House File 90 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 90 BY SALMON A BILL FOR An Act prohibiting discrimination in housing provided to 1 persons with a disability or disability-related need for an 2 assistance animal and providing penalties. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1147YH (3) 89 cm/jh

H.F. 90 Section 1. Section 147.55, Code 2021, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsection: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 7A. Knowingly disclosing the diagnosis 3 or severity of a person’s disability or any medical records 4 relating to the disability to a landlord in violation of 5 section 216.8C. 6 Sec. 2. Section 216.2, Code 2021, is amended by adding the 7 following new subsection: 8 NEW SUBSECTION . 11A. “Landlord” means any person engaging 9 in conduct covered by the federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 10 §3601 et seq., as amended, or section 504 of the federal 11 Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. §794, as amended, 12 including the owner or lessor of a dwelling. 13 Sec. 3. Section 216.8B, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 14 2021, is amended to read as follows: 15 a. “Assistance animal” means an animal that qualifies as a 16 reasonable accommodation under the federal Fair Housing Act, 17 42 U.S.C. §3601 et seq., as amended, or section 504 of the 18 federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. §794, as amended , 19 including an animal that does not require training to do work, 20 perform tasks, provide assistance, or provide therapeutic 21 emotional support by virtue of the animal’s presence which 22 alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a 23 person’s disability . 24 Sec. 4. Section 216.8B, subsection 3, Code 2021, is amended 25 to read as follows: 26 3. A renter is liable for damage done to any dwelling or 27 to another person on the premises by an assistance animal or 28 service animal. 29 Sec. 5. Section 216.8B, Code 2021, is amended by adding the 30 following new subsection: 31 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. A person who knowingly and willfully 32 misrepresents, through conduct, verbal notice, or written 33 notice, as using a service animal and being qualified to use a 34 service animal, or an assistance animal under this section is, 35 -1- LSB 1147YH (3) 89 cm/jh 1/ 4

H.F. 90 upon conviction, guilty of a simple misdemeanor. 1 Sec. 6. Section 216.8C, subsection 5, Code 2021, is amended 2 to read as follows: 3 5. A landlord may request information necessary to verify 4 and may deny a request for an exception to a pet policy if for 5 any of the following reasons: 6 a. If the assistance or service animal poses a direct threat 7 to the safety or health of others or poses a direct threat of 8 physical damage to the property of others, which threat cannot 9 be reduced or eliminated by another reasonable accommodation. 10 b. If a person, who does not have a readily apparent 11 disability, or a disability known to the landlord, fails 12 to provide documentation indicating that the person has a 13 disability and the person has a disability-related need for an 14 each assistance animal or service animal requested to be kept . 15 c. If the person does not provide proof of compliance with 16 state and local requirements for licensing and vaccinating each 17 assistance animal or service animal. 18 Sec. 7. Section 216.8C, Code 2021, is amended by adding the 19 following new subsections: 20 NEW SUBSECTION . 6. Notwithstanding the authority to 21 request information under subsection 5, a landlord shall not 22 request information that discloses the diagnosis or severity of 23 a person’s disability or any medical records relating to the 24 disability. However, a person may disclose such information or 25 medical records to the landlord at the person’s discretion. 26 NEW SUBSECTION . 7. An assistance animal or service 27 animal registration of any kind, including but not limited 28 to an identification card, patch, certificate, or similar 29 registration obtained from the internet is not, by itself, 30 sufficient information to reliably establish that a person has 31 a disability or a disability-related need for an assistance 32 animal or service animal. 33 EXPLANATION 34 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 35 -2- LSB 1147YH (3) 89 cm/jh 2/ 4

H.F. 90 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 1 The bill prohibits a landlord, to the extent required 2 by federal law, rule, or regulation, to deny housing to a 3 person with a disability or a disability-related need who has 4 an animal that is required as support. Under current law, 5 assistance animals are allowed as long as such animals qualify 6 as reasonable accommodations under the federal Fair Housing 7 Act. The bill defines assistance animal as an animal that is 8 not required to be trained to assist a person with a disability 9 but, by virtue of its presence, provides support to alleviate 10 one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s 11 disability. 12 The bill provides that certain licensed medical providers 13 are prohibited from disclosing the diagnosis or severity of 14 a person’s disability or any medical records relating to the 15 disability to a landlord without the consent of the patient 16 and are subject to licensing board discipline for violations 17 of this provision. 18 The bill provides that a person who knowingly and willfully 19 misrepresents as using a service animal and being qualified to 20 use a service animal, or an assistance animal, is guilty, upon 21 conviction, of a simple misdemeanor. A person convicted of a 22 simple misdemeanor may be fined a minimum of $105 and a maximum 23 of $855. The court may order imprisonment not to exceed 30 24 days in lieu of a fine or in addition to a fine. 25 The bill allows a landlord to prohibit the animal if the 26 animal poses a direct threat to the safety, health, or property 27 of others and to request written documentation that reasonably 28 supports that the person has a disability. If a person 29 requests to keep more than one assistance animal, the landlord 30 may request information regarding the specific need for each 31 animal and may require proof of licensing and vaccination 32 requirements for each animal. Current law provides that a 33 landlord may deny a request for an exception to a pet policy 34 if a person, who does not have a readily apparent disability, 35 -3- LSB 1147YH (3) 89 cm/jh 3/ 4

H.F. 90 or a disability known to the landlord, fails to provide 1 documentation indicating that the person has a disability and 2 the person has a disability-related need for an assistance 3 animal or service animal. 4 The bill prohibits a landlord to request information that 5 discloses the diagnosis or severity of a person’s disability or 6 any medical records relating to the disability. 7 -4- LSB 1147YH (3) 89 cm/jh 4/ 4