(a) When a person who is blind, deaf, or hearing impaired, a person with a mobility impairment, or a trainer 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, amusement, 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 person who is blind, deaf, or hearing impaired, a person who has a mobility impairment, or a trainer of an assistance dog when the person or trainer, as applicable, is accompanied by an assistance dog of any of the advantages, facilities, or privileges provided in division (a) of this section, and no person shall charge the person or trainer a fee or charge for the dog.
(R.C. § 955.43(A), (B))
(c) As used in this section:
(1) “Assistance dog” means a guide dog, hearing dog, or service dog that has been trained by a nonprofit special agency.
(2) “Blind” means either of the following:
A. Vision 20/200 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 20 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. 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.” 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.
(R.C. §§ 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))
Cross-reference:
Assaulting assistance dog, see GEN. OFF. 642.24