Bill Text: NY S03251 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the housing for an equitable reentry and opportunity (HERO) act to prohibit housing discrimination on the basis of criminal legal system involvement; defines criminal legal system involvement.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S03251 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S03251-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3251 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 30, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern- ment Operations AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting housing discrimination based on criminal legal system involvement The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "housing 2 for an equitable reentry and opportunity (HERO) act". 3 § 2. Section 292 of the executive law is amended by adding a new 4 subdivision 42 to read as follows: 5 42. The term "criminal legal system involvement" shall mean informa- 6 tion regarding an individual's conviction, arrest, charge, or citation 7 for an offense, participation in a diversion or deferral of judgment 8 program, record of an offense that has been sealed, expunged, vacated, 9 or pardoned, a youthful offender adjudication, or a juvenile delinquency 10 determination. 11 § 3. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (c-1) of subdivision 2-a of section 12 296 of the executive law, as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 13 of the laws of 2022, are amended to read as follows: 14 (a) To refuse to sell, rent or lease or otherwise to deny to or with- 15 hold from any person or group of persons such housing accommodations 16 because of the race, creed, color, disability, national origin, citizen- 17 ship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or 18 expression, military status, age, sex, marital status, status as a 19 victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal 20 system involvement or familial status of such person or persons, or to 21 represent that any housing accommodation or land is not available for 22 inspection, sale, rental or lease when in fact it is so available. 23 (b) To discriminate against any person because of his or her race, 24 creed, color, disability, national origin, citizenship or immigration EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02250-02-3S. 3251 2 1 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military 2 status, age, sex, marital status, status as a victim of domestic 3 violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal system involvement or 4 familial status in the terms, conditions or privileges of any publicly- 5 assisted housing accommodations or in the furnishing of facilities or 6 services in connection therewith. 7 (c) To cause to be made any written or oral inquiry or record concern- 8 ing the race, creed, color, disability, national origin, citizenship or 9 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 10 membership in the reserve armed forces of the United States or in the 11 organized militia of the state, age, sex, marital status, status as a 12 victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal 13 system involvement or familial status of a person seeking to rent or 14 lease any publicly-assisted housing accommodation; provided, however, 15 that nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit a member of the reserve 16 armed forces of the United States or in the organized militia of the 17 state from voluntarily disclosing such membership. 18 (c-1) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any 19 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica- 20 tion for the purchase, rental or lease of such housing accommodation or 21 to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective 22 purchase, rental or lease of such a housing accommodation which 23 expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or 24 discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 25 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 26 military status, sex, age, disability, marital status, status as a 27 victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal 28 system involvement or familial status, or any intent to make any such 29 limitation, specification or discrimination. 30 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 296 of the executive 31 law, as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 of the laws of 2022, 32 is amended to read as follows: 33 (a) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for the owner, 34 lessee, sub-lessee, assignee, or managing agent of, or other person 35 having the right to sell, rent or lease a housing accommodation, 36 constructed or to be constructed, or any agent or employee thereof: 37 (1) To refuse to sell, rent, lease or otherwise to deny to or withhold 38 from any person or group of persons such a housing accommodation because 39 of the race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration 40 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military 41 status, sex, age, disability, marital status, status as a victim of 42 domestic violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal system 43 involvement or familial status of such person or persons, or to repre- 44 sent that any housing accommodation or land is not available for 45 inspection, sale, rental or lease when in fact it is so available. 46 (2) To discriminate against any person because of race, creed, color, 47 national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, 48 gender identity or expression, military status, sex, age, disability, 49 marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence, lawful source 50 of income, criminal legal system involvement or familial status in the 51 terms, conditions or privileges of the sale, rental or lease of any such 52 housing accommodation or in the furnishing of facilities or services in 53 connection therewith. 54 (3) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any 55 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica- 56 tion for the purchase, rental or lease of such housing accommodation orS. 3251 3 1 to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective 2 purchase, rental or lease of such a housing accommodation which 3 expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or 4 discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 5 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 6 military status, sex, age, disability, marital status, status as a 7 victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal 8 system involvement or familial status, or any intent to make any such 9 limitation, specification or discrimination. 10 (4) (i) The provisions of subparagraphs one and two of this paragraph 11 shall not apply (1) to the rental of a housing accommodation in a build- 12 ing which contains housing accommodations for not more than two families 13 living independently of each other, if the owner resides in one of such 14 housing accommodations, (2) to the restriction of the rental of all 15 rooms in a housing accommodation to individuals of the same sex or (3) 16 to the rental of a room or rooms in a housing accommodation, if such 17 rental is by the occupant of the housing accommodation or by the owner 18 of the housing accommodation and the owner resides in such housing 19 accommodation or (4) solely with respect to age and familial status to 20 the restriction of the sale, rental or lease of housing accommodations 21 exclusively to persons sixty-two years of age or older and the spouse of 22 any such person, or for housing intended and operated for occupancy by 23 at least one person fifty-five years of age or older per unit. In deter- 24 mining whether housing is intended and operated for occupancy by persons 25 fifty-five years of age or older, Sec. 807(b) (2) (c) (42 U.S.C. 3607 26 (b) (2) (c)) of the federal Fair Housing Act of 1988, as amended, shall 27 apply. However, such rental property shall no longer be exempt from the 28 provisions of subparagraphs one and two of this paragraph if there is 29 unlawful discriminatory conduct pursuant to subparagraph three of this 30 paragraph. 31 (ii) The provisions of subparagraphs one, two, and three of this para- 32 graph shall not apply (1) to the restriction of the rental of all rooms 33 in a housing accommodation to individuals of the same sex, (2) to the 34 rental of a room or rooms in a housing accommodation, if such rental is 35 by the occupant of the housing accommodation or by the owner of the 36 housing accommodation and the owner resides in such housing accommo- 37 dation, or (3) solely with respect to age and familial status to the 38 restriction of the sale, rental or lease of housing accommodations 39 exclusively to persons sixty-two years of age or older and the spouse of 40 any such person, or for housing intended and operated for occupancy by 41 at least one person fifty-five years of age or older per unit. In deter- 42 mining whether housing is intended and operated for occupancy by persons 43 fifty-five years of age or older, Sec. 807(b) (2) (c) (42 U.S.C. 3607 44 (b) (2) (c)) of the federal Fair Housing Act of 1988, as amended, shall 45 apply. 46 § 5. Severability. If any provision of this act, or any application of 47 any provision of this act, is held to be invalid, that shall not affect 48 the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of this act, or of 49 any other application of any provision of this act, which can be given 50 effect without that provision or application; and to that end, the 51 provisions and applications of this act are severable. 52 § 6. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 53 it shall have become a law.
