505.30 RIGHTS OF BLIND, DEAF OR HEARING IMPAIRED, OR MOBILITY IMPAIRED PERSON, OR TRAINER WITH ASSISTANCE DOG. (2024)

(a)When either a blind, deaf or hearing impaired, or mobility impaired person, or a training of an assistance dog is accompanied by an assistance dog, the person or trainer, as applicable, is entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of all public conveyances, hotels, and lodging places, all places of public accommodation, amusem*nt, or resort, 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; and

(2)The dog shall be leashed 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 training of an assistance dog who is accompanied by an assistance dog, of any of the advantages, facilities or privileges provided in subsection (a) of this section, nor charge the person or training a fee or charge for the dog.

(ORC 955.43(A), (B))

(c)As used in this section:

(1)“Assistance dog” means a dog that has been trained by a nonprofit or for-profit special agency and that is one of the following:

A.A guide dog;

B.A hearing dog;

C.A service dog.

(2)“Blind” means either of the following:

A.Vision 20/20 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)“Guide dog” means a dog that has been trained or is in training to assist a blind person.

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

(5)“Institutions of education” means:

A.Any state university or college as defined in Ohio R.C. 3345.32;

B.Any private college or university that holds a certificate of authorization issued by the Ohio Board of Regents pursuant to Ohio R.C. Chapter 1713;

C.Any elementary or secondary school operated by a board of education;

D.Any chartered or nonchartered nonpublic elementary or secondary school; or

E.Any school issued a certificate of registration by the state Board of Career Colleges and Schools.

(6)“Person with a mobility impairment” means any person, regardless of age, who is subject to a physiological impairment 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. The phrase 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. The phrase also includes a person with a seizure disorder and a person who is diagnosed with autism.

(7)“Service dog” means a dog that has been trained or is in training to assist a person with a mobility impairment.

(ORC 955.011(B), 955.43(C))

(d)Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. (ORC 955.99(D))