HF 2577

as introduced - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to human rights; modifying provisions 
  1.3             pertaining to the use of service animals; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 256C.02; 363.03, 
  1.5             subdivisions 2, 10. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 256C.02, is 
  1.8   amended to read: 
  1.9      256C.02 [PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS.] 
  1.10     The blind, the visually handicapped, and the otherwise 
  1.11  physically disabled have the same right as the able-bodied to 
  1.12  the full and free use of the streets, highways, sidewalks, 
  1.13  walkways, public buildings, public facilities, and other public 
  1.14  places; and are entitled to full and equal accommodations, 
  1.15  advantages, facilities, and privileges of all common carriers, 
  1.16  airplanes, motor vehicles, railroad trains, motor buses, boats, 
  1.17  or any other public conveyances or modes of transportation, 
  1.18  hotels, lodging places, places of public accommodation, 
  1.19  amusement, or resort, and other places to which the general 
  1.20  public is invited, subject only to the conditions and 
  1.21  limitations established by law and applicable alike to all 
  1.22  persons. 
  1.23     Every totally or partially blind, physically handicapped, 
  1.24  or deaf person or any person training a dog to be a service dog 
  1.25  shall have the right to be accompanied by a service dog in any 
  2.1   of the places listed in section 363.03, subdivision 10.  The 
  2.2   person shall be liable for any damage done to the premises or 
  2.3   facilities by such dog.  The service dog must be capable of 
  2.4   being properly identified as from a recognized school for seeing 
  2.5   eye, hearing ear, service, or guide dogs. 
  2.6      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 363.03, 
  2.7   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.8      Subd. 2.  [REAL PROPERTY.] It is an unfair discriminatory 
  2.9   practice:  
  2.10     (1) For an owner, lessee, sublessee, assignee, or managing 
  2.11  agent of, or other person having the right to sell, rent or 
  2.12  lease any real property, or any agent of any of these:  
  2.13     (a) to refuse to sell, rent, or lease or otherwise deny to 
  2.14  or withhold from any person or group of persons any real 
  2.15  property because of race, color, creed, religion, national 
  2.16  origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public 
  2.17  assistance, disability, sexual orientation, or familial status; 
  2.18  or 
  2.19     (b) to discriminate against any person or group of persons 
  2.20  because of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, 
  2.21  marital status, status with regard to public assistance, 
  2.22  disability, sexual orientation, or familial status in the terms, 
  2.23  conditions or privileges of the sale, rental or lease of any 
  2.24  real property or in the furnishing of facilities or services in 
  2.25  connection therewith, except that nothing in this clause shall 
  2.26  be construed to prohibit the adoption of reasonable rules 
  2.27  intended to protect the safety of minors in their use of the 
  2.28  real property or any facilities or services furnished in 
  2.29  connection therewith; or 
  2.30     (c) in any transaction involving real property, to print, 
  2.31  circulate or post or cause to be printed, circulated, or posted 
  2.32  any advertisement or sign, or use any form of application for 
  2.33  the purchase, rental or lease of real property, or make any 
  2.34  record or inquiry in connection with the prospective purchase, 
  2.35  rental, or lease of real property which expresses, directly or 
  2.36  indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as 
  3.1   to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital 
  3.2   status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, 
  3.3   sexual orientation, or familial status, or any intent to make 
  3.4   any such limitation, specification, or discrimination except 
  3.5   that nothing in this clause shall be construed to prohibit the 
  3.6   advertisement of a dwelling unit as available to adults-only if 
  3.7   the person placing the advertisement reasonably believes that 
  3.8   the provisions of this subdivision prohibiting discrimination 
  3.9   because of familial status do not apply to the dwelling unit.  
  3.10     (2) For a real estate broker, real estate salesperson, or 
  3.11  employee, or agent thereof:  
  3.12     (a) to refuse to sell, rent, or lease or to offer for sale, 
  3.13  rental, or lease any real property to any person or group of 
  3.14  persons or to negotiate for the sale, rental, or lease of any 
  3.15  real property to any person or group of persons because of race, 
  3.16  color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, 
  3.17  status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual 
  3.18  orientation, or familial status or represent that real property 
  3.19  is not available for inspection, sale, rental, or lease when in 
  3.20  fact it is so available, or otherwise deny or withhold any real 
  3.21  property or any facilities of real property to or from any 
  3.22  person or group of persons because of race, color, creed, 
  3.23  religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with 
  3.24  regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, or 
  3.25  familial status; or 
  3.26     (b) to discriminate against any person because of race, 
  3.27  color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, 
  3.28  status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual 
  3.29  orientation, or familial status in the terms, conditions or 
  3.30  privileges of the sale, rental or lease of real property or in 
  3.31  the furnishing of facilities or services in connection 
  3.32  therewith; or 
  3.33     (c) to print, circulate, or post or cause to be printed, 
  3.34  circulated, or posted any advertisement or sign, or use any form 
  3.35  of application for the purchase, rental, or lease of any real 
  3.36  property or make any record or inquiry in connection with the 
  4.1   prospective purchase, rental or lease of any real property, 
  4.2   which expresses directly or indirectly, any limitation, 
  4.3   specification or discrimination as to race, color, creed, 
  4.4   religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with 
  4.5   regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, or 
  4.6   familial status or any intent to make any such limitation, 
  4.7   specification, or discrimination except that nothing in this 
  4.8   clause shall be construed to prohibit the advertisement of a 
  4.9   dwelling unit as available to adults-only if the person placing 
  4.10  the advertisement reasonably believes that the provisions of 
  4.11  this subdivision prohibiting discrimination because of familial 
  4.12  status do not apply to the dwelling unit.  
