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Senate advances Utah Fair Housing bill after debate on disability definition and HUD compliance
Summary
Senate passed House Bill 7 to establish a Utah Fair Housing statute aligning with federal law; senators debated disability definitions (including how AIDS is treated), the scope of private causes of action, HUD compliance, and the bill’s fiscal note (about $30,000).
Salt Lake City — The Utah Senate on Feb. 24, 1992, advanced House Bill 7, a measure to establish a state-level fair housing statute to mirror the federal Fair Housing Act and allow complaints to be initiated in Utah instead of the regional office.
Senator Shepherd, the bill sponsor, explained the bill would bring Utah into compliance with federal standards, permit local handling of complaints, and secure $750 per case from the federal government for complaint handling. "This would bring Utah's housing law into compliance with the federal act," Shepherd said, adding the bill outlines procedures for individuals who feel they were discriminated against.
Senators pressed the sponsor on the definition of "disability" and whether the bill's language might inadvertently create broader legal implications in other areas of law. Senator Hillard asked whether the bill currently excludes AIDS from the definition of disability, reflecting prior amendments. Senator Shepherd and the sponsor said the language follows the federal statute and that proposed handout amendments were intended to clarify remedies and to limit private causes of action to those remedies provided in the chapter, a change intended to satisfy HUD and to prevent implied broader causes of action.
Senators also discussed the fiscal note (sponsor said the cost would be about $30,000), concerns about private causes of action, and procedural amendments to secure HUD recognition so complaints could be initiated in Utah. After amendment and debate, the Senate reported the bill passed and placed it on the third-reading calendar.
Next steps: The bill was amended on the floor to clarify remedies and compliance language and will proceed through third reading and final passage procedures.
