Guam § 34404 - Access to Public Spaces.

§ 34404. Access to Public Spaces.

(a) Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),

businesses and organizations that serve the public must allow

people with disabilities to bring their service animals into all

areas of the facility where customers are normally allowed to go.

This federal law applies to all businesses open to the public,

including restaurants, hotels, taxis and shuttles, grocery and

department stores, hospitals and medical offices, theaters, health

clubs, parks, and zoos (see 28 CFR § 36.302).

(b) Access to facilities by service dogs accompanying

individuals with disabilities is controlled by 40 U.S.C. § 3103,

which states: “Guide dogs or other service animals

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accompanying individuals with disabilities and especially trained

and educated for that purpose shall be admitted to any building

or other property owned or controlled by the Federal or Local

Government on the same terms and conditions, and subject to the

same regulations, as generally govern the admission of the public

to the property.”

(1) Individuals with disabilities shall be permitted to

be accompanied by their service animals in all areas of a

place of public accommodation where members of the

public, program participants, clients, customers, patrons, or

invitees, as relevant, are allowed to go.

(2) A public accommodation shall not ask about the

nature or extent of a person’s disability, but may make two

(2) inquiries to determine whether an animal qualifies as a

service animal.

(A) A public accommodation may ask if the

animal is required because of a disability and

(B) what work or task the animal has been trained

to perform.

(3) A public accommodation shall not require

documentation, such as proof that the animal has been

certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal.

(4) Generally, a public accommodation may not make

these inquiries about a service animal when it is readily

apparent that an animal is trained to do work or perform

tasks for an individual with a disability (e.g., the dog is

observed guiding an individual who is blind or has low

vision, pulling a person's wheelchair, or providing

assistance with stability or balance to an individual with an

observable mobility disability).

(c) (1) People with disabilities who use service animals

cannot be charged extra fees, isolated from other patrons, or

treated less favorably than other patrons. However, if a

business such as a hotel normally charges guests for damage

that they cause, a customer with a disability may be charged

for damage caused by his or her service animal.

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(2) A person with a disability cannot be asked to

remove his service animal from the premises unless:

(A) the animal is out of control and the animal’s

owner does not take effective action to control it (for

example, a dog that barks repeatedly during a movie);

or

(B) the animal poses a direct threat to the health

or safety of others; and

(C) in these cases, the business should give the

person with the disability the option to obtain goods

and services without having the animal on the

premises.

(d) Businesses that sell or prepare food must allow service

animals in public areas even if other Guam law, health code, or

policy prohibits animals on the premises.

(e) A business is not required to provide care or food for a

service animal or provide a special location for it to relieve itself.

(f) Allergies and fear of animals are generally not valid

reasons for denying access or refusing service to people with

service animals.

(g) No-Pets Housing: The Fair Housing Act (FHA) allows

that a person may keep a service dog in housing with a “no pets”

policy. Note, however, that it only requires that housing

providers make reasonable accommodations for persons with

service dogs. The FHA does not apply to hotels and motels or

other facilities lodging transient guests.

(h) Airplanes: The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) of

1986, 49 U.S.C. § 41705, allows that a service dog may travel

with its owner on an airplane.

(i) If a place of public accommodation or of access to

government services, programs or activities customarily charges

a person for damages that the person causes to the place, the

place may charge a person with a disability or an assistance

animal trainer for damages that an assistance animal or

assistance animal trainee causes to the place.

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(j) A person with a disability or an assistance animal

trainer must maintain control of an assistance animal or

assistance animal trainee. Except as provided in this Subsection,

control shall be exerted by means of a harness, leash or other

tether.

(1) If the use of a harness, leash or other tether would

interfere with the ability of the animal to do the work or

perform the tasks for which the animal is trained or is being

trained, control may be exerted by the effective use of voice

commands, signals or other means.

(2) If an animal is not under control as required in this

Subsection, a place of public accommodation or of access to

government services, programs or activities may consider

the animal to be out of control for purposes of this Section.

(k) (1) Except as provided in this Subsection, a place of

public accommodation or of access to government services,

programs or activities may not deny a person with a

disability or an assistance animal trainer the right to be

accompanied by an assistance animal or assistance animal

trainee in any area of the place that is open to the public or

to business invitees.

(2) A place of public accommodation or of access to

government services, programs or activities may require a

person with a disability or an assistance animal trainer to

remove an assistance animal or assistance animal trainee if:

(A) the animal is not housebroken; or

(B) the animal is out of control and effective

action is not taken to control the animal.

(l) (1) A place of public accommodation or of access to

government services, programs or activities may impose

legitimate requirements necessary for the safe operations of

the place of public accommodation or of access to

government services, programs or activities.

(2) The place of public accommodation or of access to

government services, programs or activities shall ensure that

the safety requirements are based on actual risks, not on

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speculation, stereotypes or generalizations about persons

with disabilities.

(m) A place of public accommodation or of access to

government services, programs or activities shall make

reasonable modifications as necessary to allow an opportunity

for a person with a disability who is benefited by the use of an

assistance animal to obtain goods, services, and the use of the

advantages, facilities and privileges of the place, or the

advantages, facilities and privileges of the government services,

programs or activities. For purposes of this Subsection, except as

provided in Subsections (f) and (h) of this Section, in addition to

any other applicable accommodation requirement, allowing the

presence of the assistance animal is a reasonable modification.

(n) If a place of public accommodation or of access to

government services, programs or activities requires a person

with a disability to remove an assistance animal under

Subsection (f) of this Section, the place shall give the person

with a disability a reasonable opportunity to obtain goods,

services and the use of the advantages, facilities and privileges of

the place, or the advantages, facilities and privileges of the

government services, programs or activities, without the

assistance animal’s presence.

(o) A place of public accommodation or of access to

government services, programs or activities is not required to

provide care or supervision for an assistance animal or assistance

animal trainee.

(p) A registered voter who requires the assistance of a

service animal is entitled to bring the animal into the polls and

the voting booth.

(q) The protection granted under this Section to a person

with a disability or an assistance animal trainer does not

invalidate or limit the remedies, rights and procedures of any

other federal or local laws that provide equal or greater

protection of the rights of a person with a disability, an

assistance animal trainer, or individuals associated with a person

with a disability.

(r) A place of public accommodation does not include:

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(1) the Department of Corrections;

(2) the Department of Youth Affairs;

(3) a local Guam Police Department lockup; and

(4) an institution, bona fide club or place of

accommodation that is in its nature distinctly private.

2017 NOTE: Subsection/subitem designations altered/added pursuant to

authority of 1 GCA § 1606.