Fair Chance at Housing Act of 2018

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3685 To reform the screening and eviction policies for Federal housing assistance in order to provide fair access to housing, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 10, 2019 Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To reform the screening and eviction policies for Federal housing assistance in order to provide fair access to housing, 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 Chance at Hous- 4 ing Act of 2018’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 Section 579 of the Quality Housing and Work Re- 7 sponsibility Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 13664) is amended— 8 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—’’; 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3685.IH H3685 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3685 IH (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 1 following new paragraph: 2 ‘‘(1) CONVICTION.— 3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘conviction’ 4 means judgment of guilt or nolo contendere or 5 any disposition arising therefrom. 6 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—Such term does not 7 include— 8 ‘‘(i) an arrest or any disposition there- 9 from that did not result in a conviction; 10 ‘‘(ii) any criminal disposition for an 11 offense committed prior to the defendant’s 12 18th birthday; 13 ‘‘(iii) a conviction that has been ex- 14 punged, sealed, or subject to similar judi- 15 cial relief; 16 ‘‘(iv) a disposition received through 17 successful completion of diversion, deferred 18 adjudication, deferred entry of judgment, 19 drug court, or similar judicial program 20 under State law; or 21 ‘‘(v) any other criminal disposition not 22 deemed a conviction under State or Fed- 23 eral law.’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3685.IH H3685 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3685 IH (3) in paragraph (3), by adding after the period 1 at the end the following: ‘‘For purposes of sections 2 576 and 577, such term does not include an owner 3 of federally assisted housing specified in paragraph 4 (3)(B).’’. 5 SEC. 3. SCREENING OF APPLICANTS FOR FEDERALLY AS- 6 SISTED HOUSING. 7 (a) DEFINITION OF COVERED CRIMINAL CON- 8 DUCT.—Section 579 of the Quality Housing and Work Re- 9 sponsibility Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 13664), as amended 10 by the preceding provisions of this Act, is further amend- 11 ed— 12 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 13 paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and 14 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol- 15 lowing new paragraph: 16 ‘‘(2) COVERED CRIMINAL CONDUCT.— 17 ‘‘(A) ADMISSION TO FEDERALLY ASSISTED 18 HOUSING.— 19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered 20 criminal conduct’ means, with respect to 21 admission to federally assisted housing, 22 criminal conduct— 23 ‘‘(I) for which the applicant or a 24 member of the applicant’s household 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3685.IH H3685 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3685 IH has been convicted of a felony under 1 State or Federal criminal law; and 2 ‘‘(II) that threatens the health, 3 or safety of other tenants, the employ- 4 ees, or the owner or public housing 5 agency. 6 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSIONS.—Notwithstanding 7 any other provision of law, such term does 8 not include, with respect to admission to 9 federally assisted housing— 10 ‘‘(I) a conviction for a drug of- 11 fense for which the individual served a 12 sentence of less than ten years; 13 ‘‘(II) an offense or offenses re- 14 lated to fees or back payments associ- 15 ated with incarceration; 16 ‘‘(III) any other legal financial 17 obligation; or 18 ‘‘(IV) a conviction for which the 19 individual was sentenced only to pro- 20 bation.’’. 21 (b) SCREENING OF APPLICANTS.—Section 576 of the 22 Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (42 23 U.S.C. 13661) is amended to read as follows: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3685.IH H3685 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3685 IH ‘‘SEC. 576. SCREENING OF APPLICANTS FOR FEDERALLY 1 ASSISTED HOUSING. 2 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO DENY ADMISSION FOR CRIMI- 3 NAL CONDUCT.