Public Act 100-0384
 
HB2897 EnrolledLRB100 08902 RLC 19045 b

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