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| | HB2897 Engrossed | | LRB100 08902 RLC 19045 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning criminal law.
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| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | | Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by |
| 5 | | changing Section 3-12-16 as follows:
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| 6 | | (730 ILCS 5/3-12-16)
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| 7 | | Sec. 3-12-16. Helping Paws Service Dog Program.
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| 8 | | (a) In this Section:
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| 9 | | "Person with a disability" means a person who suffers from |
| 10 | | a physical or mental
impairment that substantially
limits one |
| 11 | | or more major life activities.
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| 12 | | "Program" means the Helping Paws Service Dog Program |
| 13 | | created by this
Section.
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| 14 | | "Service dog" means a dog trained in obedience and task |
| 15 | | skills to meet
the
needs of a person with a disability.
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| 16 | | "Animal care professional" means a person certified to work |
| 17 | | in animal
care
related services, such as
grooming, kenneling, |
| 18 | | and any other related fields.
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| 19 | | "Service dog professional" means a person certified to |
| 20 | | train service
dogs
by an agency, organization, or
school |
| 21 | | approved by the Department.
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| 22 | | "Veteran" means an Illinois
resident who is a veteran as |
| 23 | | defined in subsection (h) of
Section 1491 of Title 10 of the |
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| | HB2897 Engrossed | - 2 - | LRB100 08902 RLC 19045 b |
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| 1 | | United States Code. |
| 2 | | (b) The Department may establish the Helping Paws Service |
| 3 | | Dog Program to
train
committed persons to be
service dog |
| 4 | | trainers and animal care professionals. The Department shall |
| 5 | | select
committed persons in
various correctional institutions |
| 6 | | and facilities to participate in the Program.
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| 7 | | (c) Priority for participation in the Program must be given |
| 8 | | to committed
persons who either have a high school
diploma or |
| 9 | | have passed high school equivalency testing.
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| 10 | | (d) The Department may contract with service dog |
| 11 | | professionals to train
committed persons to be certified
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| 12 | | service dog trainers. Service dog professionals shall train |
| 13 | | committed persons
in
dog obedience training,
service dog |
| 14 | | training, and animal health care. Upon successful completion of |
| 15 | | the
training, a committed
person shall receive certification by |
| 16 | | an agency, organization, or school
approved by the Department.
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| 17 | | (e) The Department may designate a non-profit organization |
| 18 | | to select
animals
from humane societies and
shelters for the |
| 19 | | purpose of being trained as service dogs and for participation
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| 20 | | in any program designed to
train animal care professionals.
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| 21 | | (f) After a dog is trained by the committed person as a |
| 22 | | service dog, a
review
committee consisting of an equal
number |
| 23 | | of persons from the Department and the non-profit organization |
| 24 | | shall
select a person with a disability or a veteran with |
| 25 | | post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression to
receive |
| 26 | | the service dog free of charge.
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| | HB2897 Engrossed | - 3 - | LRB100 08902 RLC 19045 b |
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| 1 | | (g) Employees of the Department shall periodically visit |
| 2 | | persons with disabilities
who
have received service dogs from
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| 3 | | the Department under this Section to determine whether the |
| 4 | | needs of the
persons with disabilities or veterans with |
| 5 | | post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression have been |
| 6 | | met
by the service dogs trained by committed persons.
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| 7 | | (h) Employees of the Department shall periodically visit |
| 8 | | committed persons
who
have been certified as service
dog |
| 9 | | trainers or animal care professionals and who have been paroled |
| 10 | | or placed
on mandatory supervised
release to determine whether |
| 11 | | the committed persons are using their skills as
certified |
| 12 | | service dog trainers or
animal care professionals.
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| 13 | | (Source: P.A. 98-718, eff. 1-1-15; 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)
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