| 1 | 1 | | 1 of 1 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 496 FILED ON: 1/16/2023 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 859 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | Julian Cyr |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | An Act promoting fair housing by preventing discrimination against affordable housing. |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Julian CyrCape and IslandsSal N. DiDomenicoMiddlesex and Suffolk2/7/2023 1 of 3 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 496 FILED ON: 1/16/2023 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 859 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | By Mr. Cyr, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 859) of Julian Cyr and Sal N. |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | DiDomenico for legislation to promote fair housing by preventing discrimination against |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | affordable housing. Housing. |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | An Act promoting fair housing by preventing discrimination against affordable housing. |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | 1 Section 4 of chapter 151B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | 2adding the following new paragraph:- |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 3 20. For a local or state administrative, legislative or regulatory body or instrumentality to |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 4engage in a discriminatory land use practice. For the purposes of this paragraph, a |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 5“discriminatory land use practice” shall mean: (i) enacting or enforcing any land use regulation, |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 6policy or ordinance; (ii) making a permitting or funding decision with respect to housing or |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 7proposed housing; or (iii) taking any other action the purpose or effect of which would limit or |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 8exclude: (a) housing accommodations for families or individuals with incomes at or below 80 per |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 9cent of the area median income as defined by the United States Department of Housing and |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 10Urban Development; (b) housing accommodations with sufficient bedrooms for families with |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 11children including those with more than two bedrooms; or (c) families or individuals based on |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 12race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, which shall 2 of 3 |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 13not include persons whose sexual orientation involves minor children as the sex object, age, |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 14genetic information, ancestry, marital status, veteran status or membership in the armed forces, |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 15familial status, disability condition, blindness, hearing impairment or because a person possesses |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 16a trained dog guide as a consequence of blindness, hearing impairment or other handicap. |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 17 It shall not be a violation of this chapter if a local or state government entity whose action |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 18or inaction has an unintended discriminatory effect proves that the action or inaction was |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 19motivated and justified by a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory, bona fide governmental |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 20interest and that the government entity is unable to prove that those interests cannot be served by |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 21any other policy or practice that has a less discriminatory effect; or (ii) demonstrates that it has |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 22consistently supported housing described in (iii) above and that the entity’s action or inaction |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 23was motivated and justified by a substantial, legitimate nondiscriminatory bona fide |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 24governmental interest. |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | 25 Any person or class of persons claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of this Section |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | 26may institute and prosecute a civil action in the District, Superior, Housing, Probate or Land |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | 27Court Department for injunctive and other appropriate equitable relief including an award of |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | 28actual damages, including, where the violation includes intentional discrimination, an award of |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | 29punitive damages. This civil action must be filed not later than three years after a violation of this |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | 30section. Any aggrieved person who prevails in an action authorized by this Section shall be |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | 31entitled to an award of the costs of the litigation including expert witness fees, reasonable |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | 32attorneys' fees in an amount to be fixed by the court, and prejudgment and post judgment |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | 33interest. The attorney general may, in like manner, also commence a civil action to seek relief for |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | 34a violation of this Section. Nothing in this Section is intended to require a person seeking to |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | 35enforce the protections afforded herein to exhaust any administrative remedies applicable to 3 of 3 |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | 36discrimination claims under this Section or other laws, or to prevent or limit a person from filing |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | 37a complaint at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. |
|---|