Text of US SB 1242 (2013)

II 113TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1242 To amend the Fair Housing Act, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 27, 2013 Mr. BROWN (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. COONS, Mr. HARKIN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mrs. BOXER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Fair Housing Act, 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 ‘‘Housing Opportunities 4 Made Equal Act of 2013’’ or the ‘‘HOME Act of 2013’’. 5 SEC. 2. AMENDING THE FAIR HOUSING ACT TO PROHIBIT 6 CERTAIN DISCRIMINATION. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.— 8 (1) Section 804 of the Fair Housing Act (42 9 U.S.C. 3604) is amended— 10 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:32 Jul 03, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1242.IS S1242 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1242 IS (A) by inserting ‘‘actual or perceived’’ be- 1 fore ‘‘race, color’’ each place that term appears; 2 and 3 (B) by inserting ‘‘sexual orientation, gen- 4 der identity, marital status, source of income,’’ 5 after ‘‘sex,’’ each place that term appears. 6 (2) Section 805 of the Fair Housing Act (42 7 U.S.C. 3605) is amended— 8 (A) by inserting ‘‘actual or perceived’’ be- 9 fore ‘‘race, color’’ each place that term appears; 10 and 11 (B) by inserting ‘‘sexual orientation, gen- 12 der identity, marital status, source of income,’’ 13 after ‘‘sex,’’ each place that term appears. 14 (3) Section 806 of the Fair Housing Act (42 15 U.S.C. 3606) is amended— 16 (A) by inserting ‘‘actual or perceived’’ be- 17 fore ‘‘race, color’’; and 18 (B) by inserting ‘‘sexual orientation, gen- 19 der identity, marital status, source of income,’’ 20 after ‘‘sex,’’. 21 (b) PREVENTION OF INTIMIDATION.—Section 901 of 22 the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3631) is amend- 23 ed— 24 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:32 Jul 03, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1242.IS S1242 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1242 IS (1) by inserting ‘‘actual or perceived’’ before 1 ‘‘race, color’’ each place that term appears; and 2 (2) by inserting ‘‘sexual orientation (as defined 3 in section 802), gender identity (as so defined), mar- 4 ital status (as so defined), source of income (as so 5 defined)’’ after ‘‘sex,’’ each place that term appears. 6 (c) DEFINITIONS.—Section 802 of the Fair Housing 7 Act (42 U.S.C. 3602) is amended by adding at the end 8 the following: 9 ‘‘(p) ‘Gender identity’ means the gender-related iden- 10 tity, appearance, or mannerisms or other gender-related 11 characteristics of an individual, with or without regard to 12 the individual’s designated sex at birth. 13 ‘‘(q) ‘Marital status’ has the same meaning given that 14 term for purposes of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. 15 ‘‘(r) ‘Sexual orientation’ means homosexuality, het- 16 erosexuality, or bisexuality. 17 ‘‘(s) ‘Source of income’ means the receipt of Federal, 18 State, or local public assistance including medical assist- 19 ance, or the receipt by a tenant or applicant of Federal, 20 State, or local housing subsidies, including rental assist- 21 ance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act 22 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) or other rental assistance or 23 rental supplements.’’. 24 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:32 Jul 03, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1242.IS S1242 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1242 IS SEC. 3. AMENDING THE FAIR HOUSING ACT TO EXTEND 1 THE DEFINITION OF DISCRIMINATORY HOUS- 2 ING PRACTICE. 3 Section 802(f) of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 4 3602(f)) is amended to read as follows: 5 ‘‘(f) ‘Discriminatory housing practice’ means an act 6 that is unlawful under section 804, 805, 806, or 818 of 7 this title, whether occurring pre- or post-acquisition, and 8 also includes a failure to comply with section 808(e)(5) 9 of this title or a regulation issued to carry out section 10 808(e)(5).’’. 11 SEC. 4. AMENDING THE FAIR HOUSING ACT DEFINITION OF 12 ‘‘FAMILIAL STATUS’’. 13 Section 802(k) of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 14 3602(k)) is amended to read as follows: 15 ‘‘(k) ‘Familial status’ means one or more individuals 16 (who have not attained the age of 18 years) residing 17 with— 18 ‘‘(1) a parent, foster parent, or another person 19 having legal or lawful physical custody of such indi- 20 vidual or individuals; or 21 ‘‘(2) anyone standing in loco parentis of such 22 individual or individuals. 23 The protections afforded against discrimination on the 24 basis of familial status apply to any person who is preg- 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:32 Jul 03, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1242.IS S1242 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1242 IS nant or in the process of securing legal custody of an indi- 1 vidual who has not attained the age of 18 years.’’. 2 SEC. 5. AMENDING THE FAIR HOUSING ACT AND THE 3 EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY ACT TO PRO- 4 VIDE THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WITH 5 PRE-LITIGATION SUBPOENA POWER. 6 (a) EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY ACT.—Section 7 706(h) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 8 1691e(h)) is amended— 9 (1) by striking ‘‘When a’’ and inserting the fol- 10 lowing: 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—When a’’; and 12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(2) PRE-LITIGATION SUBPOENA POWER.—If 14 the Attorney General has reason to believe that any 15 person may be in possession, custody, or control of 16 any documentary material or information relevant to 17 an investigation under this title, the Attorney Gen- 18 eral may, before commencing a civil action under 19 paragraph (1), issue in writing and cause to be 20 served upon the person, a civil investigative demand. 21 The authority to issue and enforce civil investigative 22 demands under this paragraph shall be identical to 23 the authority of the Attorney General under section 24 3733 of title 31, United States Code, except that the 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:32 Jul 03, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1242.IS S1242 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1242 IS provisions of that section relating to qui tam relators 1 shall not apply.’’. 2 (b) FAIR HOUSING ACT.—Section 814(c) of the Fair 3 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3614(c)) is amended— 4 (1) by striking ‘‘The Attorney General’’ and in- 5 serting the following: 6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General’’; 7 and 8 (2) by adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(2) CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMANDS.—If the 10 Attorney General has reason to believe that any per- 11 son may be in possession, custody, or control of any 12 documentary material or information relevant to an 13 investigation under this title, the Attorney General 14 may, before commencing a civil proceeding under 15 this subsection, issue in writing and cause to be 16 served upon the person, a civil investigative demand. 17 The authority to issue and enforce civil investigative 18 demands under this paragraph shall be identical to 19 the authority of the Attorney General under section 20 3733 of title 31, United States Code, except that the 21 provisions of that section relating to qui tam relators 22 shall not apply.’’. 23 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:32 Jul 03, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1242.IS S1242 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1242 IS SEC. 6. FREEDOM FROM DISCRIMINATION IN CREDIT. 1 (a) PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION ON AC- 2 COUNT OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDEN- 3 TITY.—Section 701(a)(1) of the Equal Credit Opportunity 4 Act (15 U.S.C. 1691(a)(1)) is amended— 5 (1) by inserting ‘‘actual or perceived’’ before 6 ‘‘race, color’’; and 7 (2) by striking ‘‘sex or’’ and inserting ‘‘sex, sex- 8 ual orientation, gender identity,’’. 9 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 702 of the Equal Credit 10 Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691a) is amended— 11 (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 12 subsections (g) and (i), respectively; 13 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol- 14 lowing: 15 ‘‘(f) The term ‘gender identity’ means the gender-re- 16 lated identity, appearance, or mannerisms or other gen- 17 der-related characteristics of an individual, with or with- 18 out regard to the individual’s designated sex at birth.’’; 19 and 20 (3) by inserting after subsection (g), as so re- 21 designated, the following: 22 ‘‘(h) The term ‘sexual orientation’ means homosex- 23 uality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality.’’. 24 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:32 Jul 03, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1242.IS S1242 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1242 IS SEC. 7. AMENDING THE FAIR HOUSING ACT SO THAT DIS- 1 CRIMINATION IN REAL ESTATE-RELATED 2 TRANSACTIONS INCLUDES THE FAILURE TO 3 MAKE REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR 4 PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. 5 Section 805(a) of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 6 3605(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following; 7 ‘‘For the purposes of this section, discrimination against 8 a person because of handicap includes the failure, in con- 9 nection with a real estate-related transaction, to make rea- 10 sonable accommodations for such person.’’. 11 SEC. 8. AMENDING THE FAIR HOUSING ACT TO CHANGE 12 CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ON FILING COM- 13 PLAINTS AND COMMENCING CIVIL ACTIONS. 14 (a) SECTION 810.—Section 810(a)(1)(A)(i) of the 15 Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3610(a)(1)(A)(i)) is amend- 16 ed by inserting after the first sentence the following: ‘‘The 17 failure to design and construct a dwelling as required by 18 section 804(f)(3)(C) shall be deemed to continue until 19 such time as the dwelling conforms to the requirements 20 of that section.’’. 21 (b) SECTION 813.—Section 813(a)(1)(A) of the Fair 22 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3613(a)(1)(A)) is amended by 23 adding at the end the following: ‘‘The failure to design 24 and construct a dwelling as required by section 25 804(f)(3)(C) shall be deemed to continue until such time 26 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:32 Jul 03, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1242.IS S1242 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1242 IS as the dwelling conforms to the requirements of that sec- 1 tion.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:32 Jul 03, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1242.IS S1242 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS