House File 2001 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2001 BY SALMON A BILL FOR An Act relating to service dogs and assistive animals in 1 residential rental property, providing for landlord remedies 2 to remove dogs and animals, and providing penalties for 3 misrepresenting an animal as a service dog or assistive 4 animal. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 5152YH (4) 87 asf/rj

H.F. 2001 Section 1. Section 216C.11, Code 2018, is amended to read 1 as follows: 2 216C.11 Service dogs and assistive animals. 3 1. For purposes of this section , “service dog” means a dog 4 specially trained to assist a person with a disability, whether 5 described as a service dog, a support dog, an independence dog, 6 or otherwise. “Assistive animal” means a simian or other animal 7 specially trained or in the process of being trained to assist 8 a person with a disability. 9 2. A person with a disability, a person assisting a person 10 with a disability by controlling a service dog or an assistive 11 animal, or a person training a service dog or an assistive 12 animal has the right to be accompanied by a service dog or an 13 assistive animal, under control, in any of the places listed 14 in sections 216C.3 and 216C.4 without being required to make 15 additional payment for the service dog or assistive animal. 16 3. a. A landlord shall waive lease restrictions on the 17 keeping of animals for the service dog or assistive animal of a 18 person with a disability. 19 b. The person is liable for damage done to any premises or 20 facility by a service dog or assistive animal. 21 c. A landlord may require a person with a disability to 22 remove the person’s service dog or assistive animal from the 23 person’s residential rental unit for any of the following 24 reasons: 25 (1) The service dog or assistive animal is out of control 26 and the person with a disability or the person assisting the 27 person with a disability by controlling a service dog or an 28 assistive animal does not take effective action to control the 29 service dog or assistive animal. 30 (2) The service dog or assistive animal is not able to 31 control its excretion of urine or feces. 32 (3) The service dog or assistive animal poses a direct 33 threat to the health or safety of others and that threat cannot 34 be eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level by making a 35 -1- LSB 5152YH (4) 87 asf/rj 1/ 4

H.F. 2001 reasonable accommodation by providing alternative policies, 1 practices, or procedures. 2 3. 4. A person who knowingly denies or interferes with 3 the right of a person under this section is, upon conviction, 4 guilty of a simple misdemeanor. 5 5. a. A person who knowingly misrepresents an animal as a 6 service dog or assistive animal is, upon conviction, guilty of 7 a simple misdemeanor. 8 b. A person commits the offense of knowingly misrepresenting 9 an animal as a service dog or assistance animal if all of the 10 following criteria are met: 11 (1) A person intentionally misrepresents an animal in the 12 person’s possession as a service dog or assistive animal for 13 the purpose of obtaining any of the rights or privileges set 14 forth in this section by doing any of the following: 15 (a) Creating and providing a false document. 16 (b) Fitting an animal with a harness, collar, vest, or sign 17 when the animal is not a service dog or assistive animal. 18 (c) Falsely stating the animal is a service dog or assistive 19 animal. 20 (2) The person was previously given a written or verbal 21 warning that it is illegal to knowingly misrepresent an animal 22 as a service dog or assistive animal. 23 (3) The person knows that the animal is not a service dog 24 or assistive animal or a service dog or assistive animal in 25 training. 26 EXPLANATION 27 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 28 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 29 This bill amends Code section 216C.11 to provide remedies 30 for a landlord when a service dog or assistive animal is 31 disruptive, damaging, or harmful. The Code currently provides 32 that a landlord shall waive lease restrictions on the keeping 33 of animals for the service dog or assistive animal of a person 34 with a disability. The Code also provides that the person is 35 -2- LSB 5152YH (4) 87 asf/rj 2/ 4

H.F. 2001 liable for damage done to any premises or facility by a service 1 dog or assistive animal. 2 The bill allows a landlord to require a person with a 3 disability to remove the person’s service dog or assistive 4 animal from the person’s residential rental unit for any of 5 the following reasons: the service dog or assistive animal is 6 out of control and the person with a disability, or the person 7 assisting the person with a disability by controlling a service 8 dog or an assistive animal, does not take effective action to 9 control the service dog or assistive animal; the service dog or 10 assistive animal is not able to control its excretion of urine 11 or feces; or the service dog or assistive animal poses a direct 12 threat to the health or safety of others and that threat cannot 13 be eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level by making 14 a reasonable accommodation that applies to other policies, 15 practices, or procedures. 16 Finally, the bill criminalizes the knowing misrepresentation 17 of an animal as a service dog or assistive animal. The bill 18 would make this offense a simple misdemeanor. A simple 19 misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than 30 20 days or a fine of at least $65 but not more than $625 or by 21 both. Under the bill, a person commits this offense if three 22 criteria are met. The first criterion is that the person 23 intentionally misrepresents an animal in possession as a 24 service dog or assistive animal for the purpose of obtaining 25 any of the rights or privileges set forth in Code section 26 216C.11 by doing any of the following: creating and providing 27 false documents; fitting an animal with a harness, collar, 28 vest, or sign when the animal is not a service dog or assistive 29 animal; or falsely stating the animal is a service dog or 30 assistive animal. The second criterion is that the person was 31 previously given a written or verbal warning that it is illegal 32 to knowingly misrepresent a service dog or assistive animal. 33 The third criterion is that the person knows that the animal 34 is not a service dog or assistive animal or a service dog or 35 -3- LSB 5152YH (4) 87 asf/rj 3/ 4

H.F. 2001 assistive animal in training. 1 -4- LSB 5152YH (4) 87 asf/rj 4/ 4