HB 238 - LANDLORD REJECTION OF OCCUPANT/SUBLEASE  1:34:50 PM CHAIR RAMRAS announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 238, "An Act removing the number of persons under 18 years of age in the household as a reasonable ground for a landlord to reject a proposed sublease or assignment." 1:35:11 PM REPRESENTATIVE CHARISSE MILLETT, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor, explained that HB 238 would allow Alaska to comply with the federal [Fair Housing Act] by deleting the provision in AS 34.03.060(d) that allows a landlord to refuse to consent to a sublease or assignment based on the number of persons under the age of 18 who are in the household. She referred to such refusal as discriminatory, and noted that compliance with federal law would allow Alaska to receive additional federal funding for which it currently doesn't qualify. In response to a question, she relayed that previously-adopted legislation made a similar change to the statute pertaining to leases, and explained that HB 238 is merely proposing the same sort of conforming change to the statute pertaining to subleases/assignments. CHAIR RAMRAS, relaying that he is concerned that a young tenant could have several people under the age of 18 move in with him/her, questioned whether the term, "household" is defined in statute. REPRESENTATIVE MILLETT said she's not sure, but posited that the bill wouldn't preclude a landlord from rejecting a potential renter based on the age of those whom the renter would have move in with him/her. 1:38:39 PM MARK ROMICK, Director, Planning and Program Development, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC), Department of Revenue (DOR), said that although there isn't a specific definition of the term, "household" under the federal Fair Housing Act, that term essentially includes anybody that's residing in the unit that's covered by the lease. Therefore, people who are living together in an apartment but who aren't immediate family members could constitute a household as long as everyone is covered under the lease. In response to questions, he explained that neither Alaska's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act nor the federal Fair Housing Act make a distinction with regard to time of residency or student status. Instead, the question becomes whether a person is legally able to enter into a lease agreement and whether a person is legally allowed to live in a particular unit, and those issues are among those left up to the landlord to address when considering whether to lease/rent a unit to a particular person. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG observed that a letter in members' packets from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) dated July 18, 2007, in part addresses the provision that would be repealed by the adoption of HB 238: "Such provision may be deemed contrary to federal regulations and laws, as note more specifically under the Fair Housing Act as amended." He questioned under what [legal] authority that statement was made, and how the term, "familial status discrimination" - as used elsewhere in that same letter - is defined. [Chair Ramras turned the gavel over to Vice Chair Dahlstrom.] MR. ROMICK indicated that the [legal] authority behind that statement could be found in the federal Fair Housing Act as amended, under 42 U.S.C. 3601, and that [42 U.S.C. 3602(k)] says [original punctuation provided]: (k) "Familial status" means one or more individuals (who have not attained the age of 18 years) being domiciled with- (1) a parent or another person having legal custody of such individual or individuals; or (2) the designee of such parent or other person having such custody, with the written permission of such parent or other person. The protections afforded against discrimination on the basis of familial status shall apply 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 18 years. [Vice Chair Dahlstrom returned the gavel to Chair Ramras.] REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG observed that that federal definition specifically references age, and surmised that a landlord could still stipulate how the children in a household are to behave. MR. ROMICK concurred, adding - in response to comments - that in order to comply with the federal Fair Housing Act, Alaska's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act cannot contain any reference to age. CHAIR RAMRAS, after ascertaining that no one else wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 238. 1:46:57 PM REPRESENTATIVE DAHLSTROM moved to report HB 238 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, HB 238 was reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.