—Except as otherwise provided by this sec- 4 tion and in addition to any other authority to screen appli- 5 cants, in selecting among applicants for admission to fed- 6 erally assisted housing or a federally assisted housing pro- 7 gram, including individuals seeking to join a household 8 currently receiving Federal housing assistance, a public 9 housing agency or owner of such housing (as applicable) 10 may deny an applicant admission to the program or to 11 federally assisted housing based on any criminal conduct 12 only if the agency or owner determines, based on an indi- 13 vidualized review of the totality of the circumstances, that 14 such applicant or any member of the applicant’s household 15 was engaged in covered criminal conduct, within a reason- 16 able period of time preceding the date when the applicant 17 household would otherwise be admitted to the federally as- 18 sisted housing or to the program. 19 ‘‘(b) INDIVIDUALIZED REVIEW OF THE TOTALITY OF 20 THE CIRCUMSTANCES.— 21 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Before denying admis- 22 sion to an applicant pursuant to subsection (a), a 23 public housing agency or owner of federally assisted 24 housing shall conduct an individualized review of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3685.IH H3685 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3685 IH totality of the circumstances regarding the criminal 1 conduct at issue. 2 ‘‘(2) REVIEW PANEL FOR PUBLIC HOUSING AND 3 TENANT-BASED RENTAL ASSISTANCE APPLICANTS.— 4 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall 5 issue guidance requiring each public housing 6 agency to establish a review panel to conduct 7 the individualized review required under para- 8 graph (1) with respect to applications for feder- 9 ally assisted housing specified in subparagraphs 10 (A) and (B) of section 579B(3). An applicant 11 may present mitigating evidence for the review 12 panel to determine whether the applicant should 13 be admitted. 14 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—Each committee re- 15 view panel shall include at least one resident 16 representative. 17 ‘‘(C) NOTICE.—Applicants shall be notified 18 in writing of their panel review at least 14 days 19 before date of the review. Notice shall be pro- 20 vided in accordance with subsection (c) of this 21 section. 22 ‘‘(D) CONVICTION INFORMATION.—A pub- 23 lic housing agency shall produce a detailed 24 criminal conviction report to be used by the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3685.IH H3685 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3685 IH panel in the review process. If an applicant 1 identifies an error on the criminal conviction re- 2 port used by the panel, the applicant shall have 3 the opportunity to defer his or her application 4 prior to panel review to correct the report. The 5 report shall be shared only with the applicant 6 and members of the review panel. 7 ‘‘(E) BURDEN OF PROOF.—A public hous- 8 ing agency may not deny admission to an appli- 9 cant unless the agency determines, by a prepon- 10 derance of the evidence, that the applicant’s 11 criminal conduct renders the applicant unfit for 12 housing. 13 ‘‘(F) CONFIDENTIALITY.—All information 14 gathered in the process of screening for crimi- 15 nal convictions shall be kept confidential and 16 shall not be released unless the applicant agrees 17 in writing or such release it is otherwise re- 18 quired by law. Public housing agencies shall es- 19 tablish a formal confidentiality policy. 20 ‘‘(G) DECISION-MAKING PROCESS.—The 21 panel shall review the applicant’s circumstances 22 and other available information, including any 23 information the applicant chooses to bring to 24 the panel’s attention. Within 7 days, the panel 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3685.IH H3685 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3685 IH shall review all relevant information and mem- 1 bers shall determine whether, by a preponder- 2 ance of the evidence, the applicant’s criminal 3 record renders the applicant unfit for housing. 4 ‘‘(H) APPEALS.—Each applicant shall have 5 a right to appeal a decision by the panel to 6 deny admission, in accordance with current reg- 7 ulations. An applicant shall have 14 days to ap- 8 peal the determination and a request for such 9 an appeal shall be made in writing. Pursuant to 10 such a request, the public housing agency shall 11 hold an informal hearing and decide whether to 12 uphold the initial determination within 7 days 13 after the hearing. The public housing agency 14 shall hold the dwelling unit open or shall re- 15 serve the assistance under the federally assisted 16 housing program, as the case may be during 17 the entire time of the appeals process. 18 ‘‘(3) NON-DISCRIMINATION.—When conducting 19 an individualized review under this section, a public 20 housing agency or owner of federally assisted hous- 21 ing shall comply with applicable civil rights require- 22 ments under the Fair Housing Act, title VI of the 23 Civil Rights Act of 1964, section 504 of the Reha- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3685.IH H3685 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3685 IH bilitation Act of 1973, and titles II and III of the 1 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. 