MA H1854

Bill

MA H1854

Establishing a fair housing disparate impact standard

Introduced
03/29/2021

In Committee
03/29/2021

Crossed Over

Passed

Dead
12/31/2022

Introduced Session

192nd General Court

Bill Summary

Relative to discrimination against members of protected groups that creates, increases, reinforces or perpetuates segregated housing patterns. The Judiciary.

AI Summary

This bill establishes a fair housing disparate impact standard in Massachusetts. It amends the state's anti-discrimination law, Chapter 151B, to define key terms like "discriminatory effect," "disparate impact," and "legally sufficient justification." The bill allows for disparate impact claims, where a housing, lending, or insurance decision, policy, or practice has a disproportionate negative effect on a protected group, even without proof of discriminatory intent. The burden of proof is on the complainant to show the disparate impact, after which the respondent must demonstrate that the challenged action meets certain criteria to qualify as a "legally sufficient justification." This bill aims to strengthen protections against housing discrimination that perpetuates segregated living patterns, regardless of the underlying motivations.

Committee Categories

Justice

Sponsors (8)

Dave Rogers (D)*, Christine Barber (D), Pete Capano (D), Jamie Eldridge (D), Nika Elugardo (D), Natalie Higgins (D), Jack Lewis (D), Lindsay Sabadosa (D),

Last Action

Accompanied a study order, see H4844 (on 06/09/2022)

Official Document

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H1854

(13 Companion Bills)

Version:

Document Type	Source Location
State Bill Page	https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H1854
Bill	https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H1854.pdf

Bill	Bill Name	Last Action	Type
H1446	Establishing a statewide affirmatively furthering fair housing framework	Accompanied a study order, see H5276	Similar To
H1711	Prohibiting discrimination against adults with disabilities in family and juvenile court proceedings	Accompanied S1083	Similar To
H1753	Increasing fair housing protections for domestic violence survivors	Accompanied a study order, see H4844	Similar To
H3170	Relative to prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations	Accompanied a study order, see H4969	Similar To
H333	Relative to realtor fair housing education	Accompanied a new draft, see S2675	Similar To
H4844	Study Order	Discharged to the committee on House Rules	Replaced by
S1089	To protect unpaid interns, volunteers, and independent contractors from sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination	Accompanied a study order, see S2665	Similar To
S2017	Ensuring uniformity in education discrimination complaint procedures	Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on Senate Ways and Means	Similar To
S327	Prohibiting against age discrimination within the public schools	Accompanied a study order, see S2756	Similar To
S334	To prevent discrimination in interscholastic athletic and extracurricular activities	Accompanied a study order, see S2756	Similar To
S698	Prohibiting discrimination in insurance on the basis of having a naloxone prescription	Accompanied a study order, see S2700	Similar To
S861	Relative to affirmatively furthering fair housing	Accompanied a study order, see H5264	Similar To
S994	Prohibiting discrimination based on natural hairstyles	Accompanied H1907	Similar To

Bill > H1854

summary

Introduced Session

Bill Summary

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Sponsors (8)

Last Action

Official Document

bill text

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