La. House set to debate bill that would prevent discrimination in housing for the formerly incarcerated

9th May 2022   ·   0 Comments

By Ryan Whirty
Contributing Writer

State legislation designed to protect formerly incarcerated people from discrimination when searching for post-release housing is scheduled for debate on the state House floor on May 9.

Although House Bill 1063, titled “The Louisiana Equal Housing Opportunity Act,” represents a version of the legislation that has been diluted somewhat from what was originally proposed, supporters of the bill say HB1063 would provide much-needed support people who have served time in prison and who face a lingering stigma as they try to reintegrate into society.

State Rep. Matthew Willard, D-New Orleans, who proposed the fair housing legislation, said that because nearly half of the state’s residents have a criminal record that could potentially be used by landlords to deny housing opportunities to them, legislation is needed to ensure that such prejudicial actions and beliefs don’t hinder a formerly incarcerated person’s efforts to move on from their past and build a better future.

“There is certainly a stigma surrounding previously incarcerated people,” Willard said. “These citizens have paid their debt to society and are simply asking for the opportunity to become contributing members of their communities. We should not deny them a stable place to live and an opportunity to support themselves and their families.”

Willard learned about the difficulties people with criminal records have when searching for housing last year when he put forward and worked to successfully pass the state’s Fair Chance in Hiring Act, which provided protections for formerly incarcerated people when applying for jobs.

Willard said that in a way, the new Fair Chance in Housing bill builds off the previous hiring act by providing the type of housing stability ex-convicts need in order to find jobs. He said that housing and employment are interrelated and complement each other when formerly incarcerated people try to establish productive, happy lives.

“One of my priorities as a legislator is to reduce barriers our formerly incarcerated people encounter as they return home from prison and attempt to successfully integrate back into society,” he said. “However, if they can’t secure stable housing because of discriminatory housing policies, they will have trouble holding down a job. Stable housing is essential for any person to be successful in life.”

Willard added that assisting ex-convicts in obtaining employment and housing in turn addresses other challenges facing society, including in Louisiana. By barring landlords who require criminal background checks as part of the housing application process from summarily rejecting a formerly incarcerated person’s application without regard to the context and background of each individual applicants’ criminal record, the new bill will hopefully lead to better communities overall.

“Discriminatory housing policies exacerbate our homeless population and often lead to reoffending, creating additional victims of crime,” he said. “It is in the best interest of society to ensure our formerly incarcerated have access to housing and are not blanketly screened out of a housing application process for having a felony.”

One advocacy group that continues to support formerly incarcerated people in their efforts to re-enter society and build better lives is Step Up Louisiana, a community-based organization dedicated to providing people the ability to earn education, fairness and economic justice for all Louisianians.

Step Up was a primary supporter of last year’s Fair Chance in Hiring Act, and it’s similarly supporting the Fair Chance in Housing bill this year. LaTasha Williams, the economic justice organizer for Step Up, echoed Willard’s thoughts, saying that homelessness often leads to re-arrest for formerly incarcerated people, many of whom have to also support family or other loved ones.

Williams knows the type of stiff challenges a formerly incarcerated person can face post-release. As someone who herself served time in prison, Williams said she was able to begin working immediately upon release, employment that she needed to meet the credit requirements for housing. She also needed income to cover the cost of each application for housing she made.

However, even with all that effort and income, Williams said she was rejected by landlords when she applied for housing. It was as if all of her hard work and dedication to her new life didn’t even matter to the landlords. It was only after multiple rejections that she was able to procure a place to live.

“I went through all [that effort] only to find out I didn’t get the apartment,” Williams said. “When I asked why I didn’t get the apartment, it was because a criminal background check came back. I found an apartment to live in because I didn’t give up [after] going to that one apartment.”

Williams said she hopes HB 1063 can pass so people like her won’t have to go through what she did. “It wouldn’t be a hindrance [to find housing] for someone like me or maybe the other hundreds of FIP’s that are returning to being hardworking, tax-paying citizens,” she said.

Willard said the bill has received some criticism as it moves its way through the legislative process, especially from the Apartment Association of Louisiana. In addition, in order to get the bill approved at the committee level, the original legislation that Willard proposed was changed and to a certain extent weakened.

But Willard said he’s been trying to work with the apartment association to craft a compromise bill, which resulted in HB 1063, the version that is scheduled to go before the full House for debate this week. After working with several parties, including representatives from the landlord and property owner groups, to hammer out the current compromise, and after getting the support of other legislators, Willard believes the bill can eventually pass despite the opposition it faces.

“I remain optimistic on the passage of this bill, and I have several colleagues assisting me as the bill moves through the legislative process,” he said. “I think my colleagues understand the economic and social benefits that this bill brings to the state, and I believe they will make the right decision on HB 1063.”

This article originally published in the May 9, 2022 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.