Prohibiting discrimination in housing provided to persons with a disability or disability-related need for an assistance animal and providing penalties

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. The bill prohibits a landlord, to the extent required by federal law, rule, or regulation, to deny housing to a person with a disability or a disability-related need who has an animal that is required as support. Under current law, assistance animals are allowed as long as such animals qualify as reasonable accommodations under the federal Fair Housing Act. The bill defines assistance animal as an animal that is not required to be trained to assist a person with a disability but, by virtue of its presence, provides support to alleviate one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability. The bill provides that certain licensed medical providers are prohibited from disclosing the diagnosis or severity of a person’s disability or any medical records relating to the disability to a landlord without the consent of the patient and are subject to licensing board discipline for violations of this provision. The bill provides that a person who knowingly and willfully misrepresents as using a service animal and being qualified to use a service animal, or an assistance animal, 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 the 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 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. 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. The bill prohibits a landlord to request information that discloses the diagnosis or severity of a person’s disability or any medical records relating to the disability.