SSB 5672 -
By Senator Kline
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"Sec. 1 RCW 49.60.040 and 2007 c 317 s 2 and 2007 c 187 s 4 are
each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter
unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Person" includes one or more individuals, partnerships,
associations, organizations, corporations, cooperatives, legal
representatives, trustees and receivers, or any group of persons; it
includes any owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, agent, or employee,
whether one or more natural persons; and further includes any political
or civil subdivisions of the state and any agency or instrumentality of
the state or of any political or civil subdivision thereof.
(2) "Commission" means the Washington state human rights
commission.
(3) "Employer" includes any person acting in the interest of an
employer, directly or indirectly, who employs eight or more persons,
and does not include any religious or sectarian organization not
organized for private profit.
(4) "Employee" does not include any individual employed by his or
her parents, spouse, or child, or in the domestic service of any
person.
(5) "Labor organization" includes any organization which exists for
the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning
grievances or terms or conditions of employment, or for other mutual
aid or protection in connection with employment.
(6) "Employment agency" includes any person undertaking with or
without compensation to recruit, procure, refer, or place employees for
an employer.
(7) "Marital status" means the legal status of being married,
single, separated, divorced, or widowed.
(8) "National origin" includes "ancestry".
(9) "Full enjoyment of" includes the right to purchase any service,
commodity, or article of personal property offered or sold on, or by,
any establishment to the public, and the admission of any person to
accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of any place of
public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement, without acts
directly or indirectly causing persons of any particular race, creed,
color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, or with any sensory,
mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or
service animal by a person with a disability, to be treated as not
welcome, accepted, desired, or solicited.
(10) "Any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or
amusement" includes, but is not limited to, any place, licensed or
unlicensed, kept for gain, hire, or reward, or where charges are made
for admission, service, occupancy, or use of any property or
facilities, whether conducted for the entertainment, housing, or
lodging of transient guests, or for the benefit, use, or accommodation
of those seeking health, recreation, or rest, or for the burial or
other disposition of human remains, or for the sale of goods,
merchandise, services, or personal property, or for the rendering of
personal services, or for public conveyance or transportation on land,
water, or in the air, including the stations and terminals thereof and
the garaging of vehicles, or where food or beverages of any kind are
sold for consumption on the premises, or where public amusement,
entertainment, sports, or recreation of any kind is offered with or
without charge, or where medical service or care is made available, or
where the public gathers, congregates, or assembles for amusement,
recreation, or public purposes, or public halls, public elevators, and
public washrooms of buildings and structures occupied by two or more
tenants, or by the owner and one or more tenants, or any public library
or educational institution, or schools of special instruction, or
nursery schools, or day care centers or children's camps: PROVIDED,
That nothing contained in this definition shall be construed to include
or apply to any institute, bona fide club, or place of accommodation,
which is by its nature distinctly private, including fraternal
organizations, though where public use is permitted that use shall be
covered by this chapter; nor shall anything contained in this
definition apply to any educational facility, columbarium, crematory,
mausoleum, or cemetery operated or maintained by a bona fide religious
or sectarian institution.
(11) "Real property" includes buildings, structures, dwellings,
real estate, lands, tenements, leaseholds, interests in real estate
cooperatives, condominiums, and hereditaments, corporeal and
incorporeal, or any interest therein.
(12) "Real estate transaction" includes the sale, appraisal,
brokering, exchange, purchase, rental, or lease of real property,
transacting or applying for a real estate loan, or the provision of
brokerage services.
(13) "Dwelling" means any building, structure, or portion thereof
that is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a
residence by one or more families, and any vacant land that is offered
for sale or lease for the construction or location thereon of any such
building, structure, or portion thereof.
(14) "Sex" means gender.
(15) "Sexual orientation" means heterosexuality, homosexuality,
bisexuality, and gender expression or identity. As used in this
definition, "gender expression or identity" means having or being
perceived as having a gender identity, self-image, appearance,
behavior, or expression, whether or not that gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior, or expression is different from that
traditionally associated with the sex assigned to that person at birth.
