13 disabilities who use service animals can also be upheld.
 
14      The purpose of this Act is to implement modified quarantine
 
15 requirements for all service animals used by individuals with a
 
16 variety of disabilities.
 
17      SECTION 2.  Chapter 142, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
18 by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read
 
19 as follows:
 
20              "PART     QUARANTINE OF SERVICE ANIMALS
 
21      §142-A  Definitions.   As used in this part, unless the
 
22 context otherwise requires:
 
23      "Guide dog" shall have the same meaning as in section 515-3.
 

 
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 1      "Nonresident service animal" means a service animal licensed
 
 2 by a state or political subdivision of a state, other than the
 
 3 State of Hawaii.
 
 4      "Resident service animal" means a service animal licensed by
 
 5 the State of Hawaii or any county thereof, and has resided in the
 
 6 State for at least one year.
 
 7      "Service animal" means any guide, signal, or service dog or
 
 8 other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for
 
 9 the benefit of an individual with a disability, including guiding
 
10 individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with
 
11 impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal
 
12 protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching
 
13 dropped items.
 
14      "Service dog" means any dog individually trained by a
 
15 service dog trainer to:
 
16      (1)  Impart motion to a person confined in a wheelchair by
 
17           means of a harness attached to the dog and handle
 
18           grasped by the person; or
 
19      (2)  Assist a nonambulatory, person with a physical
 
20           disability in performing certain essential activities
 
21           of daily living.
 
22      "Signal dog" shall have the same meaning as in section
 
23 515-3.
 

 
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 1      §142-B  Quarantine of service animals; exemption.(a)  The
 
 2 department of agriculture shall adopt rules under chapter 91 to
 
 3 enable resident and nonresident service animals, and their owners
 
 4 with disabilities to leave or enter the State from the
 
 5 continental United States, without the need for quarantine,
 
 6 subject to the following requirements:
 
 7      (1)  Two killed rabies vaccines have been administered to
 
 8           the service animal by a veterinarian, with the first
 
 9           vaccine administered four months prior to embarkation.
 
10           The veterinarian shall be accredited by the United
 
11           States Department of Agriculture pursuant to title 9,
 
12           chapter 1, parts 160, 161, and 162, Code of Federal
 
13           Regulations and licensed pursuant to the laws of the
 
14           state in which the veterinarian practices veterinary
 
15           medicine;
 
16      (2)  The owner of the service animal possesses a small
 
17           animal health certificate from the United States
 
18           Department of Agriculture obtained prior to embarkation
 
19           or departure, that is still effective at the time of
 
20           the dog's entry into the State;
 
21      (3)  The owner has obtained a signed affidavit from a
 
22           licensed veterinarian attesting to the fact that an
 
23           identifying microchip has been surgically implanted in
 

 
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 1           the dog;
 
 2      (4)  The service animal was tested prior to embarkation and
 
 3           again immediately upon entry into the State, for the
 
 4           presence of a positive, rabies virus, antibody titer
 
 5           using the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test
 
 6           method, conducted by a laboratory certified by the
 
 7           state department of agriculture pursuant to rules
 
 8           adopted under chapter 91;
 
 9      (5)  The owner of the service animal has executed an
 
10           affidavit documenting the nature of the owner's
 
11           disability and attesting to the fact that both owner
 
12           and dog have successfully completed a training course
 
13           for guide dog teams, service dog teams, or signal dog
 
14           teams.  The affidavit shall include the name and
 
15           location of the training facility, and any other
 
16           information that the state department of agriculture
 
17           may require pursuant to rules adopted under chapter 91;
 
18           and
 
19      (6)  The owner pays all fees required by the state
 
20           department of agriculture.  All other personal expenses
 
21           incurred by the owner of the service animal in
 
22           complying with the procedure and requirements
 
23           established under this part shall be borne by the
 

 
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 1           owner.
 
 2      (b)  All service animals not subject to subsection (a) shall
 
 3 be subject to quarantine.
 
 4      (c)  The department of agriculture shall adopt a schedule of
 
 5 fees pursuant to chapter 91 to defray the department's cost of
 
 6 implementing the procedures established under this part.
 
 7      §142-C  Applicability of exemptions to dogs vaccinated with
 
 8 a modified live rabies vaccine.  The exemption from quarantine
 
 9 and the procedures established by the department of agriculture
 
10 pursuant to this part shall not apply to service animals
 
11 vaccinated with a modified live rabies vaccine less than six
 
12 months prior to embarkation.
 
13      §142-D  Penalties.  Notwithstanding section 142-12, any
 
14 person who violates this part or any rule adopted by the
 
15 department of agriculture pursuant to this part shall be subject
 
16 to:
 
17      (1)  Immediate seizure of the service animal in this State
 
18           and quarantine at the owner's expense;
 
19      (2)  A fine up to $       for each offense.  Each day of
 
20           violation shall constitute a separate offense; and
 
21      (3)  Denial of permission to enter the State with a
 
22           nonresident service animal for up to       years from
 
23           the date of the violation, unless the animal is
 

 
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 1           quarantined upon its entry into the State."
 
 2      SECTION 3.  Section 142-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 3 amended to read as follows:
 
 4      "§142-6 Quarantine.  [The] Except as provided in section
 
 5 142-   , the department of agriculture may quarantine any
 
 6 domestic animal known to be affected with or to have been exposed
 
 7 to any contagious, infectious, or communicable disease, and
 
 8 destroy the same, when in the opinion of the department, such
 
 9 measure is necessary to prevent the spread of the disease, and
 
10 provide for the proper disposition of its hide and carcass; and
 
11 disinfect premises where the disease may have existed."
 
12      SECTION 4.  Section 142-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
13 amended to read as follows:
 
14      "§142-9 Quarantine between islands.  [Live] Except as
 
15 provided in section 142-   , live animals passing between the
 
16 islands of the State may be quarantined as provided by law, at
 
17 either the port of shipment or of delivery, on good cause shown
 
18 to the department of agriculture at the port of entry nearest to
 
19 the port of shipment or delivery."
 
20      SECTION 5.  In codifying the new sections added by section 2
 
21 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate
 
22 section numbers for the letters used in the new sections
 
23 designated in this Act.
 

 
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 1      SECTION 6.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 2 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 3      SECTION 7.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
 4 
 
 5                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________