Support SB 329 (Mitchell), Stop Discrimination Against Section 8 Recipients!

WE WON! THIS BILL PASSED!

 

California State Senate Bill 329, sponsored by Senator Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), would amend the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to include Section 8 and other housing assistance vouchers within California’s prohibition on discrimination based on source of income. SB 329 passed the State Senate, and is now making its way through the Assembly.

Why is this important? 

For low-income tenants, federal and local housing voucher programs like Section 8 can make the difference between housing stability and homelessness. Renters who receive rental assistance vouchers are disproportionately part of vulnerable populations, including people of color, people with disabilities, seniors, and people on fixed incomes. While 11 states prohibit landlords from discriminating against renters who receive housing voucher assistance, California isn't one of them.

Tenants Together volunteers & staff counsel renters facing Section 8 discrimination on our statewide hotline day in and day out. Landlords often target Section 8 renters for eviction in order to evade accountability, or simply reject rental applications from Section 8 voucher holders. Frequently, housing providers will blatantly state "No Section 8" on their rental listings.  Section 8 discrimination has devastating consequences: in Los Angeles, nearly half of renters using Section 8 vouchers could not find housing before their voucher expired due to the widespread discrimination. No one should be denied a stable home because they use rental assistance to rent in an overpriced and extremely competitive housing market.

What can I do? 

Contact Your Assemblymember, and tell them need to vote "YES" on SB 329 when it goes for a vote to the full Assembly floor, which must happen by September 13, 2019. Fill out the form below to message your Assemblymember TODAY!

If your Assemblymember is on the Assembly Appropriations Committee it is especially important they hear from you. SB 329 will not make it to the Assembly for a floor vote unless it can make it out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.  If you representative is on the list below, please contact them today and let them know you want to end Section 8 Discrimination and pass SB 329 out of the Appropriations Committee!  

 
Assembly Appropriations Committee Members
 
Lorena Gonzalez (Chair), Dem - 80  (San Diego)
Frank Bigelow (Vice Chair), Rep - 05  (O'Neals)
Richard Bloom, Dem - 50 (Santa Monica)
Rob Bonta, Dem - 18 (Oakland)
William P. Brough,  Rep- 73 (Dana Point)
Jay Obernolte, Rep - 33    (Big Bear Lake)
Ian C. Calderon, Dem - 57 (Whittier)
Wendy Carrillo, Dem - 51   (Los Angeles)
Ed Chau, Dem - 49   (Monterrey Park)
Tyler Diep, Rep - 72    (Westminster)
Susan Talamantes Eggman, Dem - 13   (Stockton)  
Cottie Petrie-Norris, Dem - 74   (Laguna Beach)
Robert Rivas, Dem - 30   (Hollister) 
Vince Fong, Rep - 34    (Bakersfield)
Eduardo Garcia, Dem - 56   (Coachella)
Brian Maienschein, Dem - 77   (San Diego)
Bill Quirk, Dem - 20   (Hayward)
Jesse Gabriel, Dem - 45   (San Fernando Valley)

 

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