Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4022 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Dukes H.B. No. 4022
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	rela
7	7	ting to the prohibition of housing discrimination and to the
8	8	enforcement of that prohibition; creating an offense.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 301.003, Property Code, is amended by
11	11	amending Subdivisions (1) and (6) and adding Subdivisions (1-a),
12	12	(9-a), (9-b), and (10-a) to read as follows:
13	13	(1) "Aggrieved person" includes any person who:
14	14	(A) claims to have been injured by a
15	15	discriminatory housing practice; or
16	16	(B) believes that the person will be injured by a
17	17	discriminatory housing practice that is about to occur.
18	18	(6) "Disability" means a mental or physical impairment
19	19	that substantially limits at least one major life activity, a
20	20	record of the impairment, or being regarded as having the
21	21	impairment. The term does not include current illegal use or
22	22	addiction to any drug or illegal or federally controlled substance
23	23	[and does not apply to an individual because of an individual's
24	24	sexual orientation or because that individual is a transvestite].
25	25	(9-a) "Military status" means a person who is serving
26	26	or has served in the uniformed services, as defined by 20 C.F.R.
27	27	Section 1002.5, and who, if discharged, was discharged or released
28	28	under conditions other than dishonorable.
29	29	(10-a) "Sexual orientation" means the actual or
30	30	perceived status of a person with respect to the person's
31	31	sexuality.
32	32	SECTION 2. Section 301.021, Property Code, is amended by
33	33	amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
34	34	read as follows:
35	35	(a) A person may not refuse to sell or rent, after the making
36	36	of a bona fide offer, refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of,
37	37	or in any other manner make unavailable or deny a dwelling to
38	38	another because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status,
39	39	[or] national origin, military status, or sexual orientation.
40	40	(b) A person may not discriminate against another in the
41	41	terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling or
42	42	in providing services or facilities in connection with a sale or
43	43	rental of a dwelling because of race, color, religion, sex,
44	44	familial status, [or] national origin, military status, or sexual
45	45	orientation.
46	46	SECTION 3. Section 301.022, Property Code, is amended to
47	47	read as follows:
48	48	Sec. 301.022. PUBLICATION. A person may not make, print, or
49	49	publish or effect the making, printing, or publishing of a notice,
50	50	statement, or advertisement that is about the sale or rental of a
51	51	dwelling and that indicates any preference, limitation, or
52	52	discrimination or the intention to make a preference, limitation,
53	53	or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex,
54	54	disability, familial status, [or] national origin, military
55	55	status, or sexual orientation.
56	56	SECTION 4. Section 301.023, Property Code, is amended to
57	57	read as follows:
58	58	Sec. 301.023. INSPECTION. A person may not represent to
59	59	another because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial
60	60	status, [or] national origin, military status, or sexual
61	61	orientation that a dwelling is not available for inspection for
62	62	sale or rental when the dwelling is available for inspection.
63	63	SECTION 5. Section 301.024, Property Code, is amended to
64	64	read as follows:
65	65	Sec. 301.024. ENTRY INTO NEIGHBORHOOD. A person may not,
66	66	for profit, induce or attempt to induce another to sell or rent a
67	67	dwelling by representations regarding the entry or prospective
68	68	entry into a neighborhood of a person of a particular race, color,
69	69	religion, sex, disability, familial status, [or] national origin,
70	70	military status, or sexual orientation.
71	71	SECTION 6. Section 301.026(a), Property Code, is amended to
72	72	read as follows:
73	73	(a) A person whose business includes engaging in
74	74	residential real estate related transactions may not discriminate
75	75	against another in making a real estate related transaction
76	76	available or in the terms or conditions of a real estate related
77	77	transaction because of race, color, religion, sex, disability,
78	78	familial status, [or] national origin, military status, or sexual
79	79	orientation.
