Establishes the housing for an equitable reentry and opportunity (HERO) act to prohibit housing discrimination on the basis of criminal legal system involvement; defines criminal legal system involvement.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3251
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 30, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
ment Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting housing
discrimination based on criminal legal system involvement
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "housing
2 for an equitable reentry and opportunity (HERO) act".
3 § 2. Section 292 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
4 subdivision 42 to read as follows:
5 42. The term "criminal legal system involvement" shall mean informa-
6 tion regarding an individual's conviction, arrest, charge, or citation
7 for an offense, participation in a diversion or deferral of judgment
8 program, record of an offense that has been sealed, expunged, vacated,
9 or pardoned, a youthful offender adjudication, or a juvenile delinquency
10 determination.
11 § 3. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (c-1) of subdivision 2-a of section
12 296 of the executive law, as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748
13 of the laws of 2022, are amended to read as follows:
14 (a) To refuse to sell, rent or lease or otherwise to deny to or with-
15 hold from any person or group of persons such housing accommodations
16 because of the race, creed, color, disability, national origin, citizen-
17 ship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or
18 expression, military status, age, sex, marital status, status as a
19 victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal
20 system involvement or familial status of such person or persons, or to
21 represent that any housing accommodation or land is not available for
22 inspection, sale, rental or lease when in fact it is so available.
23 (b) To discriminate against any person because of his or her race,
24 creed, color, disability, national origin, citizenship or immigration
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02250-02-3
S. 3251 2
1 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military
2 status, age, sex, marital status, status as a victim of domestic
3 violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal system involvement or
4 familial status in the terms, conditions or privileges of any publicly-
5 assisted housing accommodations or in the furnishing of facilities or
6 services in connection therewith.
7 (c) To cause to be made any written or oral inquiry or record concern-
8 ing the race, creed, color, disability, national origin, citizenship or
9 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,
10 membership in the reserve armed forces of the United States or in the
11 organized militia of the state, age, sex, marital status, status as a
12 victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal
13 system involvement or familial status of a person seeking to rent or
14 lease any publicly-assisted housing accommodation; provided, however,
15 that nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit a member of the reserve
16 armed forces of the United States or in the organized militia of the
17 state from voluntarily disclosing such membership.
18 (c-1) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any
19 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica-
20 tion for the purchase, rental or lease of such housing accommodation or
21 to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective
22 purchase, rental or lease of such a housing accommodation which
23 expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or
24 discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or
25 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,
26 military status, sex, age, disability, marital status, status as a
27 victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal
28 system involvement or familial status, or any intent to make any such
29 limitation, specification or discrimination.
30 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 296 of the executive
31 law, as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 of the laws of 2022,
32 is amended to read as follows:
33 (a) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for the owner,
34 lessee, sub-lessee, assignee, or managing agent of, or other person
35 having the right to sell, rent or lease a housing accommodation,
36 constructed or to be constructed, or any agent or employee thereof:
37 (1) To refuse to sell, rent, lease or otherwise to deny to or withhold
38 from any person or group of persons such a housing accommodation because
39 of the race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration
40 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military
41 status, sex, age, disability, marital status, status as a victim of
42 domestic violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal system
43 involvement or familial status of such person or persons, or to repre-
44 sent that any housing accommodation or land is not available for
45 inspection, sale, rental or lease when in fact it is so available.
46 (2) To discriminate against any person because of race, creed, color,
47 national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation,
48 gender identity or expression, military status, sex, age, disability,
49 marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence, lawful source
50 of income, criminal legal system involvement or familial status in the
51 terms, conditions or privileges of the sale, rental or lease of any such
52 housing accommodation or in the furnishing of facilities or services in
53 connection therewith.
54 (3) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any
55 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica-
56 tion for the purchase, rental or lease of such housing accommodation or
S. 3251 3
1 to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective
2 purchase, rental or lease of such a housing accommodation which
3 expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or
4 discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or
5 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,
6 military status, sex, age, disability, marital status, status as a
7 victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income, criminal legal
8 system involvement or familial status, or any intent to make any such
9 limitation, specification or discrimination.
10 (4) (i) The provisions of subparagraphs one and two of this paragraph
11 shall not apply (1) to the rental of a housing accommodation in a build-
12 ing which contains housing accommodations for not more than two families
13 living independently of each other, if the owner resides in one of such
14 housing accommodations, (2) to the restriction of the rental of all
15 rooms in a housing accommodation to individuals of the same sex or (3)
16 to the rental of a room or rooms in a housing accommodation, if such
17 rental is by the occupant of the housing accommodation or by the owner
18 of the housing accommodation and the owner resides in such housing
19 accommodation or (4) solely with respect to age and familial status to
20 the restriction of the sale, rental or lease of housing accommodations
21 exclusively to persons sixty-two years of age or older and the spouse of
22 any such person, or for housing intended and operated for occupancy by
23 at least one person fifty-five years of age or older per unit. In deter-
24 mining whether housing is intended and operated for occupancy by persons
25 fifty-five years of age or older, Sec. 807(b) (2) (c) (42 U.S.C. 3607
26 (b) (2) (c)) of the federal Fair Housing Act of 1988, as amended, shall
27 apply. However, such rental property shall no longer be exempt from the
28 provisions of subparagraphs one and two of this paragraph if there is
29 unlawful discriminatory conduct pursuant to subparagraph three of this
30 paragraph.
31 (ii) The provisions of subparagraphs one, two, and three of this para-
32 graph shall not apply (1) to the restriction of the rental of all rooms
33 in a housing accommodation to individuals of the same sex, (2) to the
34 rental of a room or rooms in a housing accommodation, if such rental is
35 by the occupant of the housing accommodation or by the owner of the
36 housing accommodation and the owner resides in such housing accommo-
37 dation, or (3) solely with respect to age and familial status to the
38 restriction of the sale, rental or lease of housing accommodations
39 exclusively to persons sixty-two years of age or older and the spouse of
40 any such person, or for housing intended and operated for occupancy by
41 at least one person fifty-five years of age or older per unit. In deter-
42 mining whether housing is intended and operated for occupancy by persons
43 fifty-five years of age or older, Sec. 807(b) (2) (c) (42 U.S.C. 3607
44 (b) (2) (c)) of the federal Fair Housing Act of 1988, as amended, shall
45 apply.
46 § 5. Severability. If any provision of this act, or any application of
47 any provision of this act, is held to be invalid, that shall not affect
48 the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of this act, or of
49 any other application of any provision of this act, which can be given
50 effect without that provision or application; and to that end, the
51 provisions and applications of this act are severable.
52 § 6. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
53 it shall have become a law.
