Bill Text: CA SB1053 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Housing discrimination: applications.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [SB1053 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB1053-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1053 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 4, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Leno
FEBRUARY 16, 2016
An act to amend Section Sections 12927 and
12955 of the Government Code, relating to housing
discrimination.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1053, as amended, Leno. Housing discrimination: applications.
Existing law generally prohibits housing discrimination with
respect to various personal characteristics including source of
income. Existing law defines "source of income" for these purposes as
lawful, verifiable income paid directly to a tenant or paid to a
representative of a tenant, which does not include a landlord.
This bill would amend the definition of "source of income" to also
include specified federal, state, or local housing assistance or
subsidies paid either to the tenant or directly to the landlord on
behalf of the tenant.
Existing law permits a person who holds an ownership interest of
record in property that he or she believes is the subject of an
unlawfully restrictive covenant based on, among other things, source
of income, to record a Restrictive Covenant Modification, which is to
include a copy of the original document with the illegal language
stricken. Before recording the modification document, existing law
requires the county recorder to submit the modification document and
the original document to the county counsel who is required to
determine whether the original document contains an unlawful
restriction.
This bill, by revising the definition of source of income, would
increase the requirements on a county counsel to determine if there
exists an unlawfully restrictive covenant based on source of income,
as described above. By creating new duties for county counsels, this
bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 12927 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
12927. As used in this part in connection with housing
accommodations, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the
context:
(a) "Affirmative actions" means any activity for the purpose of
eliminating discrimination in housing accommodations because of race,
color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, ancestry,
familial status, or disability.
(b) "Conciliation council" means a nonprofit organization, or a
city or county human relations commission, which provides education,
factfinding, and mediation or conciliation services in resolution of
complaints of housing discrimination.
(c) (1) "Discrimination" includes refusal to sell, rent, or lease
housing accommodations; includes refusal to negotiate for the sale,
rental, or lease of housing accommodations; includes representation
that a housing accommodation is not available for inspection, sale,
or rental when that housing accommodation is in fact so available;
includes any other denial or withholding of housing accommodations;
includes provision of inferior terms, conditions, privileges,
facilities, or services in connection with those housing
accommodations; includes harassment in connection with those housing
accommodations; includes the cancellation or termination of a sale or
rental agreement; includes the provision of segregated or separated
housing accommodations; includes the refusal to permit, at the
expense of the disabled person, reasonable modifications of existing
premises occupied or to be occupied by the disabled person, if the
modifications may be necessary to afford the disabled person full
enjoyment of the premises, except that, in the case of a rental, the
landlord may, where it is reasonable to do so condition permission
for a modification on the renter's agreeing to restore the interior
of the premises to the condition that existed before the modification
(other than for reasonable wear and tear), and includes refusal to
make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or
services when these accommodations may be necessary to afford a
disabled person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.
(2) "Discrimination" does not include either of the following:
(A) Refusal to rent or lease a portion of an owner-occupied
single-family house to a person as a roomer or boarder living within
the household, provided that no more than one roomer or boarder is to
live within the household, and the owner complies with subdivision
(c) of Section 12955, which prohibits discriminatory notices,
statements, and advertisements.
(B) Where the sharing of living areas in a single dwelling unit is
involved, the use of words stating or tending to imply that the
housing being advertised is available only to persons of one sex.
(d) "Housing accommodation" means any building, structure, or
portion thereof that is occupied as, or intended for occupancy as, a
residence by one or more families and any vacant land that is offered
for sale or lease for the construction thereon of any building,
structure, or portion thereof intended to be so occupied.
(e) "Owner" includes the lessee, sublessee, assignee, managing
agent, real estate broker or salesperson, or any person having any
legal or equitable right of ownership or possession or the right to
rent or lease housing accommodations, and includes the state and any
of its political subdivisions and any agency thereof.
(f) "Person" includes all individuals and entities that are
described in Section 3602(d) of Title 42 of the United States Code,
and in the definition of "owner" in subdivision (e) of this section,
and all institutional third parties, including the Federal Home Loan
Mortgage Corporation.
(g) "Aggrieved person" includes any person who claims to have been
injured by a discriminatory housing practice or believes that the
person will be injured by a discriminatory housing practice that is
about to occur.
(h) "Real estate-related transactions" include any of the
following:
(1) The making or purchasing of loans or providing other financial
assistance that is for the purpose of purchasing, constructing,
improving, repairing, or maintaining a dwelling, or that is secured
by residential real estate.
(2) The selling, brokering, or appraising of residential real
property.
(3) The use of territorial underwriting requirements, for the
purpose of requiring a borrower in a specific geographic area to
obtain earthquake insurance, required by an institutional third party
on a loan secured by residential real property.
(i) "Source of income" means lawful, verifiable income paid
directly to a tenant or paid to a representative of a
tenant. For the purposes of this definition, a landlord is not
considered a representative of a tenant. tenant, or
paid to a housing owner or landlord on behalf of a tenant, including
federal, state, or local public assistance and federal,
state, or local housing subsidies, including, but not limited to,
federal housing assistance vouchers under Section 8 of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1437f).
SECTION 1. SEC. 2 .
Section 12955 of the Government Code is amended to read:
12955. It shall be unlawful:
(a) For the owner of any housing accommodation to discriminate
against or harass any person because of the race, color, religion,
sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation,
marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of
income, disability, or genetic information of that person.
(b) For the owner of any housing accommodation to make or to cause
to be made any written or oral inquiry concerning the race, color,
religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual
orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial
status, disability, or genetic information of any person seeking to
purchase, rent, or lease any housing accommodation.
(c) For any person to make, print, or publish, or cause to be
made, printed, or published any notice, statement, or advertisement,
with respect to the sale or rental of a housing accommodation that
indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on
race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender
expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin,
ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, or genetic
information or an intention to make that preference, limitation, or
discrimination.
(d) For any person subject to the provisions of Section 51 of the
Civil Code, as that section applies to housing accommodations, to
discriminate against any person on the basis of sex, gender, gender
identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, color, race,
religion, ancestry, national origin, familial status, marital status,
disability, genetic information, source of income, or on any other
basis prohibited by that section. Selection preferences based on age,
imposed in connection with a federally approved housing program, do
not constitute age discrimination in housing.
(e) For any person, bank, mortgage company , or other
financial institution that provides financial assistance for the
purchase, organization, or construction of any housing accommodation
to discriminate against any person or group of persons because of the
race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender
expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin,
ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, or genetic
information in the terms, conditions, or privileges relating to the
obtaining or use of that financial assistance.
(f) For any owner of housing accommodations to harass, evict, or
otherwise discriminate against any person in the sale or rental of
housing accommodations when the owner's dominant purpose is
retaliation against a person who has opposed practices unlawful under
this section, informed law enforcement agencies of practices
believed unlawful under this section, has testified or assisted in
any proceeding under this part, or has aided or encouraged a person
to exercise or enjoy the rights secured by this part. Nothing herein
is intended to cause or permit the delay of an unlawful detainer
action.
(g) For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the
doing of any of the acts or practices declared unlawful in this
section, or to attempt to do so.
(h) For any person, for profit, to induce any person to sell or
rent any dwelling by representations regarding the entry or
prospective entry into the neighborhood of a person or persons of a
particular race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity,
gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry,
disability, genetic information, source of income, familial status,
or national origin.
(i) For any person or other organization or entity whose business
involves real estate-related transactions to discriminate against any
person in making available a transaction, or in the terms and
conditions of a transaction, because of race, color, religion, sex,
gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation,
marital status, national origin, ancestry, source of income, familial
status, disability, or genetic information.
(j) To deny a person access to, or membership or participation in,
a multiple listing service, real estate brokerage organization, or
other service because of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender
identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status,
ancestry, disability, genetic information, familial status, source of
income, or national origin.
(k) To otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling based on
discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender
identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, familial status,
source of income, disability, genetic information, or national
origin.
(l) To discriminate through public or private land use practices,
decisions, and authorizations because of race, color, religion, sex,
gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation,
familial status, marital status, disability, genetic information,
national origin, source of income, or ancestry. Discrimination
includes, but is not limited to, restrictive covenants, zoning laws,
denials of use permits, and other actions authorized under the
Planning and Zoning Law (Title 7 (commencing with Section 65000)),
that make housing opportunities unavailable.
Discrimination under this subdivision also includes the existence
of a restrictive covenant, regardless of whether accompanied by a
statement that the restrictive covenant is repealed or void.
(m) As used in this section, "race, color, religion, sex, gender,
gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital
status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income,
disability, or genetic information," includes a perception that the
person has any of those characteristics or that the person is
associated with a person who has, or is perceived to have, any of
those characteristics.
(n) To use a financial or income standard in the rental of housing
that fails to account for the aggregate income of persons residing
together or proposing to reside together on the same basis as the
aggregate income of married persons residing together or proposing to
reside together.
(o) In instances where there is a government rent subsidy, to use
a financial or income standard in assessing eligibility for the
rental of housing that is not based on the portion of the rent to be
paid by the tenant.
(p) (1) For the purposes of this section, "source of income" means
lawful, verifiable income paid directly to a tenant or paid to a
representative of a tenant, or paid to a housing owner or landlord on
behalf of a tenant, including federal, state, or local public
assistance and federal, state, or local housing subsidies, including,
but not limited to, federal housing assistance vouchers under
Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Sec.
1437f).
(2) For the purposes of this section, it shall not constitute
discrimination based on source of income to make a written or oral
inquiry concerning the level or source of income.
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
