An Act To
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1530
Committee Amendment CA_A_S465 (Senate)
Amends: 5 MRSA §4553, 5 MRSA §4594-A

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 487, L.D. 1530, Bill, "An Act To 
Amend the Housing Provisions ofthe Maine Human Rights Act" 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 1 (page 1, lines 2 to 4 in L.D.) and 
inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §4553, sub·§l-D is enacted to read: 
I-D. Aggrieved person. "Aggrieved person" includes any person who claims to 
have been subject to unlawful discrimination. "Aggrieved person" also includes any 
person who claims to have been injured by unlawful housing discrimination.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 8 and 9 (page 2, lines 3 to 8 in L.D.) and 
inserting the following: 
'Sec. 8. 5 MRSA §4553, sub-§§9-F and 9-G are enacted to read: 
9-F. Rent. "Rent" includes to lease, to sublease, to let or otherwise to grant for a 
consideration the right to occupy premises not owned by the occupant. 
9-G. 
Respondent. 
"Respondent" means a person accused of unlawful 
discrimination in a complaint filed under section 4611 or a civil action filed under section 
4621.' 
Amend the bill in section 12 in §4581-A in subsection 3 in paragraph B in the last 
line (page 5, line 16 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "status;" and inserting the 
following: 'status; or' 
Amend the bill in section 12 in §4581-A in subsection 4 in the last line (page 5, line 
in L.D.) by striking out the following: "recipient;" and inserting the following: 
'recipient.' 
Amend the bill in section 12 in §4581-A by striking out all of subsections 5 and 6 
(page 5, lines 21 to 43 and page 6, lines 1 to 19 in L.D.) 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 15 (page 7, lines 10 to 38 and page 8, 
lines 1 to 17 in L.D.) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 487, L.D. 1530 
Amend the bill in section 16 in §4582-C in the 2nd line (page 8, line 20 in L.D.) by 
striking out the following: "March 15, 2012" and inserting the following: 'September 1, 
2012' 
Amend the bill in section 16 in §4582-C in subsection 1 in paragraph A by striking 
out all of the last sentence (page 8, lines 27 to 29 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
"'Alteration" does not include normal maintenance, decoration and upgrades, including, 
but not limited to, reroofing, re-siding, painting or wallpapering, replacement of doors or 
windows, asbestos removal and changes to mechanical and electrical systems unless they 
affect the usability of the facility.' 
Amend the bill in section 16 in §4582-C in subsection 1 in paragraph G in the 2nd 
line (page 9, line 7 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "for accessible and usable 
facilities" 
Amend the bill in section 16 in §4582-C in subsection 2 in the next to the last line 
(page 9, line 17 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "March 15,2012" and inserting the 
following: 'September 1, 2012' 
Amend the bill in section 16 in §4582-C in subsection 2 in the last line (page 9, line 
in L.D.) by striking out the following: "March 15,2012" and inserting the following: 
'September 1, 2012' 
Amend the bill in section 16 in §4582-C in subsection 3 by striking out all of the first 
paragraph (page 9, lines 19 to 21 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'3. Unlawful housing discrimination. For purposes of this Act, unlawful housing 
discrimination, in addition to any violations of applicable accessible building 
requirements in subchapter 5, includes, but is not limited to:' 
Amend the bill in section 16 in §4582-C in subsection 5 by striking out all of the first 
paragraph (page 10, lines 11 to 14 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'5.· Statement; inspection. The builder of a facility to which this section applies 
shall obtain a statement from a design professional that, based on professional judgment, 
the plans of the facility at the time of the statement meet the standards of construction 
required by this section. Prior to commencing construction of the facility, the builder 
shall submit the statement to:' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 18 (page 10, lines 37 and 38 and page 11, 
lines 1 to 3 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 18. 5 MRSA §4594-A, sub-§2, ,A, as amended by PL 2011, c. 322, §3, is 
further amended to read: 
A. Facilities subject to this section constructed on or after January 1, 1984 but before 
January 1, 1988 must meet the requirements of the 1981 standards of construction 
adopted pursuant to Title 25, fOlmer chapter 331.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 19 (page 11, lines 4 to 18 in L.D.) and 
inserting the following: 
'Sec. 19. 5 MRSA §4594-A, sub-§2, ,B, as amended by PL 2011, c. 322, §3, is 
further amended to read: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 487, L.D. 1530 
B. 
Plans to reconstruct, remodel or enlarge an eXlstmg place of public 
accommodation, when the estimated total cost exceeds $150,000, are subject to this 
section when the proposed reconstruction, remodeling or enlargement will 
substantially affect that portion of the building normally accessible to the public. 