(16) "Aggrieved person" means any person who: (a) Claims to have
been injured by an unfair practice in a real estate transaction; or (b)
believes that he or she will be injured by an unfair practice in a real
estate transaction that is about to occur.
(17) "Complainant" means the person who files a complaint in a real
estate transaction.
(18) "Respondent" means any person accused in a complaint or
amended complaint of an unfair practice in a real estate transaction.
(19) "Credit transaction" includes any open or closed end credit
transaction, whether in the nature of a loan, retail installment
transaction, credit card issue or charge, or otherwise, and whether for
personal or for business purposes, in which a service, finance, or
interest charge is imposed, or which provides for repayment in
scheduled payments, when such credit is extended in the regular course
of any trade or commerce, including but not limited to transactions by
banks, savings and loan associations or other financial lending
institutions of whatever nature, stock brokers, or by a merchant or
mercantile establishment which as part of its ordinary business permits
or provides that payment for purchases of property or service therefrom
may be deferred.
(20) "Families with children status" means one or more individuals
who have not attained the age of eighteen years being domiciled with a
parent or another person having legal custody of such individual or
individuals, or with the designee of such parent or other person having
such legal custody, with the written permission of such parent or other
person. Families with children status also applies to any person who
is pregnant or is in the process of securing legal custody of any
individual who has not attained the age of eighteen years.
(21) "Covered multifamily dwelling" means: (a) Buildings
consisting of four or more dwelling units if such buildings have one or
more elevators; and (b) ground floor dwelling units in other buildings
consisting of four or more dwelling units.
(22) "Premises" means the interior or exterior spaces, parts,
components, or elements of a building, including individual dwelling
units and the public and common use areas of a building.
(23) "Dog guide" means a dog that is trained for the purpose of
guiding blind persons or a dog that is trained for the purpose of
assisting hearing impaired persons.
(24) "Service animal" means an animal that is trained for the
purpose of assisting or accommodating a sensory, mental, or physical
disability of a person with a disability.
(25)(a) "Disability" means the presence of a sensory, mental, or
physical impairment that:
(i) Is medically cognizable or diagnosable; or
(ii) Exists as a record or history; or
(iii) Is perceived to exist whether or not it exists in fact.
(b) A disability exists whether it is temporary or permanent,
common or uncommon, mitigated or unmitigated, or whether or not it
limits the ability to work generally or work at a particular job or
whether or not it limits any other activity within the scope of this
chapter.
(c) For purposes of this definition, "impairment" includes, but is
not limited to:
(i) Any physiological disorder, or condition, cosmetic
disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the
following body systems: Neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense
organs, respiratory, including speech organs, cardiovascular,
reproductive, digestive, genitor-urinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin,
and endocrine; or
(ii) Any mental, developmental, traumatic, or psychological
disorder, including but not limited to cognitive limitation, organic
brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning
disabilities.
(d) Only for the purposes of qualifying for reasonable
accommodation in employment, an impairment must be known or shown
through an interactive process to exist in fact and:
(i) The impairment must have a substantially limiting effect upon
the individual's ability to perform his or her job, the individual's
ability to apply or be considered for a job, or the individual's access
to equal benefits, privileges, or terms or conditions of employment; or
(ii) The employee must have put the employer on notice of the
existence of an impairment, and medical documentation must establish a
reasonable likelihood that engaging in job functions without an
accommodation would aggravate the impairment to the extent that it
would create a substantially limiting effect.
(e) For purposes of (d) of this subsection, a limitation is not
substantial if it has only a trivial effect.
(26) "Honorably discharged veteran or military status" means a
person who is:
(a) A veteran, as defined in RCW 41.04.007; or
(b) An active or reserve member in any branch of the armed forces
of the United States, including the national guard, coast guard, and
armed forces reserves.
(27) "Lawful source of income" means verifiable legal income used
in the renting or leasing of real property, including income derived
from employment, social security, supplemental security income, other
retirement programs, child support, alimony, and any federal, state,
local, or nonprofit-administered benefit or subsidy programs, including
housing assistance, public assistance, and general assistance programs.
