REPORT TITLE:
Animal Quarantine



DESCRIPTION:
Adds a new part to implement modified quarantine requirements for
all service animals used by an individual with disabilities;
appropriates unspecified funds to the DOA for the purposes of
this Act.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           2226
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                     A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO ANIMAL QUARANTINE.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the State has a
 
 2 responsibility to meet the needs of its resident disability
 
 3 community, as well as visitors with disabilities wishing to visit
 
 4 our State.  This includes the needs of persons with disabilities
 
 5 who use service animals to maintain an independent existence.
 
 6 Service animals are essential to the independent functioning of
 
 7 individuals with disabilities.  If separated from their owners
 
 8 for a prolonged period of time, as they are when subjected to the
 
 9 State's thirty day quarantine requirement, these animals suffer a
 
10 loss of effectiveness that seriously undermines the safety of
 
11 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 remote.  Surveys indicate that service animals undergo prolonged
 
18 periods of training, are isolated from other animals during that
 
19 time, are constantly under strict control and surveillance during
 

 
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 1 training, possess well documented health records, receive
 
 2 regularly scheduled vaccinations for prolonged periods, have no
 
 3 history of rabies exposure, are positively identifiable by either
 
 4 tattoo or implanted micro-chip, and are of a value that mandates
 
 5 continued control and medical care beyond that of the common
 
 6 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 disabilities who
 
13 use other types of 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-  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" means a service animal licensed by a state or
 
 2 political subdivision of a state, other than the State of Hawaii,
 
 3 pursuant to law or rule.
 
 4      "Resident" means a service animal licensed by a political
 
 5 subdivision of the State of Hawaii, that has resided in the State
 
 6 of Hawaii 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 but not
 
10 limited to guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting
 
11 individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds,
 
12 providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a
 
13 wheelchair, or fetching dropped items.
 
14      "Service dog" means any dog individually trained to:
 
15      (1)  Impart motion to a person confined in a wheelchair by
 
16           means of a harness attached to the dog and handle
 
17           grasped by the person; or
 
18      (2)  Assist a nonambulatory, person with a physical
 
19           disability in performing certain essential activities
 
20           of daily living.
 
21      "Signal dog" shall have the same meaning as in section
 
22 515-3.
 
23      §142-    Quarantine of service animals; exemption.  The
 

 
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 1 department of agriculture shall establish and implement
 
 2 procedures pursuant to chapter 91 to enable resident and
 
 3 nonresident service animals, and their owners with disabilities,
 
 4 to leave or enter the State of Hawaii from the continental United
 
 5 States or Alaska, without the need for quarantine, subject to the
 
 6 following requirements:
 
 7      (1)  Two killed rabies vaccines shall be administered to the
 
 8           service animal by a veterinarian.  The first vaccine
 
 9           shall be 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 medicine;
 
15      (2)  The owner with a disability of the service animal shall
 
16           obtain a small animal health certificate from the
 
17           United States Department of Agriculture prior to
 
18           embarkation or departure.  For the purpose of this
 
19           part, a small animal health certificate shall not be
 
20           considered valid if it expires prior to the dog's entry
 
21           into the State of Hawaii;
 
22      (3)  The owner with a disability of the service animal shall
 
23           obtain a signed affidavit from a licensed veterinarian
 

 
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 1           attesting to the fact that an identifying micro-chip
 
 2           has been surgically implanted in the dog prior to
 
 3           embarkation or departure;
 
 4      (4)  The service animal shall be tested twice for the
 
 5           presence of a positive, rabies virus, antibody titer
 
 6           using the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test
 
 7           method prior to embarkation or departure.  For the
 
 8           purpose of this part, the results of a rapid
 
 9           fluorescent focus inhibition test for the rabies virus
 
10           antibody shall not be considered valid unless the test
 
11           is conducted by a laboratory certified by the
 
12           department of agriculture pursuant to rules adopted in
 
13           accordance with chapter 91;
 
14      (5)  The owner with a disability of the service animal shall
 
15           obtain an affidavit documenting the nature of the
 
16           owner's disability and attesting to the fact that both
 
17           owner and dog have successfully completed a training
 
18           course for guide dog teams, service dog teams, or
 
19           signal dog teams prior to embarkation or departure.
 
20           The affidavit shall include the name and location of
 
21           the training facility, and any other information that
 
22           the department of agriculture may require pursuant to
 
23           rules adopted in accordance with chapter 91;
 

 
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 1      (6)  The service animal shall be immediately tested upon
 
 2           entry for the presence of a positive, rabies virus,
 
 3           antibody titer using the rapid fluorescent focus
 
 4           inhibition test method.  For the purpose of this part,
 
 5           the results of a rapid fluorescent focus inhibition
 
 6           test for the rabies virus antibody shall not be
 
 7           considered valid unless the test is conducted by a
 
 8           laboratory certified by the department of agriculture
 
 9           pursuant to rules adopted in accordance with chapter
 
10           91; and
 
11      (7)  The department of agriculture shall adopt a schedule of
 
12           fees pursuant to chapter 91 to defray the department's
 
13           cost of implementing the procedures established under
 
14           this part.  All other personal expenses incurred by the
 
15           owner with a disability of a service animal in
 
16           complying with the procedure and requirements
 
17           established under this part shall be borne by the
 
18           owner.
 
19      §142-  Applicability of exemption to dogs vaccinated with
 
20 a modified live rabies vaccine.  The exemption from quarantine
 
21 and the procedures established by the department of agriculture
 
22 pursuant to this part shall not apply to service animals
 
23 vaccinated with a modified live rabies vaccine six or less months
 

 
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 1 prior to embarkation.  A dog vaccinated with a modified live
 
 2 rabies vaccine six or less months prior to embarkation shall be
 
 3 subject to the quarantine requirements established by the
 
 4 department of agriculture pursuant to chapters 141 and 142.
 
 5      §142-  Penalties; quarantine, fines, and sanctions.  In
 
 6 addition to subjecting a nonresident service animal to immediate
 
 7 seizure and quarantine at its owners expense, any person who
 
 8 violates any rule adopted by the department of agriculture
 
 9 pursuant to this part may:
 
10      (1)  Be fined up to $100 for each separate offense.  For the
 
11           purpose of this section, each day of violation shall be
 
12           considered a separate offense; and
 
13      (2)  Be denied permission to enter the State of Hawaii with
 
14           a nonresident service animal for up to two years from
 
15           the date of the violation, unless the dog is placed in
 
16           quarantine upon its entry into the State of Hawaii."
 
17      SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
18 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $          , or so
 
19 much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000-2001, for
 
20 the purposes of this Act.
 
21      SECTION 4.  The sum appropriated shall be expended by the
 
22 department of agriculture for the purposes of this Act.
 

 
 
 
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 1      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2001.
 
 2 
 
 3                           INTRODUCED BY:________________________