Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3479 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R10506 JAM-D
2	2	By: Rose H.B. No. 3479
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the prohibition of housing discrimination on the basis
8	8	of an individual's criminal history and to the enforcement of that
9	9	prohibition.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 2306.111, Government Code, is amended by
12	12	adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:
13	13	(j) The department by rule shall:
14	14	(1) adopt policies to ensure that each housing
15	15	development that receives financial assistance administered by the
16	16	department, including financial assistance from the proceeds of
17	17	bonds issued by the department, accepts as tenants individuals who
18	18	are protected under Section 301.0045, Property Code; and
19	19	(2) establish enforcement mechanisms with respect to
20	20	those housing developments that refuse to accept as tenants
21	21	individuals described by Subdivision (1).
22	22	SECTION 2. Section 2306.358(d), Government Code, is amended
23	23	to read as follows:
24	24	(d) Subsection (c)(3)(C) does not prohibit an organization
25	25	from requiring a tenant applicant who receives public assistance to
26	26	meet the organization's standard criteria for occupancy, including
27	27	[such] criteria relating to [as] satisfactory creditworthiness and
28	28	[lack of] criminal history, to the extent permitted under Section
29	29	2306.111(j).
30	30	SECTION 3. Section 392.055, Local Government Code, is
31	31	amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
32	32	(c) A housing authority shall adopt policies to ensure that
33	33	each housing project operated by the authority, including projects
34	34	owned or operated by a public facility corporation created by the
35	35	authority under Chapter 303, accepts as tenants individuals who are
36	36	protected under Section 301.0045, Property Code.
37	37	SECTION 4. Section 92.352, Property Code, is amended by
38	38	adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:
39	39	(c) A landlord who rejects an applicant must provide the
40	40	applicant a written statement detailing the reasons the applicant
41	41	was rejected.
42	42	(d) A landlord who rejects an applicant based on the
43	43	applicant's criminal history must provide the applicant with an
44	44	opportunity to present any mitigating information concerning the
45	45	criminal history.
46	46	SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 301, Property Code, is
47	47	amended by adding Section 301.0045 to read as follows:
48	48	Sec. 301.0045. CRIMINAL HISTORY. (a) Except as provided by
49	49	Subsection (b), a discriminatory act is committed because of a
50	50	person's criminal history if that act is committed with respect to
51	51	criminal history based solely on one or more final convictions that
52	52	each occurred more than three years before the date of the
53	53	applicable act.
54	54	(b) An act is not considered discriminatory for the purposes
55	55	of this section if the act is committed with respect to a person's
56	56	criminal history based on a final conviction of any of the
57	57	following:
58	58	(1) an offense requiring registration as a sex
59	59	offender under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure;
60	60	(2) an offense under Section 20.04, Penal Code,
61	61	regardless of whether the offense is a reportable conviction or
62	62	adjudication for purposes of Chapter 62, Code of Criminal
63	63	Procedure;
64	64	(3) an offense under Section 19.02, 19.03, 20A.02,
65	65	20A.03, 22.04, 22.041, 25.07, 25.072, or 42.072, Penal Code; or
66	66	(4) an offense involving family violence, as defined
67	67	by Section 71.004, Family Code.
68	68	SECTION 6. Sections 301.021(a) and (b), Property Code, are
69	69	amended to read as follows:
70	70	(a) A person may not refuse to sell or rent, after the making
71	71	of a bona fide offer, refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of,
72	72	or in any other manner make unavailable or deny a dwelling to
73	73	another because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status,
74	74	[or] national origin, or criminal history.
75	75	(b) A person may not discriminate against another in the
76	76	terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling or
77	77	in providing services or facilities in connection with a sale or
78	78	rental of a dwelling because of race, color, religion, sex,
79	79	familial status, [or] national origin, or criminal history.
80	80	SECTION 7. Section 301.022, Property Code, is amended to
81	81	read as follows:
82	82	Sec. 301.022. PUBLICATION. A person may not make, print, or
83	83	publish or effect the making, printing, or publishing of a notice,
84	84	statement, or advertisement that is about the sale or rental of a
85	85	dwelling and that indicates any preference, limitation, or
86	86	discrimination or the intention to make a preference, limitation,
87	87	or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex,
88	88	disability, familial status, [or] national origin, or criminal
89	89	history.
90	90	SECTION 8. Section 301.023, Property Code, is amended to
91	91	read as follows:
92	92	Sec. 301.023. INSPECTION. A person may not represent to
93	93	another because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial
94	94	status, [or] national origin, or criminal history that a dwelling
95	95	is not available for inspection for sale or rental when the dwelling
96	96	is available for inspection.
97	97	SECTION 9. Section 301.024, Property Code, is amended to
98	98	read as follows:
99	99	Sec. 301.024. ENTRY INTO NEIGHBORHOOD. A person may not,
100	100	for profit, induce or attempt to induce another to sell or rent a
101	101	dwelling by representations regarding the entry or prospective
102	102	entry into a neighborhood of a person of a particular race, color,
103	103	religion, sex, disability, familial status, [or] national origin,
104	104	or criminal history.
105	105	SECTION 10. Section 301.026(a), Property Code, is amended
106	106	to read as follows:
107	107	(a) A person whose business includes engaging in
108	108	residential real estate related transactions may not discriminate
109	109	against another in making a real estate related transaction
110	110	available or in the terms or conditions of a real estate related
111	111	transaction because of race, color, religion, sex, disability,
112	112	familial status, [or] national origin, or criminal history.
113	113	SECTION 11. Section 301.027, Property Code, is amended to
114	114	read as follows:
115	115	Sec. 301.027. BROKERAGE SERVICES. A person may not deny
116	116	another access to, or membership or participation in, a
117	117	multiple-listing service, real estate brokers' organization, or
118	118	other service, organization, or facility relating to the business
119	119	of selling or renting dwellings, or discriminate against a person
120	120	in the terms or conditions of access, membership, or participation
121	121	in such an organization, service, or facility because of race,
122	122	color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, [or] national
123	123	origin, or criminal history.
124	124	SECTION 12. Sections 301.042(a) and (c), Property Code, are
125	125	amended to read as follows:
126	126	(a) This chapter does not prohibit a religious
127	127	organization, association, or society or a nonprofit institution or
128	128	organization operated, supervised, or controlled by or in
129	129	conjunction with a religious organization, association, or society
130	130	from:
131	131	(1) limiting the sale, rental, or occupancy of
132	132	dwellings that it owns or operates for other than a commercial
133	133	purpose to persons of the same religion; or
134	134	(2) giving preference to persons of the same religion,
135	135	unless membership in the religion is restricted because of race,
136	136	color, [or] national origin, or criminal history.
137	137	(c) This chapter does not prohibit a person engaged in the
138	138	business of furnishing appraisals of real property from considering
139	139	in those appraisals factors other than race, color, religion, sex,
140	140	disability, familial status, [or] national origin, or criminal
141	141	history.
142	142	SECTION 13. Section 301.068, Property Code, is amended to
143	143	read as follows:
144	144	Sec. 301.068. REFERRAL TO MUNICIPALITY. (a) Subject to
145	145	Subsection (b), the [The] commission may defer proceedings under
146	146	this chapter and refer a complaint to a municipality that has been
147	147	certified by the federal Department of Housing and Urban
148	148	Development as a substantially equivalent fair housing agency.
149	149	(b) The commission may not defer proceedings and refer a
150	150	complaint under Subsection (a) to a municipality in which the
151	151	alleged discrimination occurred if:
152	152	(1) the complaint alleges discrimination based on
153	153	criminal history; and
154	154	(2) the municipality does not have laws prohibiting
155	155	the alleged discrimination.
156	156	SECTION 14. Section 301.171(a), Property Code, is amended
157	157	to read as follows:
158	158	(a) A person commits an offense if the person, without
159	159	regard to whether the person is acting under color of law, by force
160	160	or threat of force intentionally intimidates or interferes with a
161	161	person:
162	162	(1) because of the person's race, color, religion,
163	163	sex, disability, familial status, [or] national origin, or criminal
164	164	history and because the person is or has been selling, purchasing,
165	165	renting, financing, occupying, or contracting or negotiating for
166	166	the sale, purchase, rental, financing, or occupation of any
167	167	dwelling or applying for or participating in a service,
168	168	organization, or facility relating to the business of selling or
169	169	renting dwellings; or
170	170	(2) because the person is or has been or to intimidate
171	171	the person from:
172	172	(A) participating, without discrimination
173	173	because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status,
174	174	[or] national origin, or criminal history, in an activity, service,
175	175	organization, or facility described by Subdivision (1); [or]
176	176	(B) affording another person opportunity or
177	177	protection to so participate; or
178	178	(C) lawfully aiding or encouraging other persons
179	179	to participate, without discrimination because of race, color,
180	180	religion, sex, disability, familial status, [or] national origin,
181	181	or criminal history, in an activity, service, organization, or
182	182	facility described by Subdivision (1).
183	183	SECTION 15. Section 301.021(c), Property Code, is repealed.
184	184	SECTION 16. (a) The change in law made by this Act in adding
185	185	Section 2306.111(j), Government Code, applies only to an
186	186	application for financial assistance that is submitted to the Texas
187	187	Department of Housing and Community Affairs on or after January 1,
188	188	2022. An application for financial assistance that is submitted to
189	189	the department before January 1, 2022, is governed by the law in
190	190	effect when the application was submitted, and the former law is
191	191	continued in effect for that purpose.
192	192	(b) Not later than December 1, 2021, the Texas Department of
193	193	Housing and Community Affairs shall adopt the rules required by
194	194	Section 2306.111(j), Government Code, as added by this Act.
195	195	SECTION 17. The change in law made by this Act to the
196	196	Property Code applies only to a complaint filed with the Texas
197	197	Workforce Commission civil rights division on or after the
198	198	effective date of this Act. A complaint filed before that date is
199	199	governed by the law as it existed immediately before the effective
200	200	date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that
201	201	purpose.
202	202	SECTION 18. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.