Sec. 2 RCW 49.60.222 and 2007 c 187 s 13 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) It is an unfair practice for any person, whether acting for
himself, herself, or another, because of sex, marital status, sexual
orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, lawful source of
income, families with children status, honorably discharged veteran or
military status, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical
disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a
person with a disability:
(a) To refuse to engage in a real estate transaction with a person;
(b) To discriminate against a person in the terms, conditions, or
privileges of a real estate transaction or in the furnishing of
facilities or services in connection therewith;
(c) To refuse to receive or to fail to transmit a bona fide offer
to engage in a real estate transaction from a person;
(d) To refuse to negotiate for a real estate transaction with a
person;
(e) To represent to a person that real property is not available
for inspection, sale, rental, or lease when in fact it is so available,
or to fail to bring a property listing to his or her attention, or to
refuse to permit the person to inspect real property;
(f) To discriminate in the sale or rental, or to otherwise make
unavailable or deny a dwelling, to any person; or to a person residing
in or intending to reside in that dwelling after it is sold, rented, or
made available; or to any person associated with the person buying or
renting;
(g) To make, print, circulate, post, or mail, or cause to be so
made or published a statement, advertisement, or sign, or to use a form
of application for a real estate transaction, or to make a record or
inquiry in connection with a prospective real estate transaction, which
indicates, directly or indirectly, an intent to make a limitation,
specification, or discrimination with respect thereto;
(h) To offer, solicit, accept, use, or retain a listing of real
property with the understanding that a person may be discriminated
against in a real estate transaction or in the furnishing of facilities
or services in connection therewith;
(i) To expel a person from occupancy of real property;
(j) To discriminate in the course of negotiating, executing, or
financing a real estate transaction whether by mortgage, deed of trust,
contract, or other instrument imposing a lien or other security in real
property, or in negotiating or executing any item or service related
thereto including issuance of title insurance, mortgage insurance, loan
guarantee, or other aspect of the transaction. Nothing in this section
shall limit the effect of RCW 49.60.176 relating to unfair practices in
credit transactions; or
(k) To attempt to do any of the unfair practices defined in this
section.
(2) For the purposes of this chapter discrimination based on the
presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of
a trained dog guide or service animal by a person who is blind, deaf,
or physically disabled includes:
(a) A refusal to permit, at the expense of the person with a
disability, reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or
to be occupied by such person if such modifications may be necessary to
afford such person full enjoyment of the dwelling, except that, in the
case of a rental, the landlord may, where it is reasonable to do so,
condition permission for a modification on the renter agreeing to
restore the interior of the dwelling to the condition that existed
before the modification, reasonable wear and tear excepted;
(b) To refuse to make reasonable accommodation in rules, policies,
practices, or services when such accommodations may be necessary to
afford a person with the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical
disability and/or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by
a person who is blind, deaf, or physically disabled equal opportunity
to use and enjoy a dwelling; or
(c) To fail to design and construct covered multifamily dwellings
and premises in conformance with the federal fair housing amendments
act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 3601 et seq.) and all other applicable laws
or regulations pertaining to access by persons with any sensory,
mental, or physical disability or use of a trained dog guide or service
animal. Whenever the requirements of applicable laws or regulations
differ, the requirements which require greater accessibility for
persons with any sensory, mental, or physical disability shall govern.
Nothing in (a) or (b) of this subsection shall apply to: (i) A
single-family house rented or leased by the owner if the owner does not
own or have an interest in the proceeds of the rental or lease of more
than three such single-family houses at one time, the rental or lease
occurred without the use of a real estate broker or salesperson, as
defined in RCW ((18.85.010)) 18.85.011, and the rental or lease
occurred without the publication, posting, or mailing of any
advertisement, sign, or statement in violation of subsection (1)(g) of
this section; or (ii) rooms or units in dwellings containing living
quarters occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than four
families living independently of each other if the owner maintains and
occupies one of the rooms or units as his or her residence.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, it shall
not be an unfair practice or a denial of civil rights for any public or
private educational institution to separate the sexes or give
preference to or limit use of dormitories, residence halls, or other
student housing to persons of one sex or to make distinctions on the
basis of marital or families with children status.
(4) Except pursuant to subsection (2)(a) of this section, this
section shall not be construed to require structural changes,
modifications, or additions to make facilities accessible to a person
with a disability except as otherwise required by law. Nothing in this
section affects the rights, responsibilities, and remedies of landlords
and tenants pursuant to chapter 59.18 or 59.20 RCW, including the right
to post and enforce reasonable rules of conduct and safety for all
tenants and their guests, provided that chapters 59.18 and 59.20 RCW
are only affected to the extent they are inconsistent with the
nondiscrimination requirements of this chapter. Nothing in this
section limits the applicability of any reasonable federal, state, or
local restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted
to occupy a dwelling.
(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, it shall
not be an unfair practice for any public establishment providing for
accommodations offered for the full enjoyment of transient guests as
defined by RCW 9.91.010(1)(c) to make distinctions on the basis of
families with children status. Nothing in this section shall limit the
effect of RCW 49.60.215 relating to unfair practices in places of
public accommodation.
(6) Nothing in this chapter prohibiting discrimination based on
families with children status applies to housing for older persons as
defined by the federal fair housing amendments act of 1988, 42 U.S.C.
Sec. 3607(b)(1) through (3), as amended by the housing for older
persons act of 1995, P.L. 104-76, as enacted on December 28, 1995.
Nothing in this chapter authorizes requirements for housing for older
persons different than the requirements in the federal fair housing
amendments act of 1988, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 3607(b)(1) through (3), as
amended by the housing for older persons act of 1995, P.L. 104-76, as
enacted on December 28, 1995.
(7) Nothing in this chapter shall apply to real estate transactions
involving the sharing of a dwelling unit, or rental or sublease of a
portion of a dwelling unit, when the dwelling unit is to be occupied by
the owner or subleasor. For purposes of this section, "dwelling unit"
has the same meaning as in RCW 59.18.030.
Sec. 3 RCW 49.60.223 and 2007 c 187 s 14 are each amended to read
as follows:
It is an unfair practice for any person, for profit, to induce or
attempt to induce any person to sell or rent any real property by
representations regarding the entry or prospective entry into the
neighborhood of a person or persons of a particular race, creed, color,
sex, national origin, lawful source of income, sexual orientation,
families with children status, honorably discharged veteran or military
status, or with any sensory, mental, or physical disability and/or the
use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person who is blind,
deaf, or physically disabled.
Sec. 4 RCW 49.60.224 and 2007 c 187 s 15 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) Every provision in a written instrument relating to real
property which purports to forbid or restrict the conveyance,
encumbrance, occupancy, or lease thereof to individuals of a specified
race, creed, color, sex, national origin, lawful source of income,
sexual orientation, families with children status, honorably discharged
veteran or military status, or with any sensory, mental, or physical
disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a
person who is blind, deaf, or physically disabled, and every condition,
restriction, or prohibition, including a right of entry or possibility
of reverter, which directly or indirectly limits the use or occupancy
of real property on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, national
origin, lawful source of income, sexual orientation, families with
children status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or
the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use
of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person who is blind,
deaf, or physically disabled is void.
(2) It is an unfair practice to insert in a written instrument
relating to real property a provision that is void under this section
or to honor or attempt to honor such a provision in the chain of title.
