Bill H.1655

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3215 FILED ON: 1/20/2023

HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1655

By Representative Livingstone of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1655) of Jay D. Livingstone and David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf relative to fair housing protections for victims of abusive behavior. The Judiciary.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act increasing fair housing protections for victims of abusive behavior.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 151B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after paragraph 23 the following paragraph:-

24. The term “victim of abusive behavior” shall mean any person who is experiencing or has experienced abusive behavior.

25. The term “abusive behavior” in this section shall mean (i) any behavior constituting domestic violence; (ii) stalking in violation of section 43 of chapter 265; (iii) sexual assault, which shall include a violation of sections 13B, 13B½, 13B¾, 13F, 13H, 22, 22A, 22B, 22C, 23, 23A, 23B, 24, 24B, 26D, 50 or 51 of chapter 265 or sections 2, 3, or 35A of chapter 272; or (iv) kidnapping in violation of the third paragraph of section 26 of chapter 265.

26. The term “domestic violence” in this section shall mean abuse against a person by (i) the person’s current or former spouse; (ii) someone with whom the person shares a child in common; (iii) someone with whom the person is or was cohabitating; (iv) someone with whom the person is related by consanguinity, adoption, or marriage; (v) someone with whom the person has or had an intimate, sexual, or romantic relationship or to whom the person is or was engaged to be married; or (vi) someone with whom the person is in a guardianship relationship.

27. The term “abuse” in this section shall mean (i) attempting to cause or causing physical harm; (ii) placing another in fear of imminent serious physical harm; (iii) causing another to engage involuntarily in sexual relations by force, threat, or duress or engaging or threatening to engage in sexual activity with a dependent child; (iv) engaging in psychological, emotional, or mental abuse; (v) depriving another of health care, housing, food, or other necessities of life; (vi) engaging in harassment as defined in section 1 of chapter 258E; or (vii) restraining the liberty of another.

28. The term “psychological, emotional, or mental abuse” in this section shall mean a pattern of threatening, humiliating, or intimidating actions that is designed to induce or likely to induce fear or terror or to restrict another person’s ability to exercise free will or autonomy, including but not limited to unreasonably engaging in any of the following as part of such a pattern:

(i) Isolating another person from friends, family, or other sources of support;

(ii) Limiting another person’s access to or use of family or personal money or financial resources;

(iii) Controlling, regulating, or monitoring the another person’s activities, movements, communications, daily behavior, finances, economic resources, or access to services;

(iv) Belittling, degrading, or demeaning another person;

(v) Threatening to harm or kill another or another person’s family member;

(vi) Threatening to publish personal or false information about another person or to make false reports to law enforcement authorities about another person;

(vii) Damaging another person’s property or household goods; or

(viii) Forcing another person to take part in criminal activity or child abuse.

SECTION 2. Section 4 of said chapter 151B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking the first sentence of subsection 3B and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-

For any person whose business includes granting mortgage loans or engaging in residential real estate-related transactions to discriminate against any person in the granting of any mortgage loan or in making available such a transaction, or in the terms or conditions of such a loan or transaction, because of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation which shall not include persons whose sexual orientation involves minor children as the sex object, children, status as a victim of abusive behavior, national origin, genetic information, ancestry, age or handicap.

SECTION 3. Said section 4 of chapter 151B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking the first sentence of subsection 6 and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-

For the owner, lessee, sublessee, licensed real estate broker, assignee or managing agent of publicly assisted or multiple dwelling or contiguously located housing accommodations or other person having the right of ownership or possession or right to rent or lease, or sell or negotiate for the sale of such accommodations, or any agent or employee of such a person, or any organization of unit owners in a condominium or housing cooperative: (a) to refuse to rent or lease or sell or negotiate for sale or otherwise to deny to or withhold from any person or group of persons such accommodations because of the race, religious creed, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, which shall not include persons whose sexual orientation involves minor children as the sex object, age, genetic information, ancestry, or marital status of such person or persons or because such person is a veteran or member of the armed forces, or because such person is blind, or hearing impaired or has any other handicap, or because such person is a victim of abusive behavior; (b) to discriminate against any person because of his race, religious creed, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, which shall not include persons whose sexual orientation involves minor children as the sex object, age, ancestry, or marital status or because such person is a veteran or member of the armed forces, or because such person is blind, or hearing impaired or has any other handicap in the terms, conditions or privileges of such accommodations or the acquisitions thereof, or in the furnishings of facilities and services in connection therewith, or because such a person possesses a trained dog guide as a consequence of blindness, or hearing impairment, or because such person is a victim of abusive behavior; (c) to cause to be made any written or oral inquiry or record concerning the race, religious creed, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, which shall not include persons whose sexual orientation involves minor children as the sex object, age, genetic information, ancestry or marital status of the person seeking to rent or lease or buy any such accommodation, or concerning the fact that such person is a veteran or a member of the armed forces or because such person is blind or hearing impaired or has any other handicap, or because such person is a victim of abusive behavior.

SECTION 4. Said section 4 of chapter 151B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking the first sentence of subsection 7 and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-

For the owner, lessee, sublessee, real estate broker, assignee or managing agent of other covered housing accommodations or of land intended for the erection of any housing accommodation included under subsections 10, 11, 12, or 13 of section one, or other person having the right of ownership or possession or right to rent or lease or sell, or negotiate for the sale or lease of such land or accommodations, or any agent or employee of such a person or any organization of unit owners in a condominium or housing cooperative: (a) to refuse to rent or lease or sell or negotiate for sale or lease or otherwise to deny or withhold from any person or group of persons such accommodations or land because of race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, which shall not include persons whose sexual orientation involves minor children as the sex object, age, genetic information, ancestry, or marital status, veteran status or membership in the armed forces, blindness, hearing impairment, or because such person possesses a trained dog guide as a consequence of blindness or hearing impairment or other handicap of such person or persons, or because such person is a victim of abusive behavior; (b) to discriminate against any person because of his race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, which shall not include persons whose sexual orientation involves minor children as the sex object, age, genetic information, ancestry, or marital status, veteran status or membership in the armed services, blindness, or hearing impairment or other handicap, or because such person possesses a trained dog guide as a consequence of blindness or hearing impairment, or because such person is a victim of abusive behavior in the terms, conditions or privileges of such accommodations or land or the acquisition thereof, or in the furnishing of facilities and services in the connection therewith; or (c) to cause to be made any written or oral inquiry or record concerning the race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, which shall not include persons whose sexual orientation involves minor children as the sex object, age, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, veteran status or membership in the armed services, blindness, hearing impairment or other handicap or because such person possesses a trained dog guide as a consequence of blindness or hearing impairment, or status as a victim of abusive behavior of the person seeking to rent or lease or buy any such accommodation or land; provided, however, that this subsection shall not apply to the leasing of a single apartment or flat in a two family dwelling, the other occupancy unit of which is occupied by the owner as his residence.

SECTION 5. Said section 4 of chapter 151B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking subsection 7B and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

7B. For any person to make print, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, or published any notice, statement or advertisement, with respect to the sale or rental of multiple dwelling, contiguously located, publicly assisted or other covered housing accommodations that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation which shall not include persons whose sexual orientation involves minor children as the sex object, national origin, genetic information, ancestry, children, marital status, public assistance recipiency, handicap, or status as a victim of abusive behavior or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination except where otherwise legally permitted.

SECTION 6. Section 9 of said chapter 151B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the last paragraph the following:

In an action before the commission or a court with competent jurisdiction, a party claiming to be aggrieved under section 4 for discrimination on the basis of his or her status as a victim of abusive behavior shall be presumed for the purposes of establishing a prima facie case to be a victim of abusive behavior by producing any one of the following documents: (1) A protective order, or an order of equitable relief or other documentation, issued by a court of competent jurisdiction as a result of such abusive behavior, including but not limited to an order issued pursuant to chapter 209A or chapter 258E; (2) A document under the letterhead of a court, public agency, or social service, health care, or other service provider that the victim of such abusive behavior attended for the purposes of acquiring assistance as it relates to the abusive behavior;

(3) A police report or statement of a victim or witness provided to police, including a police incident report, documenting such abusive behavior; (4) Documentation that the perpetrator of such abusive behavior has been convicted of, has been adjudicated a juvenile delinquent by reason of, or has admitted to sufficient facts to support a finding of guilt of any offense constituting such abusive behavior; (5) Documentation of health care treatment as a result of such abusive behavior; (6) A sworn statement, signed under the penalties of perjury, provided by a counselor, social worker, health care worker, member of the clergy, shelter worker, legal advocate, or other professional who has assisted the victim of such abusive behavior in addressing the effects of such abusive behavior; (7) A sworn statement, signed under the penalties of perjury, from the victim of such abusive behavior attesting to such abusive behavior; or (8) Any other form of documentation or relevant evidence that reasonably corroborates or certifies that the employee, prospective employee, or family member of the employee or prospective employee is a victim of abusive behavior.

Name:	District/Address:	Date Added:
Jay D. Livingstone	8th Suffolk	1/20/2023
David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf	17th Worcester	1/25/2023