Relating to assistance animals and service animals, including reasonable accommodations for housing and requirements for findings of disabilities

This bill relates to reasonable housing accommodations for persons with assistance animals or service animals. 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 the health or safety of others that cannot be reduced or eliminated or would cause substantial physical damage to the property of others, or an accommodation is not otherwise reasonable. Under current law, a person who knowingly denies or interferes with the right of a person with a disability, upon conviction, is guilty of a simple misdemeanor. The bill removes this criminal penalty. The bill requires 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 30 days, the pair has a provider-patient relationship, the licensee is familiar with the person and the disability prior to providing the written finding, provides the issuance and expiration date of the licensee’s finding, provides the licensee’s license number and type of license held by the licensee, and that the licensee has not received compensation for making the finding. The bill provides that the written finding shall be made within 12 months of the start of a rental agreement and is valid for a period of 12 months or the term of the rental agreement, whichever is greater.8C that is available on the commission’s website. The commission is also required to offer training and consultation to the governing boards of the license under Code chapter 148 (medicine and surgery and osteopathic medicine and surgery), 148C (physician assistants), 152 (nursing), 154B (psychology), 154C (social work), or 154D (behavioral science).