Bills › 89th General Assembly
Relating to service animals and assistance animals in rented housing and providing penalties
Topics:Crime & correctionsHousing & property
Same legislation: HF 2486
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedJanuary 20, 2022
- Done: SubcommitteeJanuary 25, 2022
- Done: House committeeFebruary 15, 2022
- Skipped: Passes the HouseContinued as HF 2486
- Next: Senate committee
- Next: Passes the Senate
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Became HF 2486 → Its progress continues under the new number. Go to HF 2486 What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
AI summary People who lie about having a service or assistance animal to avoid pet rules or fees could face fines or jail time. Landlords can ask for proof of a disability or specific needs if a person wants more than one animal. Additionally, a landlord may ban an animal if it is a direct threat to the safety or health of others.1
Read the official explanation
This bill relates to service animals and assistance animals in rented housing. The bill provides that a person who knowingly and willfully misrepresents as using and being qualified to use a service animal or an assistance animal to obtain the waiver of lease restrictions or additional payments normally required for the keeping of pets is guilty, upon conviction, of a simple misdemeanor. A person convicted of a simple misdemeanor may be fined a minimum of $105 and a maximum of $855. The court may order imprisonment not to exceed days in lieu of a fine or in addition to a fine. The bill allows a landlord to prohibit a service animal or assistance animal if the animal poses a direct threat to the safety, health, or property of others and to request written documentation that reasonably supports that the person has a disability. If a person requests to keep more than one assistance or service animal, the landlord may request information regarding the specific need for each animal and may require proof of licensing and vaccination requirements for each animal. Current law provides that a landlord may deny a request for an exception to a pet policy if a person, who does not have a readily apparent disability, or a disability known to the landlord, fails to provide documentation indicating that the person has a disability and the person has a disability-related need for an assistance animal or service animal.
House subcommittee
Named January 25, 2022. On February 10, 2022 it recommended passage. Vote Total: 2-0.
Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part
Fiscal note
AI summary This bill requires housing providers to make accommodations for service or assistance animals and creates a simple misdemeanor for people who intentionally misrepresent an animal as such. The fiscal impact of the new misdemeanor cannot be estimated, though one conviction could result in a fine between $105 and $855 and a cost to the state of $40 to $370. Additionally, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission could lose up to $530,000 in federal funding, which would require the state's General Fund to cover the loss.3
Read the fiscal note
Description
House File 2486 relates to reasonable housing accommodations for persons with assistance or service animals. The Bill provides that a housing provider make accommodations in its rules, policies, practices, and services for a person with an assistance or service animal who needs reasonable accommodations to afford the person equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling. The Bill also provides reasons that a housing provider may deny a request for an accommodation relating to an assistance or service animal.
House File 2486 provides that a person who knowingly and intentionally mispresents an animal as an assistance animal or service animal, or provides to a housing provider material information regarding a claimed assistance or service animal that is false, commits a simple misdemeanor. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for up to 30 days and a fine of between $105 and $855.
Background
Under current law, a housing provider who knowingly denies or interferes with the right of a person with a disability under Iowa Code section 216.8B commits a simple misdemeanor. The Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC) has a workshare agreement with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that is contingent on Iowa Code chapter 216 (the Iowa Civil Rights Act) being substantially similar to the federal Fair Housing Act.
Assumptions
- The ICRC would no longer be eligible to receive federal HUD funding for cases involving assistance and service animals under Iowa Code sections 216.8B and 216.8C.
- Patterns and trends related to complaints received by the ICRC will not change.
- The following will not change over the projection period: charge, conviction, and sentencing patterns and trends, prisoner length of stay, revocation rates, plea bargaining, and other criminal justice system policies and practices.
- A lag effect of six months is assumed from the effective date of this Bill to the date of first entry of affected offenders into the correctional system.
- Marginal costs for county jails cannot be estimated due to a lack of data. For purposes of this analysis, the marginal cost for county jails is assumed to be $50 per day.
Correctional Impact
House File 2486 establishes a new offense. As a result, the correctional impact cannot be estimated due to a lack of existing data. A conviction for a simple misdemeanor does not result in a prison sentence, but does carry the possibility of confinement for up to 30 days. Marginal county jail costs are estimated to be $50 per day, but there is insufficient information to determine any costs related to length of stay.
Refer to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) memo addressed to the General Assembly, Cost Estimates Used for Correctional Impact Statements, dated January 18, 2022, for information related to the correctional system.
Minority Impact
The minority impact of HF 2486 is unknown. Refer to the LSA memo addressed to the General Assembly, Minority Impact Statement, dated January 18, 2022, for information related to minorities in the criminal justice system.
Fiscal Impact
The fiscal impact of HF 2486 related to the creation of a simple misdemeanor cannot be estimated due to a lack of existing data. The estimated cost for one simple misdemeanor conviction ranges from $40 to $370. The estimated fine revenue from one simple misdemeanor conviction ranges from $105 to $855.
According to the ICRC, HF 2486 may result in the HUD providing funding for fewer disability-related housing cases or the HUD ending its workshare agreement with the ICRC. This would decrease federal funding for the ICRC by up to $530,000, which amounts to approximately 22.0% of the ICRC’s total annual budget. The ICRC anticipates that its total workload would not change and that it would seek to recover lost federal funds from the State General Fund.
Sources
- Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning Division, Department of Human Rights
- Iowa Civil Rights Commission
- Service Animals, Misrepresentation · February 21, 2022
Iowa Code it changes
Lobbying
7 for · 1 against · 8 undecided · Who →
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89th General Assembly
Similar bills
- SF 2093 Relating to accommodations in housing provided to persons with a disability-related need f…89th General Assembly · Approved by committeeNearly identical
Matched by wording or an identical title.