80	80	SECTION 7. Section 301.027, Property Code, is amended to
81	81	read as follows:
82	82	Sec. 301.027. BROKERAGE SERVICES. A person may not deny
83	83	another access to, or membership or participation in, a
84	84	multiple-listing service, real estate brokers' organization, or
85	85	other service, organization, or facility relating to the business
86	86	of selling or renting dwellings, or discriminate against a person
87	87	in the terms or conditions of access, membership, or participation
88	88	in such an organization, service, or facility because of race,
89	89	color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, [or] national
90	90	origin, military status, or sexual orientation.
91	91	SECTION 8. Sections 301.042(a) and (c), Property Code, are
92	92	amended to read as follows:
93	93	(a) This chapter does not prohibit a religious
94	94	organization, association, or society or a nonprofit institution or
95	95	organization operated, supervised, or controlled by or in
96	96	conjunction with a religious organization, association, or society
97	97	from:
98	98	(1) limiting the sale, rental, or occupancy of
99	99	dwellings that it owns or operates for other than a commercial
100	100	purpose to persons of the same religion; or
101	101	(2) giving preference to persons of the same religion,
102	102	unless membership in the religion is restricted because of race,
103	103	color, sex, disability, familial status, [or] national origin,
104	104	military status, or sexual orientation.
105	105	(c) This chapter does not prohibit a person engaged in the
106	106	business of furnishing appraisals of real property from considering
107	107	in those appraisals factors other than race, color, religion, sex,
108	108	disability, familial status, [or] national origin, military
109	109	status, or sexual orientation.
110	110	SECTION 9. Section 301.068, Property Code, is amended to
111	111	read as follows:
112	112	Sec. 301.068. REFERRAL TO MUNICIPALITY. (a) Subject to
113	113	Subsections (b) and (c), the [The] commission may defer proceedings
114	114	under this chapter and refer a complaint to a municipality that has
115	115	been certified by the federal Department of Housing and Urban
116	116	Development as a substantially equivalent fair housing agency.
117	117	(b) The commission shall defer proceedings and refer a
118	118	complaint to a municipality under Subsection (a) if:
119	119	(1) the complaint alleges discrimination based on a
120	120	characteristic other than race, color, religion, sex, disability,
121	121	familial status, national origin, military status, or sexual
122	122	orientation; and
123	123	(2) the alleged discrimination occurred in a
124	124	municipality that has laws prohibiting the alleged discrimination.
125	125	(c) The commission may not defer proceedings and refer a
126	126	complaint under Subsection (a) to a municipality in which the
127	127	alleged discrimination occurred if that municipality does not have
128	128	laws prohibiting the alleged discrimination.
129	129	SECTION 10. Section 301.171(a), Property Code, is amended
130	130	to read as follows:
131	131	(a) A person commits an offense if the person, without
132	132	regard to whether the person is acting under color of law, by force
133	133	or threat of force intentionally intimidates or interferes with a
134	134	person:
135	135	(1) because of the person's race, color, religion,
136	136	sex, disability, familial status, [or] national origin, military
137	137	status, or sexual orientation, and because the person is or has been
138	138	selling, purchasing, renting, financing, occupying, or contracting
139	139	or negotiating for the sale, purchase, rental, financing, or
140	140	occupation of any dwelling or applying for or participating in a
141	141	service, organization, or facility relating to the business of
142	142	selling or renting dwellings; or
143	143	(2) because the person is or has been or to intimidate
144	144	the person from:
145	145	(A) participating, without discrimination
146	146	because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status,
147	147	[or] national origin, military status, or sexual orientation, in an
148	148	activity, service, organization, or facility described by
149	149	Subdivision (1); [or]
150	150	(B) affording another person opportunity or
151	151	protection to so participate; or
152	152	(C) lawfully aiding or encouraging other persons
153	153	to participate, without discrimination because of race, color,
154	154	religion, sex, disability, familial status, [or] national origin,
155	155	military status, or sexual orientation, in an activity, service,
156	156	organization, or facility described by Subdivision (1).
157	157	SECTION 11. The change in law made by this Act applies only
158	158	to a complaint filed with the Texas Workforce Commission civil
159	159	rights division on or after the effective date of this Act. A
160	160	complaint filed before that date is governed by the law as it
161	161	existed immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that
162	162	law is continued in effect for that purpose.
163	163	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.