1.1 	 A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to local government; authorizing city councils in cities of the first class 
1.3 	to establish civil rights or human rights departments; providing enforcement 
1.4 	powers for housing discrimination cases.
1.5 	 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	 Section 1. CIVIL RIGHTS ORDINANCE.
 1.7 	Notwithstanding any statute, city charter provision, or ordinance to the contrary, and 
1.8 	in addition to all other powers conferred by statute or charter, the city council of a city 
1.9 	of the first class may, by ordinance, establish a civil rights or human rights department, 
1.10 	director, or commission, or grant additional powers to an existing civil rights or human 
1.11 	rights department, director, or commission so that the rights and remedies afforded to 
1.12 	persons claiming discriminatory housing practices qualify the civil rights or human 
1.13 	rights department, director, or commission as a substantially equivalent agency under the 
1.14 	regulations of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development in Code of 
1.15 	Federal Regulations, title 24, part 115, subpart B.

1.16 	 Sec. 2. REMEDIES; ENFORCEMENT.
 1.17 		Subdivision 1.Housing discrimination enforcement. A civil rights or human 
1.18 	rights department, director, or commission authorized by this act may impose and, through 
1.19 	the district court, enforce any remedy, sanction, or penalty enumerated in Code of Federal 
1.20 	Regulations, title 24, section 115.202, in housing discrimination cases.
1.21 		Subd. 2.District court jurisdiction. The district court has jurisdiction to 
1.22 	enforce the remedies, sanctions, or penalties when they are imposed by a civil rights or 
1.23 	human rights department, director, or commission operating under this act in housing 
2.1 	discrimination cases.  The district court also has jurisdiction to impose and enforce the 
2.2 	remedies, sanctions, or penalties in the exercise of its own jurisdiction to enforce the 
2.3 	housing discrimination provisions of a human rights or civil rights ordinance of a city of 
2.4 	the first class, if the ordinance provides that original enforcement jurisdiction is in the 
2.5 	district court.
2.6 		Subd. 3.Time limit for filing claim. The time for filing a claim with a civil rights 
2.7 	or human rights department, director, or commission, or as an original civil action in the 
2.8 	district court, cannot exceed the time for filing a claim under Minnesota Statutes, section 
2.9 	363A.28, subdivision 3.
2.10 		Subd. 4.Judicial review. A party aggrieved by a final decision or order of a civil 
2.11 	rights or human rights department, director, or commission may seek judicial review in 
2.12 	the district court within the time provided in cases of district court judicial review of 
2.13 	local government action.

2.14 	 Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
 2.15 	Sections 1 and 2 are effective the day following final enactment.