Facilities subject to this section that are remodeled, enlarged or renovated on or after 
January 1, 1984 but before January 1, 1988 must meet the requirements of the 
following 4 pal1s of the 1981 standards of construction adopted pursuant to Title 25, 
former chapter 331: 
(1) 4.3 accessible route; 
(2) 4.13 doors; 
(3) 4.17 toilet stalls; 
(4) 4.29.3 tactile warnings on doors to hazardous areas; and 
(5) 
Parking spaces for use by persons with physical disability in adequate 
number, pursuant to section 4593, subsection 1, paragraph E.' 
Amend the bill in section 23 in paragraph B in subparagraph (9) in the last line (page 
14, line 20 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: "Act" the following: '. Punitive 
damages under this subparagraph may not be included in a judgment or award against a 
governmental entity, as defined in Title 14, section 8102, subsection 2, or against an 
employee of a governmental entity based on a claim that arises out of an act or omission 
occurring within the course or scope of that employee's employment' 
Amend the bill in section 29 in paragraph E in the 2nd line (page 15, line 30 in L.D.) 
by striking out the following: "4594-F," and inserting the following: '4594-F;' 
Amend the bill by adding after section 30 the following: 
'Sec. 31. Effective date. This Act takes effect September 1, 2012.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment is the majority report of the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary. 
This amendment revises the definition of "aggrieved person" to apply to persons 
aggrieved by unlawful housing discrimination differently than it applies to persons 
aggrieved by other kinds of discrimination under the Maine Human Rights Act. The bill's 
definition of "aggrieved person" includes any person who claims to have been subjected 
to unlawful discrimination; this covers unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, 
public accommodations, credit and education. The amendment alters the definition of 
"aggrieved person" with regard to unlawful housing discrimination to be consistent with 
federal law: "aggrieved person" includes any person who claims to have been injured by 
unlawful housing discrimination, which covers persons who may not have been 
personally subject to unlawful housing discrimination, but who have nonetheless been 
injured by it. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 487, L.D. 1530 
This amendment adds an effective date of September 1,2012. The bill was proposed 
in anticipation of the new building accessibility standards to apply beginning March 15, 
2012. 
By establishing September 1, 2012 as the effective date, this amendment 
eliminates the need for language to provide for the transition from older building 
accessibility standards. 
Thus, the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 4581-A, 
subsections 5 and 6, as proposed in the bill, as well as the bill's amendments to Title 5, 
section 4582-B, are eliminated. All remaining references to March 15,2012 are changed 
to September 1, 2012. 
This amendment revises the definition of "alteration" to provide guidance as to what 
forms of normal maintenance, decorating and upgrades do not fall under the updated 
standards. As long as the altering activities do not affect the usability of the facility, the 
cost of reroofing, re-siding, painting or wallpapering, replacement of doors or windows, 
asbestos removal or changes to mechanical and electrical systems, as well as other normal 
maintenance, is not counted toward the 75% threshold of the replacement cost of the 
completed facility for purposes of the definition of "new construction" under Title 5, 
section 4582-C, subsection 1, paragraph E, and the activities do not trigger the 
accessibility requirements for alterations under Title 5, section 4582-C, subsection 3, 
paragraph C. 
This amendment revises the definition of "standards of construction" to ensure that 
the appropriate standard is applied to multifamily dwellings and public housing. 
In 
general, for multifamily dwellings, Title 5, section 4582-C, subsection 3, paragraph A is 
intended to require the same level of accessibility as is required by the federal Fair 
Housing Act, as amended. 
Under the current 2009 version of American National 
Standards Institute's ANSI A 117.1, for example, the requirements in Title 5, section 
4582-C, subsection 3, paragraph A, subparagraphs (2) and (3) of the bill for dwelling 
units and sleeping units would be satisfied by complying with the criteria for 
A 117.1-2009 section 1004, Type B Units. For public housing, the 10% requirements in 
Title 5, section 4582-C, subsection 3, paragraphs Band C of the bill would be satisfied by 
complying with the criteria for A 117.1-2009 sections 1002, Accessible Units, or 1003, 
Type A Units. 
This amendment provides that a design professional's statement that the plans of the 
facility meet the required standards of construction is based on professional judgment and 
that the statement is based on the plans as they exist at the time the statement is made. 
This amendment amends the bill to consistently use the term "unlawful housing 
discrimination. " 
This amendment changes the bill to make the language in Title 5, section 4594-A, 
subsection 2, paragraphs A and B consistent with the changes made by Public Law 2011, 
chapter 322, section 3. 
This amendment provides that, although the bill authorizes punitive damages for 
unlawful housing discrimination to be consistent with federal law, punitive damages are 
not available against a governmental entity or against an employee of a governmental 
entity based on a claim that arises out of an act or omission occurring within the course or 
scope of the employee's employment. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT