Text of US HB 4439 (2023)

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4439 To extend the protections of the Fair Housing Act to persons suffering discrimination on the basis of sex or sexual orientation, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 30, 2023 Mr. SCHNEIDER (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SCHA- KOWSKY, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. VARGAS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. TONKO, Ms. WEXTON, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. JAYAPAL, and Mr. KEATING) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To extend the protections of the Fair Housing Act to persons suffering discrimination on the basis of sex or sexual orientation, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair and Equal Hous- 4 ing Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. HOUSING. 6 (a) FAIR HOUSING ACT.—The Fair Housing Act (42 7 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) is amended— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4439.IH H4439 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 4439 IH (1) in section 802, by adding at the end the fol- 1 lowing: 2 ‘‘(p) ‘Race’, ‘color’, ‘religion’, ‘sex’ (including sexual 3 orientation and gender identity), ‘handicap’, ‘familial sta- 4 tus’, or ‘national origin’, used with respect to an indi- 5 vidual, includes— 6 ‘‘(1) the race, color, religion, sex (including sex- 7 ual orientation and gender identity), handicap, fa- 8 milial status, or national origin, respectively, of an- 9 other person with whom the individual is associated 10 or has been associated; and 11 ‘‘(2) a perception or belief, even if inaccurate, 12 concerning the race, color, religion, sex (including 13 sexual orientation and gender identity), handicap, 14 familial status, or national origin, respectively, of the 15 individual. 16 ‘‘(q) ‘Gender identity’ means the gender-related iden- 17 tity, appearance, or mannerisms or other gender-related 18 characteristics of an individual, without regard to the indi- 19 vidual’s designated sex at birth. 20 ‘‘(r) ‘Sexual orientation’ means homosexuality, het- 21 erosexuality, or bisexuality.’’; 22 (2) in section 804, by inserting ‘‘(including sex- 23 ual orientation and gender identity)’’ after ‘‘sex’’ 24 each place that term appears; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4439.IH H4439 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 4439 IH (3) in section 805, by inserting ‘‘(including sex- 1 ual orientation and gender identity)’’ after ‘‘sex’’ 2 each place that term appears; 3 (4) in section 806, by inserting ‘‘(including sex- 4 ual orientation and gender identity)’’ after ‘‘sex’’ 5 each place that term appears; and 6 (5) in section 808(e)(6), by inserting ‘‘(includ- 7 ing sexual orientation and gender identity)’’ after 8 ‘‘sex’’. 9 (b) PREVENTION OF INTIMIDATION IN FAIR HOUS- 10 ING CASES.—Section 901 of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 11 (42 U.S.C. 3631) is amended by inserting ‘‘(including sex- 12 ual orientation (as such term is defined in section 802 of 13 this Act) and gender identity (as such term is defined in 14 section 802 of this Act))’’ after ‘‘sex’’ each place that term 15 appears. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4439.IH H4439 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB