2018 Virginia General Assembly
Legislative Highlights
February 5, 2018
The disAbility law Center of Virginia monitors developments in the legislature that may be of interest to people with disabilities. We are available to educate policymakers about the potential impact of legislative proposals. Please let us know of any legislation or budget issues that you think we should be following. Contact us at info@dlcv.org or by calling 1-800-552-3962 or 804-225-2042
As the legislature approaches the official midpoint, known as “cross over,” many proposed bills have been killed or passed by for the year. The legislature is considering some bills of opposing viewpoints that impact the housing rights of people with disabilities:
SB 909 (McClellan) would have prohibited discrimination in housing based on an applicant’s “source of income,” defining source of income as any external lawful financial assistance, whether governmental or not. While this bill is important to people with disabilities and their ability to rent in the community using governmental assistance like social security, the bill faced opposition. Senator McClellan asked the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology to carry the bill over until 2019.
HB 1408 (Bourne) prohibits discrimination in housing based on an applicant’s source of income, companion bill to SB 909. This bill has been assigned to House General Laws, but has not yet been placed on a meeting agenda.
HB 178 (Bell, Richard) – would allow landlords to refuse to rent to someone whose source of income is an entity other than the lessee, such as a government voucher or other government payment program. The bill is the opposite of HB 1408 above. The bill has been assigned to House General Laws, but has not yet been placed on a meeting agenda.
The mission of the disAbility Law Center of Virginia is to advance independence, choice and self-determination; protect legal, human and civil rights; and eliminate abuse, neglect and discrimination of people with disabilities through zealous and uncompromising legal advocacy and representation.