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SENATE BILL NO. 149
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
BY SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON
Introduced: 1/18/22
Referred: State Affairs, Judiciary
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
1 "An Act adding to the powers and duties of the State Commission for Human Rights;
2 and relating to and prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender
3 identity or expression."
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
5 * Section 1. AS 18.80.060(a) is amended to read:
6 (a) In addition to the other powers and duties prescribed by this chapter, the
7 commission shall
8 (1) appoint an executive director approved by the governor;
9 (2) hire other administrative staff as may be necessary to the
10 commission's function;
11 (3) exercise general supervision and direct the activities of the
12 executive director and other administrative staff;
13 (4) accept complaints under AS 18.80.100;
14 (5) study the problems of discrimination in all or specific fields of
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1 human relationships, foster through community effort or goodwill, cooperation and
2 conciliation among the groups and elements of the population of the state, and publish
3 results of investigations and research as in its judgment will tend to eliminate
4 discrimination because of race, religion, color, national ancestry, physical or mental
5 disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status,
6 changes in marital status, pregnancy, or parenthood;
7 (6) make an overall assessment, at least once every three years, of the
8 progress made toward equal employment opportunity by every department of state
9 government; results of the assessment shall be included in the annual report made
10 under AS 18.80.150.
11 * Sec. 2. AS 18.80.200(a) is amended to read:
12 (a) It is determined and declared as a matter of legislative finding that
13 discrimination against an inhabitant of the state because of race, religion, color,
14 national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical
15 or mental disability, marital status, changes in marital status, pregnancy, or parenthood
16 is a matter of public concern and that this discrimination not only threatens the rights
17 and privileges of the inhabitants of the state but also menaces the institutions of the
18 state and threatens peace, order, health, safety, and general welfare of the state and its
19 inhabitants.
20 * Sec. 3. AS 18.80.200(b) is amended to read:
21 (b) Therefore, it is the policy of the state and the purpose of this chapter to
22 eliminate and prevent discrimination in employment, in credit and financing practices,
23 in places of public accommodation, in the sale, lease, or rental of real property because
24 of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or
25 expression, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, changes in marital status,
26 pregnancy or parenthood. It is also the policy of the state to encourage and enable
27 physically and mentally disabled persons to participate fully in the social and
28 economic life of the state and to engage in remunerative employment. It is not the
29 purpose of this chapter to supersede laws pertaining to child labor, the age of majority,
30 or other age restrictions or requirements.
31 * Sec. 4. AS 18.80.210 is amended to read:
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1 Sec. 18.80.210. Civil rights. The opportunity to obtain employment, credit and
2 financing, public accommodations, housing accommodations, and other property
3 without discrimination because of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or
4 expression, physical or mental disability, marital status, changes in marital status,
5 pregnancy, parenthood, race, religion, color, or national origin is a civil right.
6 * Sec. 5. AS 18.80.220(a) is amended to read:
7 (a) Except as provided in (c) of this section, it is unlawful for
8 (1) an employer to refuse employment to a person, or to bar a person
9 from employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in a term,
10 condition, or privilege of employment because of the person's race, religion, color, or
11 national origin, or because of the person's age, physical or mental disability, sex,
12 sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, changes in marital
13 status, pregnancy, or parenthood when the reasonable demands of the position do not
14 require distinction on the basis of age, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual
15 orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, changes in marital status,
16 pregnancy, or parenthood;
17 (2) a labor organization, because of a person's sex, sexual orientation,
18 gender identity or expression, marital status, changes in marital status, pregnancy,
19 parenthood, age, race, religion, physical or mental disability, color, or national origin,
20 to exclude or to expel a person from its membership, or to discriminate in any way
21 against one of its members or an employer or an employee;
22 (3) an employer or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to
23 be printed or circulated a statement, advertisement, or publication, or to use a form of
24 application for employment or to make an inquiry in connection with prospective
25 employment, that expresses, directly or indirectly, a limitation, specification, or
26 discrimination as to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical
27 or mental disability, marital status, changes in marital status, pregnancy, parenthood,
28 age, race, creed, color, or national origin, or an intent to make the limitation, unless
29 based on [UPON] a bona fide occupational qualification;
30 (4) an employer, labor organization, or employment agency to
31 discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against a person because the person has
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1 opposed any practices forbidden under AS 18.80.200 - 18.80.280 or because the
2 person has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in a proceeding under this chapter;
3 (5) an employer to discriminate in the payment of wages as between
4 the sexes, or to employ a female in an occupation in this state at a salary or wage rate
5 less than that paid to a male employee for work of comparable character or work in the
6 same operation, business, or type of work in the same locality; or
7 (6) a person to print, publish, broadcast, or otherwise circulate a
8 statement, inquiry, or advertisement in connection with prospective employment that
9 expresses directly a limitation, specification, or discrimination as to sex, sexual
10 orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, marital
11 status, changes in marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, age, race, religion, color, or
12 national origin, unless based on [UPON] a bona fide occupational qualification.
