HB3671eng 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
HB3671 EngrossedLRB101 07775 SLF 52824 b

1    AN ACT concerning animals.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Assistance and Service Animal Integrity Act.
 
6    Section 5. Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
7    "Assistance animal" means an animal, other than a service
8animal, that qualifies as a reasonable accommodation under the
9Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3601, Section 504 of the
10Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794, or local law,
11including an emotional support animal if the animal qualifies
12as a reasonable accommodation.
13    "Disability" means a physical or mental impairment which
14substantially limits one or more major life activities.
15    "Service animal" means an animal, other than an assistance
16animal, that qualifies as a service animal under the federal
17Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and is trained to
18perform the relevant tasks for a person with a disability.
19    "Therapeutic relationship" means the provision of medical
20care, program care, or personal care services, in good faith,
21for and with actual knowledge of, the disability and
22disability-related need of the individual requesting
23accommodations by: (1) a physician or other medical

 

 

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1professional; (2) a mental health service provider; or (3) a
2non-medical individual or entity in good standing with a valid
3state license, certification, or registration to serve persons
4with disabilities, not including care or services to the
5individual where services use electronically transmitted
6patient-specific data between a remote location unless those
7services are provided under the Telehealth Act.
 
8    Section 10. Documentation of disability and
9disability-related need.
10    (a) A landlord who receives a request from a person to make
11an exception to the landlord's policy prohibiting animals on
12the landlord's property because the person requires the use of
13an assistance animal or service animal may require the person
14to produce reliable documentation, which may be a standardized
15form, of the disability and disability-related need for the
16animal only if the disability or disability-related need is not
17readily apparent or known to the landlord. A request for an
18exception is allowed for only one animal, unless documentation
19under subsection (b) specifically indicates more than one is
20required.
21    (b) Any documentation that a person is disabled and
22requires the use of an assistance animal or service animal as a
23reasonable accommodation in housing under the Fair Housing Act,
24the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities
25Act of 1990, the Illinois Human Rights Act or local law shall:

 

 

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1    (1) be in writing;
2    (2) be made by any person whom the individual requesting
3accommodation has a therapeutic relationship; and
4    (3) describe the person's disability-related need for the
5assistance animal or service animal.
6    (c) A landlord may deny a documented request for
7accommodation or rescind a granted request under this Act if:
8        (1) the accommodation imposes either: (1) an undue
9    financial and administrative burden; or (2) a fundamental
10    alteration to the nature of the operations of the landlord;
11    or
12        (2) the assistance animal or service animal: (1) poses
13    a direct threat to the health or safety of others that
14    cannot be reduced or eliminated by another reasonable
15    accommodation; (2) causes substantial physical damage to
16    the property of others that cannot be reduced or eliminated
17    by another reasonable accommodation; or (3) the animal is
18    out of control and its handler does not take effective
19    action to control it.
20    (d) A landlord may require additional supporting
21documentation when necessary to evaluate the reasonableness of
22either the requested accommodation or any identified
23alternative accommodation.
24    (e) A landlord may consider the disability accommodation of
25other tenants on the property when evaluating the
26reasonableness of either the requested accommodation or any

 

 

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1identified alternative accommodation under this Act.
2    (f) A landlord may require a tenant to cover the costs of
3repairs for damage the animal causes to the tenant's dwelling
4unit or the common areas, reasonable wear and tear excepted;
5however, a landlord may not require a tenant to pay a
6pet-related deposit that is otherwise required for tenants who
7are not requesting accommodation under this Act.
8    (g) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requiring
9documentation of a specific diagnosis regarding a disability or
10disability-related need.
 
11    Section 15. Immunity. Notwithstanding any other provision
12of law to the contrary, a landlord shall not be liable for
13injuries caused by a person's assistance animal or service
14animal permitted on the landlord's property as a reasonable
15accommodation to assist the person with a disability under the
16Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
171973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Illinois
18Human Rights Act, or any other federal, State, or local law.