Manitowoc’s state representative in Madison wrote one of the nine bills recently vetoed by Governor Tony Evers.
Assembly Bill 366, introduced and written by State Representative Paul Tittl, was supposed to make it stricter for people who “abuse the system” by claiming they need an emotional support animal and not providing proper documentation when looking for a place to live.
Previously, the Manitowoc Republican said right now, someone can go online and order a vest for a pet that says “Service Dog” and use it anytime they want.
Gov. Evers’ veto says that while he supports the goal of preventing fraudulent representation of emotional support and service animals, he also objects to creating unnecessary barriers for individuals with legitimate disability-related needs.
Rep. Tittl tells Seehafernews.com that he was disappointed in the veto and his bill wouldn’t have done that.
“We can’t change any of the federal disability laws, so it really wouldn’t have changed anything other than people who are trying to scam the system with emotional support animals,” he explained.
Rep. Tittle also said he’s heard from people with service animals and landlords about times when the system has been abused.
He says he will try to get the bill passed again because “they are getting a little bit fed up with the lackadaisical attitude of the emotional support dogs that people are getting.”
Gov. Evers says the bill was not “meaningfully developed through a collaborative process”, which is why he had to veto it.
If the bill had passed, it would have created a $500 fine for those who provide false information about an emotional support animal more than once.
