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- Introduced by Sen. Adam Kline (D) on January 28, 2009, protects consumers from discrimination in credit transactions based on lawful source of income, which includes income derived from employment, social security, supplemental security income, other retirement programs, child support, alimony, and any federal, state, local, or nonprofit-administered benefit or subsidy.
- Referred to the Senate Labor, Commerce & Consumer Protection Committee on January 28, 2009.
- Amendment offered in the Senate on February 25, 2009, provides that the prohibition on discrimination based on a person's lawful source of income does not apply to real estate transactions involving the sharing of a dwelling, or the rental or sublease of a portion of a dwelling when the dwelling is occupied by the owner or subleasor. The amendment passed by voice vote in the Senate on February 25, 2009.
- Referred to the Senate Rules Committee on February 25, 2009.
- Referred to the Senate Labor, Commerce & Consumer Protection Committee on January 28, 2009.
Comments
1) Re: 2009 Senate Bill 5672 (Prohibiting discrimination based on source of income) by fattailed on April 10, 2009The summary of this bill is misleading. In fact, the bill only applies to rental transactions, *not* credit transactions in general. In fact, mortgage transactions are specifically excluded from the bill.
The idea of the bill is that landlords shouldn't be able discriminate against a tenant because they get money from disability, social security, section 8, or any other lawful source. Landlords would of course still be able to screen tenants for credit, background, income qualification, etc. They'd just have to treat all legal income as equivalent. Nothing to do with lending or mortgages at all.
And yes, discrimination on this basis is a real problem. Discrimination against Section 8 voucher-holders, for example, is shockingly common. Just search craigslist for "no section 8" for a small sampling.
Politicians managing loan companies is what caused the ongoing financial meltdown. I advise checking your 401K before voting on this one.
So, do I understand this correctly, that, if this legislation passes, I can use my unemployment compensation to help qualify me for a mortgage? This sounds strangely familiar, with an aura of an unpleasant outcome.
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