Bill Text: IA HF2001 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to service dogs and assistive animals in residential rental property, providing for landlord remedies to remove dogs and animals, and providing penalties for misrepresenting an animal as a service dog or assistive animal.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-06 - Subcommittee recommends amendment and passage. [HF2001 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2017-HF2001-Introduced.html
House File 2001 - Introduced HOUSE FILE BY SALMON A BILL FOR 1 An Act relating to service dogs and assistive animals in 2 residential rental property, providing for landlord remedies 3 to remove dogs and animals, and providing penalties for 4 misrepresenting an animal as a service dog or assistive 5 animal. 6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: TLSB 5152YH (4) 87 asf/rj PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. Section 216C.11, Code 2018, is amended to read 1 2 as follows: 1 3 216C.11 Service dogs and assistive animals. 1 4 1. For purposes of this section, "service dog" means a dog 1 5 specially trained to assist a person with a disability, whether 1 6 described as a service dog, a support dog, an independence dog, 1 7 or otherwise. "Assistive animal" means a simian or other animal 1 8 specially trained or in the process of being trained to assist 1 9 a person with a disability. 1 10 2. A person with a disability, a person assisting a person 1 11 with a disability by controlling a service dog or an assistive 1 12 animal, or a person training a service dog or an assistive 1 13 animal has the right to be accompanied by a service dog or an 1 14 assistive animal, under control, in any of the places listed 1 15 in sections 216C.3 and 216C.4 without being required to make 1 16 additional payment for the service dog or assistive animal. 1 17 3. a. A landlord shall waive lease restrictions on the 1 18 keeping of animals for the service dog or assistive animal of a 1 19 person with a disability. 1 20 b. The person is liable for damage done to any premises or 1 21 facility by a service dog or assistive animal. 1 22 c. A landlord may require a person with a disability to 1 23 remove the person's service dog or assistive animal from the 1 24 person's residential rental unit for any of the following 1 25 reasons: 1 26 (1) The service dog or assistive animal is out of control 1 27 and the person with a disability or the person assisting the 1 28 person with a disability by controlling a service dog or an 1 29 assistive animal does not take effective action to control the 1 30 service dog or assistive animal. 1 31 (2) The service dog or assistive animal is not able to 1 32 control its excretion of urine or feces. 1 33 (3) The service dog or assistive animal poses a direct 1 34 threat to the health or safety of others and that threat cannot 1 35 be eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level by making a 2 1 reasonable accommodation by providing alternative policies, 2 2 practices, or procedures. 2 33.4. A person who knowingly denies or interferes with 2 4 the right of a person under this section is, upon conviction, 2 5 guilty of a simple misdemeanor. 2 6 5. a. A person who knowingly misrepresents an animal as a 2 7 service dog or assistive animal is, upon conviction, guilty of 2 8 a simple misdemeanor. 2 9 b. A person commits the offense of knowingly misrepresenting 2 10 an animal as a service dog or assistance animal if all of the 2 11 following criteria are met: 2 12 (1) A person intentionally misrepresents an animal in the 2 13 person's possession as a service dog or assistive animal for 2 14 the purpose of obtaining any of the rights or privileges set 2 15 forth in this section by doing any of the following: 2 16 (a) Creating and providing a false document. 2 17 (b) Fitting an animal with a harness, collar, vest, or sign 2 18 when the animal is not a service dog or assistive animal. 2 19 (c) Falsely stating the animal is a service dog or assistive 2 20 animal. 2 21 (2) The person was previously given a written or verbal 2 22 warning that it is illegal to knowingly misrepresent an animal 2 23 as a service dog or assistive animal. 2 24 (3) The person knows that the animal is not a service dog 2 25 or assistive animal or a service dog or assistive animal in 2 26 training. 2 27 EXPLANATION 2 28 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 2 29 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly. 2 30 This bill amends Code section 216C.11 to provide remedies 2 31 for a landlord when a service dog or assistive animal is 2 32 disruptive, damaging, or harmful. The Code currently provides 2 33 that a landlord shall waive lease restrictions on the keeping 2 34 of animals for the service dog or assistive animal of a person 2 35 with a disability. The Code also provides that the person is 3 1 liable for damage done to any premises or facility by a service 3 2 dog or assistive animal. 3 3 The bill allows a landlord to require a person with a 3 4 disability to remove the person's service dog or assistive 3 5 animal from the person's residential rental unit for any of 3 6 the following reasons: the service dog or assistive animal is 3 7 out of control and the person with a disability, or the person 3 8 assisting the person with a disability by controlling a service 3 9 dog or an assistive animal, does not take effective action to 3 10 control the service dog or assistive animal; the service dog or 3 11 assistive animal is not able to control its excretion of urine 3 12 or feces; or the service dog or assistive animal poses a direct 3 13 threat to the health or safety of others and that threat cannot 3 14 be eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level by making 3 15 a reasonable accommodation that applies to other policies, 3 16 practices, or procedures. 3 17 Finally, the bill criminalizes the knowing misrepresentation 3 18 of an animal as a service dog or assistive animal. The bill 3 19 would make this offense a simple misdemeanor. A simple 3 20 misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than 30 3 21 days or a fine of at least $65 but not more than $625 or by 3 22 both. Under the bill, a person commits this offense if three 3 23 criteria are met. The first criterion is that the person 3 24 intentionally misrepresents an animal in possession as a 3 25 service dog or assistive animal for the purpose of obtaining 3 26 any of the rights or privileges set forth in Code section 3 27 216C.11 by doing any of the following: creating and providing 3 28 false documents; fitting an animal with a harness, collar, 3 29 vest, or sign when the animal is not a service dog or assistive 3 30 animal; or falsely stating the animal is a service dog or 3 31 assistive animal. The second criterion is that the person was 3 32 previously given a written or verbal warning that it is illegal 3 33 to knowingly misrepresent a service dog or assistive animal. 3 34 The third criterion is that the person knows that the animal 3 35 is not a service dog or assistive animal or a service dog or 4 1 assistive animal in training. LSB 5152YH (4) 87 asf/rj