13 * Sec. 6. AS 18.80.230(a) is amended to read:
14 (a) It is unlawful for the owner, lessee, manager, agent, or employee of a
15 public accommodation
16 (1) to refuse, withhold from, or deny to a person any of its services,
17 goods, facilities, advantages, or privileges because of sex, sexual orientation, gender
18 identity or expression, physical or mental disability, marital status, changes in marital
19 status, pregnancy, parenthood, race, religion, color, or national origin;
20 (2) to publish, circulate, issue, display, post, or mail a written or
21 printed communication, notice, or advertisement that states or implies
22 (A) that any of the services, goods, facilities, advantages, or
23 privileges of the public accommodation will be refused, withheld from, or
24 denied to a person of a certain race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender
25 identity or expression, physical or mental disability, marital status, color, or
26 national origin or because of pregnancy, parenthood, or a change in marital
27 status, or
28 (B) that the patronage of a person belonging to a particular
29 race, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital
30 status, color, or national origin or who, because of pregnancy, parenthood,
31 physical or mental disability, or a change in marital status, is unwelcome, not
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1 desired, or solicited.
2 * Sec. 7. AS 18.80.240 is amended to read:
3 Sec. 18.80.240. Unlawful practices in the sale or rental of real property. It
4 is unlawful for the owner, lessee, manager, or other person having the right to sell,
5 lease, or rent real property
6 (1) to refuse to sell, lease, or rent the real property to a person because
7 of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, changes in
8 marital status, pregnancy, race, religion, physical or mental disability, color, or
9 national origin; however, nothing in this paragraph prohibits the sale, lease, or rental
10 of classes of real property commonly known as housing for "singles" or "married
11 couples" only;
12 (2) to discriminate against a person because of sex, sexual orientation,
13 gender identity or expression, marital status, changes in marital status, pregnancy,
14 race, religion, physical or mental disability, color, or national origin in a term,
15 condition, or privilege relating to the use, sale, lease, or rental of real property;
16 however, nothing in this paragraph prohibits the sale, lease, or rental of classes of real
17 property commonly known as housing for "singles" or "married couples" only;
18 (3) to make a written or oral inquiry or record of the sex, sexual
19 orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, changes in marital status,
20 race, religion, physical or mental disability, color, or national origin of a person
21 seeking to buy, lease, or rent real property;
22 (4) to offer, solicit, accept, use, or retain a listing of real property with
23 the understanding that a person may be discriminated against in a real estate
24 transaction or in the furnishing of facilities or sources in connection therewith because
25 of a person's sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status,
26 changes in marital status, pregnancy, race, religion, physical or mental disability,
27 color, national origin, or age;
28 (5) to represent to a person that real property is not available for
29 inspection, sale, rental, or lease when in fact it is so available, or to refuse to allow a
30 person to inspect real property because of the race, religion, physical or mental
31 disability, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or
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1 expression, marital status, change in marital status, or pregnancy of that person or of
2 any person associated with that person;
3 (6) to engage in blockbusting;
4 (7) to make, print, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, or
5 published, any notice, statement, or advertisement with respect to the sale or rental of
6 real property that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race,
7 color, religion, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity
8 or expression, or national origin, or an intention to make the preference, limitation, or
9 discrimination.
10 * Sec. 8. AS 18.80.250(a) is amended to read:
11 (a) It is unlawful for a financial institution or other commercial institution
12 extending secured or unsecured credit, upon receiving an application for financial
13 assistance or credit for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair, or
14 maintenance of a housing accommodation or other property or services, or the
15 acquisition or improvement of unimproved property, or upon receiving an application
16 for any sort of loan of money, to permit one of its officials or employees during the
17 execution of the official's or the employee's duties
18 (1) to discriminate against the applicant because of sex, sexual
19 orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, marital
20 status, changes in marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, race, religion, color, or
21 national origin in a term, condition, or privilege relating to the obtainment or use of
22 the institution's financial assistance or credit, except to the extent of a federal statute or
23 regulation applicable to a transaction of the same character;
24 (2) to make or cause to be made a written or oral inquiry or record of
25 the sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental
26 disability, marital status, changes in marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, race,
27 religion, color, or national origin of a person seeking the institution's financial
28 assistance or credit, unless the inquiry is for the purpose of ascertaining the creditor's
29 rights and remedies applicable to the particular extension of credit and is not made or
30 used in order to discriminate in a determination of creditworthiness;
31 (3) to refuse to extend credit, issue a credit card, or make a loan to a
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1 married person or a person with a physical or mental disability, who is otherwise
2 creditworthy, if so requested by the person;
3 (4) to refuse to issue a credit card to a married person in that person's
4 name, if so requested by the person, provided, however, that the person so requesting a
5 card may be required to open an account in that name.
6 * Sec. 9. AS 18.80.255 is amended to read:
7 Sec. 18.80.255. Unlawful practices by the state or its political subdivisions.
8 It is unlawful for the state or any of its political subdivisions
9 (1) to refuse, withhold from, or deny to a person any local, state, or
10 federal funds, services, goods, facilities, advantages, or privileges because of race,
11 religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, color, or national
12 origin;
13 (2) to publish, circulate, issue, display, post, or mail a written or
14 printed communication, notice, or advertisement that states or implies that any local,
15 state, or federal funds, services, goods, facilities, advantages, or privileges of the
16 office or agency will be refused, withheld from, or denied to a physically or mentally
17 disabled person or a person of a certain race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender
18 identity or expression, color, or national origin or that the patronage of a physically
19 or mentally disabled person or a person