To amend section 955.011 of the Revised Code to revise the definition of "mobility impaired person" to include a person who is diagnosed with autism for purposes of the statutes governing assistance dogs.

Section 1. That section 955.011 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 955.011.  (A) When an application is made for registration of an assistance dog and the owner can show proof by certificate or other means that the dog is an assistance dog, the owner of the dog shall be exempt from any fee for the registration. Registration for an assistance dog shall be permanent and not subject to annual renewal so long as the dog is an assistance dog. Certificates and tags stamped "Ohio Assistance Dog-Permanent Registration," with registration number, shall be issued upon registration of such a dog. Any certificate and tag stamped "Ohio Guide Dog-Permanent Registration" or "Ohio Hearing Dog-Permanent Registration," with registration number, that was issued for a dog in accordance with this section as it existed prior to July 4, 1984, any certificate and tag stamped "Ohio Handicapped Assistance Dog-Permanent Registration," with registration number, that was issued for a dog in accordance with this section as it existed on and after July 5, 1984, but prior to November 26, 2004, and any certificate and tag stamped "Ohio Service Dog-Permanent Registration," with registration number, that was issued for a dog in accordance with this section as it existed on and after November 26, 2004, but prior to the effective date of this amendment June 30, 2006, shall remain in effect as valid proof of the registration of the dog on and after November 26, 2004. Duplicate certificates and tags for a dog registered in accordance with this section, upon proper proof of loss, shall be issued and no fee required. Each duplicate certificate and tag that is issued shall be stamped "Ohio Assistance Dog-Permanent Registration."

(B) As used in this section and in sections 955.16 and 955.43 of the Revised Code:

(1) "Mobility impaired person" means any person, regardless of age, who is subject to a physiological defect or deficiency regardless of its cause, nature, or extent that renders the person unable to move about without the aid of crutches, a wheelchair, or any other form of support, or that limits the person's functional ability to ambulate, climb, descend, sit, rise, or perform any related function. "Mobility impaired person" includes a person with a neurological or psychological disability that limits the person's functional ability to ambulate, climb, descend, sit, rise, or perform any related function. "Mobility impaired person" also includes a person with a seizure disorder and a person who is diagnosed with autism.

(2) "Blind" means either of the following:

(a) Vision twenty/two hundred or less in the better eye with proper correction;

(b) Field defect in the better eye with proper correction that contracts the peripheral field so that the diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than twenty degrees.

(3) "Assistance dog" means a guide dog, hearing dog, or service dog that has been trained by a nonprofit special agency.

(4) "Guide dog" means a dog that has been trained or is in training to assist a blind person.

(5) "Hearing dog" means a dog that has been trained or is in training to assist a deaf or hearing-impaired person.

(6) "Service dog" means a dog that has been trained or is in training to assist a mobility impaired person.

Section 2. That existing section 955.011 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.