Senate Bill No. 577
(By Boley and Caldwell)
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[Introduced March 23, 2001;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact article fifteen, chapter five of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, relating to defining a service animal; removing
the certification or accredited training language
requirements; and providing for guide dog and trainer access
to public facilities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article fifteen, chapter five of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. WHITE CANE LAW.
§5-15-1. Short title.
This article shall be known as the "White Cane Law."
§5-15-2. Policy.
It is the policy of this state to encourage and enable blind
persons who are blind or otherwise visually impaired to participate
fully in the social and economic life of the state and to engage in
remunerative employment.
§5-15-3. Definitions.
(a) For the purpose of this article, a person shall be considered
to be blind only if his central visual acuity does not exceed
twenty/two hundred in the better eye with correcting lenses, or if
his visual acuity is greater than twenty/two hundred but is
occasioned by a limitation in the fields of vision such that the
widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater
than twenty degrees.
(b) As defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in
28 CFR Part 36, a service animal means any guide dog, signal dog,
or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks
for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but
not limited to, guiding an individual with impaired vision,
alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair,
or fetching dropped items. A service animal as defined by this
subsection is not required to be licensed or certified by a state
or local government, nor shall there be any requirement for the for
the specific signage or labeling of a service animal.
§5-15-4. Equal right to use public facilities.
(a) Blind and disabled persons with a disability shall have
the same right as persons with normal sight to the full and free
use of the highways, roads, streets, sidewalks, walkways, public
buildings, public facilities and other public places.
(b) Blind and disabled persons with a disability are entitled
to full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities and
privileges of all common carriers, airplanes, motor vehicles,
railroad trains, motor buses, streetcars, boats or any other public
conveyances or modes of transportation, hotels, lodging places,
restaurants, professional offices for health or legal services,
hospitals, other places of public accommodation, amusement or
resort, and other places including places of employment to which
the general public is invited, subject only to the conditions and
limitations established by law and applicable alike to all persons.
(c) Every blind person who is blind, every deaf person with a
hearing impairment and every person who is physically disabled because of any neurological, muscular or skeletal disorder that
causes weakness or inability to perform any physical function shall
have the right to be accompanied by a service animal guide or
support dog, wearing a harness, especially trained for the purpose,
which serves as a guide, leader, listener or support in any of the
places, accommodations or conveyances specified in subsection (b)
of this section without being required to pay an extra charge for
the admission of such guide or support dog, but the blind, deaf or
disabled person shall, upon request, present for inspection
credentials issued by an accredited school for training guide or
support dogs. The blind, deaf or disabled person with a disability
shall be liable for any damage done by such guide or support dog to
the premises or facilities or to persons using such premises or
facilities: Provided, That the blind, deaf or disabled person with
a disability shall not be liable for any damage done by such guide
or support dog to any person or the property of a person who has
contributed to or caused the dog's behavior by inciting or
provoking such behavior. Such dog shall not occupy a seat in any
public conveyance and shall be upon a leash while using the
facilities of a common carrier. A guide or support dog or trainer
thereof, while engaged in training a guide or support animal, has
the same rights, privileges and responsibilities applicable to blind, deaf or persons with a disability.
§5-15-5. Standard of care to be exercised by and with respect to
blind persons.
A blind person who is blind shall exercise that degree of care
for his own safety in any of the places, accommodations or
conveyances specified in section four of this article which an
ordinarily prudent person so handicapped person with a disability
would exercise under similar circumstances.
The driver of a vehicle approaching a blind pedestrian who
knows, or in the exercise of reasonable care should know, that such
pedestrian is blind because such pedestrian is carrying a cane
predominantly white or metallic in color (with or without a red
tip) or is using a guide dog or otherwise shall exercise care
commensurate with the situation to avoid injuring such pedestrian.
§5-15-6. Annual proclamation of White Cane Day.
Each year the governor shall take suitable public notice of
October fifteen as white cane day. He shall issue a proclamation
in which he:
(a) Comments upon the significance of the white cane;
(b) Calls upon the citizens of the state to observe the
provisions of the white cane law and to take precautions necessary
for the safety of the blind;
(c) Reminds the citizens of the state of the policies with
respect to the blind herein declared and urges the citizens to
cooperate in giving effect to them;
(d) Emphasizes the need of the citizens to be aware of the
presence of persons who are blind or visually impaired persons in
the community and to keep safe for the blind the highways, roads,
streets, sidewalks, walkways, public buildings, public facilities,
other public places, places of public accommodation, amusement and
resort and other places to which the public is invited, and to
offer assistance to blind persons upon appropriate occasions.
§5-15-7. Policy of the state on employment of blind persons.
It is the policy of this state that blind persons who are
blind or visually impaired shall be employed in the state service,
the service of the political subdivisions of the state, in the
public schools and in all other employment supported in whole or in
part by public funds on the same terms and conditions as persons
with normal sight, unless it is shown that the disability prevents
the performance of the work involved.
§5-15-8. Interference with rights hereunder; penalties.
Any person, firm or corporation, or the agent of any person,
firm or corporation, who denies or interferes with admittance to or
enjoyment of the places, accommodations or conveyances specified in section four of this article or otherwise interferes with the
rights of a blind person who is blind or visually impaired under
the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined an amount not to
exceed fifty dollars.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is update the language as
employed under the Americans with Disabilities Act; define a
service animal; to delete certification or accredited training
languag*e requirements which is a violation of the Americans with
Disabilities Act; and provide that a guide or support dog or its
trainer engaged in the training process has the same rights and
privileges with respect to access to public facilities, as well as
the same responsibilities, applicable to blind or deaf persons with
a disability.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the
present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be
added.
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