2 ‘‘(4) REVIEW FACTORS.—In conducting the re- 3 views required under paragraph (1), the public hous- 4 ing agency or owner which shall consider the fol- 5 lowing factors holistically, such that no single factor 6 is dispositive: 7 ‘‘(A) SEVERITY.—The severity of the 8 criminal offense or offenses committed. 9 ‘‘(B) TIME ELAPSED.—The amount of 10 time elapsed since the criminal offense or of- 11 fenses were committed. 12 ‘‘(C) EVIDENCE OF REHABILITATION.— 13 Evidence of rehabilitation, including— 14 ‘‘(i) a person’s satisfactory compliance 15 with all terms and conditions of parole or 16 probation, provided that the person’s fail- 17 ure to pay fines, fees, and restitution shall 18 not be considered noncompliance with 19 terms and conditions of parole or proba- 20 tion; 21 ‘‘(ii) educational attainment or voca- 22 tional or professional training, or employ- 23 ment since conviction, including training 24 received or employment while incarcerated; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3685.IH H3685 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3685 IH ‘‘(iii) completion of or active partici- 1 pation in rehabilitative treatment, includ- 2 ing alcohol or drug treatment; 3 ‘‘(iv) letters of recommendation from 4 community organizations, counselors, case 5 managers, teachers, community leaders, 6 parole officers, and probation officers who 7 have observed the person; 8 ‘‘(v) a person’s familial relationship 9 with a person who may be currently resid- 10 ing in the dwelling unit in federally as- 11 sisted housing that the applicant is apply- 12 ing for residence in; or 13 ‘‘(vi) the age of the person at the time 14 of the conviction. 15 ‘‘(D) REDUCTION IN SENTENCE.—Whether 16 the applicant received a reduced sentence for 17 the criminal offense or offenses committed. 18 ‘‘(E) NATURE OF OFFENSE.—The nature 19 of the criminal offense, which shall include the 20 following: 21 ‘‘(i) OFFENSES RELATED TO AN INDI- 22 VIDUAL’S DISABILITY STATUS.—Whether 23 the criminal offense or offenses— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3685.IH H3685 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3685 IH ‘‘(I) were committed by a mem- 1 ber of the household who is an indi- 2 vidual with disabilities who is entitled 3 to a reasonable accommodation under 4 the Fair Housing Act or section 504 5 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1974; and 6 ‘‘(II) are related to or resulted 7 from a symptom of a disability of the 8 member of the household who com- 9 mitted the criminal offense or of- 10 fenses. 11 ‘‘(ii) PROXIMITY TO ASSISTED HOUS- 12 ING.—Whether the criminal offense or of- 13 fenses occurred on or near the federally as- 14 sisted housing to which the applicant’s ap- 15 plication relates (if applicable). 16 ‘‘(iii) OFFENSES RELATED TO AN IN- 17 DIVIDUAL’S STATUS AS A VICTIM OF DO- 18 MESTIC VIOLENCE.—Whether the criminal 19 offense or offenses committed arose from a 20 household member’s status as a victim of 21 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 22 assault, or stalking, as such terms are de- 23 fined in section 40002 of the Violence 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3685.IH H3685 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3685 IH Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 1 12291). 2 ‘‘(F) OTHER MITIGATING INFORMATION.— 3 Any other mitigating information provided by 4 the applicant, or provided on the applicant’s be- 5 half, including any information regarding the 6 rehabilitation or good conduct of the member of 7 the household who committed the criminal of- 8 fense or offenses. 9 ‘‘(5) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall issue 10 guidance for public housing agencies and owners to 11 implement the requirement to conduct individualized 12 reviews in accordance with this section. 13 ‘‘(c) NOTICES.—The Secretary shall require each 14 public housing agency and owner of federally assisted 15 housing to provide— 16 ‘‘(1) to each new applicant and each applicant 17 upon selection from the wait list for admission to 18 federally assisted housing or to a federally assisted 19 housing program, at the time of application and se- 20 lection from the wait list, written notice of the policy 21 of such agency or owner pursuant to this subtitle or 22 any other provision of law regarding denial of admis- 23 sion for criminal conduct, which shall include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3685.IH H3685 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3685 IH ‘‘(A) notice of the authority under sub- 1 section (a) to deny admission based on covered 2 criminal conduct and notice of the specific rea- 3 sonable time period to which such authority ap- 4 plies; 5 ‘‘(B) notice of the requirement under sub- 6 section (b) to [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]