OKLAHOMA ACCESS LAWS
Definitions
Under "Chapter 1, Services to the Blind. Guide Dogs:"
"Service dog" means any dog individually trained to the physically handicapped person's requirements; and
"Signal dog" means any dog trained to alert a deaf or hard-of-hearing person to intruders or sounds.
Under harming a service animal provision:
"Service animal" means an animal that is trained for the purpose of guiding or assisting a disabled person who has a sensory, mental, or physical impairment.
SDIT (Service Dog In Training) Covered?
Yes. A blind, physically handicapped, deaf or hard-of-hearing person and his or her guide, signal, or service dog or a dog trainer from a recognized training center in the act of training guide, signal, or service dogs shall not be denied admittance to or refused access to any of the following because of such dog.
Accommodation Law
A blind, physically handicapped, deaf or hard-of-hearing person and his or her guide, signal, or service dog or a dog trainer from a recognized training center in the act of training guide, signal, or service dogs shall not be denied admittance to or refused access to any of the following because of such dog: Any street, highway, sidewalk, walkway, any common carrier, airplane, motor vehicle, railroad train, motor bus, streetcar, boat, or any other public conveyance or mode of transportation, hotel, motel, or other place of lodging, public building maintained by any unit or subdivision of government, building to which the general public is invited, college dormitory and other educational facility, restaurant or other place where food is offered for sale to the public, or any other place of public accommodation, amusement, convenience, or resort to which the general public or any classification of persons from the general public is regularly, normally, or customarily invited within the State of Oklahoma.
Violation is a misdemeanor.
Harassment of/Interference with Service Dogs
Harm to or interference with a service animal:
No person shall willfully harm, torture, torment, beat, mutilate, injure, disable, or otherwise mistreat or kill a service animal that is used for the benefit of any handicapped person in the state.
No person shall willfully interfere with the lawful performance of any service animal used for the benefit of any handicapped person in the state.
Violation is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000.00, by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 1 year, or by both.
Harm to service animals during the commission of other crimes:
If a violation occurs during the commission of a misdemeanor or felony, results in a fine not exceeding $1,000.00, or by imprisonment in the Department of Corrections not exceeding 2 years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Harm to service animal by another animal:
Any person who encourages, permits, or allows an animal owned or kept by such person to fight, injure, disable or kill a service animal used for the benefit of any handicapped person in this state, or to interfere with a service animal in any place where the service animal resides or is performing commits a misdemeanor.
Also must pay restitution.
Violation is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000.00, by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 1 year, or by both.
Driving Law
Any driver of a vehicle who knowingly approaches within 15 feet of a person who is in the roadway or at an intersection and who is wholly or partially blind and who is using a dog guide wearing a specialized harness, or who is wholly or partially deaf and is using a signal dog wearing an orange identifying collar, or who is physically handicapped and is using a service dog, shall immediately come to a full stop and take such precautions before proceeding as may be necessary to avoid accident or injury to the person wholly or partially blind, deaf or physically handicapped.
Violation is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 3 months, or by a fine not exceeding $100.00, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Licensing Law
No municipality or political subdivision of the state may enact or enforce any ordinance or rule that requires any registration or licensing fee for any service animal that is used for the purpose of guiding or assisting a disabled person who has a sensory, mental, or physical impairment.
Violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $50.00.
Federal Access Laws
All the information on the American with Disabilities Act that covers service dogs and their handlers can be found at www.ada.gov