Bills › 89th General Assembly
Relating to accommodations in housing provided to persons with a disability-related need for assistance animals and service animals, and providing penalties
Sponsored by the House Judiciary Committee
Topics:Crime & correctionsHousing & propertyFamilies & human services
Same legislation: HF 2068
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedJanuary 20, 2022
- Done: SubcommitteeJanuary 25, 2022
- Done: House committeeFebruary 15, 2022
- Stopped: Passes the HouseDied when the General Assembly ended
- Next: Senate committee
- Next: Passes the Senate
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Died when the session ended The 2022 session adjourned on May 24, 2022, the General Assembly’s last regular session. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died. What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
AI summary People who rent homes or apartments would see changes in how they request to keep assistance or service animals. Housing providers can now deny these requests if the animal is dangerous, causes damage, or creates a major financial burden. Additionally, anyone who lies about having a service animal could face a misdemeanor charge and a fine.1
Read the official explanation
This bill relates to reasonable housing accommodations for persons with assistance animals or service animals. The bill replaces the term “landlord” with “housing provider” in Code chapter 216. 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 that needs reasonable accommodations to afford the person equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling. Under current law, a housing provider is only required to waive lease restrictions and additional pet payments for a person with an assistance or service animal. The bill provides that a housing provider may deny an accommodation request when granting the request would impose undue financial and administrative burden on the housing provider, would fundamentally change the nature of the housing provider’s operations, the specific animal in question poses a threat to health or safety of others that cannot be reduced or eliminated or would cause substantial physical damage to the property, or an accommodation is not otherwise reasonable. The bill provides that a person who misrepresents an animal as an assistance or service animal or provides the housing provider with false information regarding a claimed assistance or service animal commits a simple misdemeanor. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than days and a fine of at least $105 but not more than $855. The bill provides that a written finding that an assistance animal or service animal is a reasonable accommodation in housing from an approved licensee must include express confirmation that the licensee has met with the person within the past six months, the pair has a bona fide provider-patient relationship, the licensee has a physical Iowa location, and the licensee has not received compensation for making the finding. A housing provider may deny a request for a service animal or assistance animal accommodation for the type and number of animals requested by the person if the person failed to provide documentation or has a disability that is not readily apparent or known to the housing provider.
Fiscal note
Can’t be estimated Compare with other bills
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.