2018 Virginia General Assembly
Legislative Highlights
January 22, 2018
The deadline to request new proposed bills was on Friday, January 19, 2018, but because it can take legislative staff some time to get the request into proper form, we expect to see new bills appearing on-line for several more days this week.
The legislature is considering two bills of opposing viewpoints that will impact the housing rights of people with disabilities:
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.
At the time of this update, there is no Senate companion to HB 178.
SB 909 (McClellan) – prohibits 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.
At the time of this report, there is no House companion to SB 909.
The disAbility law Center of Virginia will be monitoring 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 legislative proposals 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.
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.