HF 2815

1st Engrossment - 90th Legislature (2017 - 2018) Posted on 03/12/2018 04:20pm

A bill for an act
relating to human rights; establishing a crime for misrepresenting an animal as a
service animal; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 363A.19.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 363A.19, is amended to read:

363A.19 DISCRIMINATION AGAINST BLIND, DEAF, OR OTHER PERSONS
WITH PHYSICAL OR SENSORY DISABILITIES PROHIBITED.

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Service animals allowed. new text end

(a) It is an unfair discriminatory practice for
an owner, operator, or manager of a hotel, restaurant, public conveyance, or other public
place to prohibit a blind or deaf person or a person with a physical or sensory disability
from taking a service animal into the public place or conveyance to aid blind or deaf persons
or persons with physical or sensory disabilities, and if the service animal is properly harnessed
or leashed so that the blind or deaf person or a person with a physical or sensory disability
may maintain control of the service animal.

(b) No person shall require a blind, physically disabled, or deaf person to make an extra
payment or pay an additional charge when taking a service animal into any of the public
places referred to in paragraph (a).

deleted text begin (c) For purposes of this section, "service animal" means a service animal as defined by
the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended.
deleted text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Misrepresenting animal as service animal. new text end

new text begin (a) A person who knowingly
misrepresents that an animal is a service animal for the purpose of obtaining rights or
privileges available to a blind or deaf person or a person with a physical or sensory disability
is guilty of a misdemeanor.
new text end

new text begin (b) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, when a court sentences a person for violating
paragraph (a), it must impose a fine of not less than $500 except that if the court finds on
the record that the person is indigent or that immediate payment of the fine would create
undue hardship for the convicted person or that person's family, the court may reduce the
amount of the minimum fine to not less than $50 if the court orders the defendant to perform
community service in lieu of a fine.
new text end

new text begin (c) A peace officer or animal control officer investigating a possible violation of this
subdivision may ask the person accompanied by the animal in question:
new text end

new text begin (1) if the animal is required due to disability; and
new text end

new text begin (2) what tasks the animal is trained to perform.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) For purposes of this section, "service animal" means a service
animal as defined by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended.
new text end

new text begin (b) "Knowingly misrepresents" means making or adopting a statement, producing
fraudulent paperwork, or attaching a cape, vest, leash, or other form of identification that
states or implies that an animal is a service animal when the animal is not.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Public notice. new text end

new text begin The commissioner of the Department of Employment and
Economic Development shall prepare and make available to businesses upon request a decal
suitable for posting in a front window or door, stating that service animals are welcome and
that misrepresenting an animal as a service animal is a violation of Minnesota law.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2018, and applies to violations
committed on or after that date.
new text end