Amend the bill by striking out all of section 1 (page 1, lines 2 to 4 in L.D.) and inserting the following:

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:

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 20 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.)

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 18 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:

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:

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:

Amend the bill by striking out all of section 19 (page 11, lines 4 to 18 in L.D.) and inserting the following:

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:

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.

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 B and 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.