To amend sections 955.011, 955.43, and 955.99 of the Revised Code to include persons diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder as mobility impaired persons for purposes of the statutes governing assistance dogs and to prohibit misrepresentation of a dog as an assistance dog.

Section 1. That sections 955.011, 955.43, and 955.99 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 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, and a person who is diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder.

(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.

Sec. 955.43.  (A) When either a blind, deaf or hearing impaired, or mobility impaired person or a trainer of an assistance dog is accompanied by an assistance dog, the person or the trainer, as applicable, is entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of all public conveyances, hotels, lodging places, all places of public accommodation, amusement, or resort, all institutions of education, and other places to which the general public is invited, and may take the dog into such conveyances and places, subject only to the conditions and limitations applicable to all persons not so accompanied, except that:

(1) The dog shall not occupy a seat in any public conveyance.

(2) The dog shall be upon a leash while using the facilities of a common carrier.

(3) Any dog in training to become an assistance dog shall be covered by a liability insurance policy provided by the nonprofit special agency engaged in such work protecting members of the public against personal injury or property damage caused by the dog.

(B) No person shall deprive a blind, deaf or hearing impaired, or mobility impaired person or a trainer of an assistance dog who is accompanied by an assistance dog of any of the advantages, facilities, or privileges provided in division (A) of this section, nor charge the person or trainer a fee or charge for the dog.

(C) No person shall use on a dog a harness, vest, or leash of the type commonly used on assistance dogs in order to represent that the person's dog is an assistance dog if the dog has not been trained or is not in training as an assistance dog.

(D) As used in this section, "institutions of education" means:

(1) Any state university or college as defined in section 3345.32 of the Revised Code;

(2) Any private college or university that holds a certificate of authorization issued by the Ohio board of regents pursuant to Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code;

(3) Any elementary or secondary school operated by a board of education;

(4) Any chartered or nonchartered nonpublic elementary or secondary school;

(5) Any school issued a certificate of registration by the state board of career colleges and schools.

Sec. 955.99.  (A)(1) Whoever violates division (E) of section 955.11 of the Revised Code because of a failure to comply with division (B) of that section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

(2) Whoever violates division (E) of section 955.11 of the Revised Code because of a failure to comply with division (C) or (D) of that section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor on a first offense and of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree on each subsequent offense.

(B) Whoever violates section 955.10, 955.23, 955.24, or 955.25 of the Revised Code is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

(C) Whoever violates section 955.261, 955.39, or 955.50 of the Revised Code is guilty of a minor misdemeanor on a first offense and of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree on each subsequent offense.

(D) Whoever violates division (F) of section 955.16 or division (B) or (C) of section 955.43 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

(E)(1) Whoever violates section 955.21 of the Revised Code, violates division (B) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code, or commits a violation of division (C) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code that involves a dog that is not a nuisance dog, dangerous dog, or vicious dog shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars or more than one hundred dollars on a first offense, and on each subsequent offense shall be fined not less than seventy-five dollars or more than two hundred fifty dollars and may be imprisoned for not more than thirty days.

(2) In addition to the penalties prescribed in division (E)(1) of this section, if the offender is guilty of a violation of division (B) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code or a violation of division (C) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code that involves a dog that is not a nuisance dog, dangerous dog, or vicious dog, the court may order the offender to personally supervise the dog that the offender owns, keeps, or harbors, to cause that dog to complete dog obedience training, or to do both.

(F)(1) Whoever commits a violation of division (C) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code that involves a nuisance dog is guilty of a minor misdemeanor on the first offense and of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree on each subsequent offense involving the same dog. Upon a person being convicted of or pleading guilty to a third violation of division (C) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code involving the same dog, the court shall require the offender to register the involved dog as a dangerous dog.

(2) In addition to the penalties prescribed in division (F)(1) of this section, if a violation of division (C) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code involves a nuisance dog, the court may order the offender to personally supervise the nuisance dog that the offender owns, keeps, or harbors, to cause that dog to complete dog obedience training, or to do both.

(G) Whoever commits a violation of division (C) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code that involves a dangerous dog or a violation of division (D) of that section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree on a first offense and of a misdemeanor of the third degree on each subsequent offense. Additionally, the court may order the offender to personally supervise the dangerous dog that the offender owns, keeps, or harbors, to cause that dog to complete dog obedience training, or to do both, and the court may order the offender to obtain liability insurance pursuant to division (E) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code. The court, in the alternative, may order the dangerous dog to be humanely destroyed by a licensed veterinarian, the county dog warden, or the county humane society at the owner's expense. With respect to a violation of division (C) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code that involves a dangerous dog, until the court makes a final determination and during the pendency of any appeal of a violation of that division and at the discretion of the dog warden, the dog shall be confined or restrained in accordance with division (D) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code or at the county dog pound at the owner's expense.

(H)(1) Whoever commits a violation of division (C) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code that involves a vicious dog is guilty of one of the following:

(a) A felony of the fourth degree if the dog kills a person. Additionally, the court shall order that the vicious dog be humanely destroyed by a licensed veterinarian, the county dog warden, or the county humane society at the owner's expense.

(b) A misdemeanor of the first degree if the dog causes serious injury to a person. Additionally, the court may order the vicious dog to be humanely destroyed by a licensed veterinarian, the county dog warden, or the county humane society at the owner's expense.

(2) If the court does not order the vicious dog to be destroyed under division (H)(1)(b) of this section, the court shall issue an order that specifies that division (D) of section 955.11 and divisions (D) to (I) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code apply with respect to the dog and the owner, keeper, or harborer of the dog as if the dog were a dangerous dog and that section 955.54 of the Revised Code applies with respect to the dog as if it were a dangerous dog. As part of the order, the court shall order the offender to obtain the liability insurance required under division (E)(1) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code in an amount, exclusive of interest and costs, that equals or exceeds one hundred thousand dollars. Until the court makes a final determination and during the pendency of any appeal of a violation of division (C) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code and at the discretion of the dog warden, the dog shall be confined or restrained in accordance with the provisions described in division (D) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code or at the county dog pound at the owner's expense.

(I) Whoever violates division (A)(2) of section 955.01 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

(J) Whoever violates division (E)(2) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

(K) Whoever violates division (C) of section 955.221 of the Revised Code is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. Each day of continued violation constitutes a separate offense. Fines levied and collected for violations of that division shall be distributed by the mayor or clerk of the municipal or county court in accordance with section 733.40, division (F) of section 1901.31, or division (C) of section 1907.20 of the Revised Code to the treasury of the county, township, or municipal corporation whose resolution or ordinance was violated.

(L) Whoever violates division (F)(1), (2), or (3) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code is guilty of a felony of the fourth degree. Additionally, the court shall order that the dog involved in the violation be humanely destroyed by a licensed veterinarian, the county dog warden, or the county humane society. Until the court makes a final determination and during the pendency of any appeal of a violation of division (F)(1), (2), or (3) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code and at the discretion of the dog warden, the dog shall be confined or restrained in accordance with the provisions of division (D) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code or at the county dog pound at the owner's expense.

(M) Whoever violates division (E)(1), (3), or (4) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

(N) Whoever violates division (I)(4) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

(O) Whoever violates division (A) or (B) of section 955.54 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

(P)(1) If a dog is confined at the county dog pound pursuant to division (G), (H), or (L) of this section, the county dog warden shall give written notice of the confinement to the owner of the dog. If the county dog warden is unable to give the notice to the owner of the dog, the county dog warden shall post the notice on the door of the residence of the owner of the dog or in another conspicuous place on the premises at which the dog was seized. The notice shall include a statement that a security in the amount of one hundred dollars is due to the county dog warden within ten days to secure payment of all reasonable expenses, including medical care and boarding of the dog for sixty days, expected to be incurred by the county dog pound in caring for the dog pending the determination. The county dog warden may draw from the security any actual costs incurred in caring for the dog.

(2) If the person ordered to post security under division (P)(1) of this section does not do so within ten days of the confinement of the animal, the dog is forfeited, and the county dog warden may determine the disposition of the dog unless the court issues an order that specifies otherwise.

(3) Not more than ten days after the court makes a final determination under division (G), (H), or (L) of this section, the county dog warden shall provide the owner of the dog with the actual cost of the confinement of the dog. If the county dog warden finds that the security provided under division (P)(1) of this section is less than the actual cost of confinement of the dog, the owner shall remit the difference between the security provided and the actual cost to the county dog warden within thirty days after the court's determination. If the county dog warden finds that the security provided under division (P)(1) of this section is greater than that actual cost, the county dog warden shall remit the difference between the security provided and the actual cost to the owner within thirty days after the court's determination.

(Q) As used in this section, "nuisance dog," "dangerous dog," and "vicious dog" have the same meanings as in section 955.11 of the Revised Code.

Section 2. That existing sections 955.011, 955.43, and 955.99 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.