  4.13     (3) For a person, bank, banking organization, mortgage 
  4.14  company, insurance company, or other financial institution or 
  4.15  lender to whom application is made for financial assistance for 
  4.16  the purchase, lease, acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, 
  4.17  repair or maintenance of any real property or any agent or 
  4.18  employee thereof:  
  4.19     (a) to discriminate against any person or group of persons 
  4.20  because of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, 
  4.21  marital status, status with regard to public assistance, 
  4.22  disability, sexual orientation, or familial status of the person 
  4.23  or group of persons or of the prospective occupants or tenants 
  4.24  of the real property in the granting, withholding, extending, 
  4.25  modifying or renewing, or in the rates, terms, conditions, or 
  4.26  privileges of the financial assistance or in the extension of 
  4.27  services in connection therewith; or 
  4.28     (b) to use any form of application for the financial 
  4.29  assistance or make any record or inquiry in connection with 
  4.30  applications for the financial assistance which expresses, 
  4.31  directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or 
  4.32  discrimination as to race, color, creed, religion, national 
  4.33  origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public 
  4.34  assistance, disability, sexual orientation, or familial status 
  4.35  or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or 
  4.36  discrimination; or 
  5.1      (c) to discriminate against any person or group of persons 
  5.2   who desire to purchase, lease, acquire, construct, rehabilitate, 
  5.3   repair, or maintain real property in a specific urban or rural 
  5.4   area or any part thereof solely because of the social, economic, 
  5.5   or environmental conditions of the area in the granting, 
  5.6   withholding, extending, modifying, or renewing, or in the rates, 
  5.7   terms, conditions, or privileges of the financial assistance or 
  5.8   in the extension of services in connection therewith.  
  5.9      (4) For any real estate broker or real estate salesperson, 
  5.10  for the purpose of inducing a real property transaction from 
  5.11  which the person, the person's firm, or any of its members may 
  5.12  benefit financially, to represent that a change has occurred or 
  5.13  will or may occur in the composition with respect to race, 
  5.14  creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, status with 
  5.15  regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, or disability 
  5.16  of the owners or occupants in the block, neighborhood, or area 
  5.17  in which the real property is located, and to represent, 
  5.18  directly or indirectly, that this change will or may result in 
  5.19  undesirable consequences in the block, neighborhood, or area in 
  5.20  which the real property is located, including but not limited to 
  5.21  the lowering of property values, an increase in criminal or 
  5.22  antisocial behavior, or a decline in the quality of schools or 
  5.23  other public facilities.  
  5.24     (5) For a person to deny full and equal access to real 
  5.25  property provided for in this section to a person who is totally 
  5.26  or partially blind, deaf, or has a physical or sensory 
  5.27  disability and who uses a service animal, if the service animal 
  5.28  can be properly identified as being from a recognized program 
  5.29  which trains service animals to aid persons who are totally or 
  5.30  partially blind or deaf or have physical or sensory 
  5.31  disabilities.  The person may not be required to pay extra 
  5.32  compensation for the service animal but is liable for damage 
  5.33  done to the premises by the service animal.  
  5.34     (6) For a person to coerce, intimidate, threaten, or 
  5.35  interfere with a person in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on 
  5.36  account of that person having exercised or enjoyed, or on 
  6.1   account of that person having aided or encouraged a third person 
  6.2   in the exercise or enjoyment of, any right granted or protected 
  6.3   by this subdivision.  
  6.4      Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, ordinance, or 
  6.5   home rule charter to the contrary, no person shall be deemed to 
  6.6   have committed an unfair discriminatory practice based upon age 
  6.7   if the unfair discriminatory practice alleged is attempted or 
  6.8   accomplished for the purpose of obtaining or maintaining one of 
  6.9   the exemptions provided for a dwelling unit provided for in 
  6.10  section 363.02, subdivision 2.  
  6.11     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 363.03, 
  6.12  subdivision 10, is amended to read: 
  6.13     Subd. 10.  [DISCRIMINATION AGAINST BLIND, DEAF, OR OTHER 
  6.14  PERSONS WITH PHYSICAL OR SENSORY DISABILITIES PROHIBITED.] (a) 
  6.15  It is an unfair discriminatory practice for an owner, operator, 
  6.16  or manager of a hotel, restaurant, public conveyance, or other 
  6.17  public place to prohibit a blind or deaf person or a person with 
  6.18  a physical or sensory disability from taking a service animal 
  6.19  into the public place or conveyance if the service animal can be 
  6.20  properly identified as being from a recognized program which 
  6.21  trains service animals to aid blind or deaf persons or persons 
  6.22  with physical or sensory disabilities, and if the animal is 
  6.23  properly harnessed or leashed so that the blind or deaf person 
  6.24  or a person with a physical or sensory disability may maintain 
  6.25  control of the animal.  
  6.26     (b) No person shall require a blind, physically 
  6.27  handicapped, or deaf person to make an extra payment or pay an 
  6.28  additional charge when taking a service animal into any of the 
  6.29  public places referred to in paragraph (a).