Spokane Municipal Code

Title 18 Human Rights

Chapter 18.06 Protections for Persons with Disabilities

Section 18.06.040 Use of White Cane, Dog Guide or Service Animal

1. It shall be unlawful for any pedestrian who is not totally or partially blind to use a white cane or any pedestrian who is not totally or partially blind or does not have a hearing impairment to use a dog guide or any person who does not have a disability as defined in this chapter to use a service animal in any of the places, accommodations or conveyances listed in SMC 18.01.030(Q), for the purpose of securing the rights and privileges accorded by this chapter to persons with total or partial blindness, hearing impairment or who have other disabilities.

2. It shall be unlawful for any person to misrepresent an animal as a service animal. For purposes of this section, a person misrepresents an animal as a service animal if the person:

1. Expressly or impliedly represents that an animal is a service animal as defined in SMC 18.01.030(X) for the purpose of securing the rights or privileges afforded disabled persons accompanied by service animals set forth in state or federal law; and

2. Knew or should have known that the animal in question did not meet the definition of a service animal.

3. A law enforcement officer may investigate and enforce this section by making an inquiry of the person accompanied by the animal in question as allowed by SMC 18.06.040(D), and issuing a civil infraction.

4. A law enforcement officer or place of public accommodation may not ask about the nature or extent of a person’s disability, but may specifically ask if the animal is required because of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform. A law enforcement officer or place of public accommodation shall not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal, or require that the service animal demonstrate its task. Generally, a law enforcement officer or place of public accommodation may not make these inquiries about a service animal when it is readily apparent that an animal is trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability, such as a dog is observed guiding a person who is blind or has low vision, pulling a person’s wheelchair, or providing assistance with stability or balance to a person with an observable mobility disability. Refusal to answer the questions allowed under this subsection creates a presumption that the animal is not a service animal and the law enforcement officer may issue a civil infraction and require the person to remove the animal from the place of public accommodation.

5. A place of public accommodation shall make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a miniature horse by an individual with a disability in accordance with SMC 18.01.030(X) if the miniature horse has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of the individual with a disability. In determining whether reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures can be made to allow a miniature horse into a facility, a place of public accommodation shall act in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.

6. Violation of this section is a class 3 civil infraction. The penalty for each subsequent violation of this code by the same person shall be increased by one class of civil infraction.

Date Passed: Monday, November 26, 2018

Effective Date: Wednesday, January 9, 2019

ORD C35700 Section 1