Sec. 5 RCW 49.60.225 and 2007 c 187 s 16 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) When a reasonable cause determination has been made under RCW
49.60.240 that an unfair practice in a real estate transaction has been
committed and a finding has been made that the respondent has engaged
in any unfair practice under RCW 49.60.250, the administrative law
judge shall promptly issue an order for such relief suffered by the
aggrieved person as may be appropriate, which may include actual
damages as provided by the federal fair housing amendments act of 1988
(42 U.S.C. Sec. 3601 et seq.), and injunctive or other equitable
relief. Such order may, to further the public interest, assess a civil
penalty against the respondent:
(a) In an amount up to ten thousand dollars if the respondent has
not been determined to have committed any prior unfair practice in a
real estate transaction;
(b) In an amount up to twenty-five thousand dollars if the
respondent has been determined to have committed one other unfair
practice in a real estate transaction during the five-year period
ending on the date of the filing of this charge; or
(c) In an amount up to fifty thousand dollars if the respondent has
been determined to have committed two or more unfair practices in a
real estate transaction during the seven-year period ending on the date
of the filing of this charge, for loss of the right secured by RCW
49.60.010, 49.60.030, 49.60.040, and 49.60.222 through 49.60.224, as
now or hereafter amended, to be free from discrimination in real
property transactions because of sex, marital status, race, creed,
color, national origin, lawful source of income, sexual orientation,
families with children status, honorably discharged veteran or military
status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability
or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person who is
blind, deaf, or physically disabled. Enforcement of the order and
appeal therefrom by the complainant or respondent may be made as
provided in RCW 49.60.260 and 49.60.270. If acts constituting the
unfair practice in a real estate transaction that is the object of the
charge are determined to have been committed by the same natural person
who has been previously determined to have committed acts constituting
an unfair practice in a real estate transaction, then the civil penalty
of up to fifty thousand dollars may be imposed without regard to the
period of time within which any subsequent unfair practice in a real
estate transaction occurred. All civil penalties assessed under this
section shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the
general fund.
(2) Such order shall not affect any contract, sale, conveyance,
encumbrance, or lease consummated before the issuance of an order that
involves a bona fide purchaser, encumbrancer, or tenant who does not
have actual notice of the charge filed under this chapter.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, persons
awarded damages under this section may not receive additional damages
pursuant to RCW 49.60.250.
(4) Complainants alleging discrimination based on lawful source of
income in the rental of residential real property must first exhaust
administrative remedies provided for in chapter 49.60 RCW prior to
filing a private right of action.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 A new section is added to chapter 49.60 RCW
to read as follows:
The lawful source of income provisions of this chapter apply to
living arrangements subject to chapter 59.18 RCW, and do not include
exempted living arrangements as described in RCW 59.18.040, adult
family homes licensed under chapter 70.128 RCW, or boarding homes
licensed under chapter 18.20 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 A new section is added to chapter 49.60 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The director must collect and submit the following information
in a report to the appropriate committees of the senate and house of
representatives:
(a) The number of complaints filed that alleged lawful source of
income discrimination generally, including the number of complaints
that were based solely on lawful source of income and the number of
source of income complaints that had multiple bases for discrimination
in the rental of residential real property;
(b) The number of reasonable cause and no reasonable cause findings
based on lawful source of income;
(c) The number of cases closed with some benefit to the
complainant;
(d) The number of complaints filed where the complainant lives in
a jurisdiction with a similar source of income protection in the rental
of residential real property; and
(e) Any other information the director deems useful.
(2) The initial report shall be submitted by December 1, 2009, and
annually thereafter.
(3) The report due by December 1, 2011, shall include
recommendations to the legislature as to whether the human rights
commission recommends the lawful source of income protection should
continue beyond the proposed expiration date.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8 If any provision of this act or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
persons or circumstances is not affected.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9 A new section is added to chapter 49.60 RCW
to read as follows:
This act does not apply to a housing complex where at least twenty
percent of the tenants receive section 8 voucher subsidies, or to
housing complexes with ten or less units.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10 This act expires December 31, 2012."
SSB 5672 -
By Senator Kline
On page 1, line 2 of the title, after "income;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 49.60.222, 49.60.223, 49.60.224, and 49.60.225; reenacting and amending RCW 49.60.040; adding new sections to chapter 49.60 RCW; and providing an expiration date."
EFFECT: (1) Clarifies that the lawful source of income provisions
do not apply to adult family homes or boarding homes.
(2) Lawful source of income provisions do not apply to housing
complexes with ten or less units.
(3) The 2011 report from the Human Rights Commission shall include
a recommendation as to whether the lawful source of income provisions
should continue beyond the proposed 2012 expiration date.
(4) The expiration date is 2012, not 2011.