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POLICY ALERT: Contact your Senators and urge them to vote FOR the HOME Act – HB 172

March 31, 2017


On March 20, 2017, the 
Maryland House of Delegates voted overwhelmingly in 
support of The HOME Act, HB 172, which will promote fair and equitable housing in Maryland by ending “source of income” discrimination against renters! 
THANK YOU for your calls and emails.
NOW, we need to continue the momentum in the Senate! The HOME Act is in the 
Senate Judicial Proceedings
Committee. Please 
CALL and 
EMAIL your Senators on the Committee and urge them to vote favorably for The HOME Act.

An honorably discharged Coast Guard veteran testified that she was unable to find housing in the community in which she wanted to live because of

source
 of income discrimination. “I tried many buildings and they all said “no Section 8.”…I am a U.S. veteran – I signed on the line to protect my fellow citizens and I did so honorably.  I have NO Criminal Record.  Yet, because I have a disability and cannot work, I am confined to certain places and certain areas…And the same landlords that wanted me to sacrifice MY LIFE to protect THEM won’t even let me live in their buildings.

Contact info for the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee members is available
 
here
 and they are listed by jurisdiction below:

Baltimore County
Sen. James Brochin (D – District 42)
Vice Chair, Sen. Delores G. Kelley(D – District 10)
Chair, Sen. Bobby A. Zirkin (D – District 11)
Carroll County
Sen. Justin Ready (R – District 5)
Carroll and Frederick Counties
Sen. Michael J. Hough (R – District 4)
Cecil and Harford Counties
Sen. Wayne Norman (R – District 35)
Harford County
Sen. Robert Cassilly (R – District 34)
Montgomery County
Sen. Susan C. Lee (D – District 16)
Sen. William C. Smith, Jr. (D – District 20) (Senate bill sponsor)
Prince George’s County
Sen. C. Anthony Muse (D – District 26)
Sen. Victor R. Ramirez (D – District 47)

For more information on the HOME Act, click here.  

The HOME Act will protect renters throughout the state by prohibiting landlords from discriminating against them based on their source of income. In the bill,

source
 of income means any lawful source of funds used to rent housing, including money from lawful employment, any government or private assistance, and any gift such as an inheritance or alimony. The bill will not increase the number of housing vouchers or expand the program in any way. This bill would ensure fairness for seniors, working families, veterans, and persons with disabilities seeking

housing
.  Eleven other states and over 40 other jurisdictions, including 3 Maryland counties, have laws similar to the HOME Act.  HB 172 will ensure better housing and economic opportunities for tens of thousands of Marylanders.