February 21, 1998 Deaf Watch Newsletter c/o Richard Roehm (address snipped) Speaker of the House Representative Newt Gingrich U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 RE: H.R.3206 Dear Mr. Speaker: Reps. Brian Bilbray (R-CA), Charles Canady (R-FL) and Jane Harman (D-CA) have introduced H.R. 3206, a dramatic and unmitigated assault on the Fair Housing Act, and the rights of all classes of Americans whose need's include housing. These Americans VOTE too! This bill : HR 3206 IH 105th CONGRESS 2nd Session To amend the Fair Housing Act. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 12, 1998 Mr. BILBRAY (for himself, Mr. CANADY of Florida, and Ms. HARMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Fair Housing Act. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1998'. SECTION 2. FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTIONS. The Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: PROTECTION OF FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS SECTION 821. (a) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to make the expression of an opinion or the seeking of redress from public authority a violation of this Act. (b) A party shall not be held liable or otherwise sanctioned under this Act for engaging in litigation or administrative proceedings unless: (1) the party does so for an improper purpose, such as to harass or cause unnecessary delay or needlessly to increase the cost of the litigation or proceedings; and (2)(A) the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions of the party in the litigation or proceedings are not warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law or the establishment of new law; or (B) the allegations and other factual contentions, for which the party in the litigation or proceedings has the burden of going forward with the evidence, have no evidentiary support. SECTION 3. SPECIFICITY OF COMPLAINT. Section 810(a)(1)(B)(ii) of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C.3610(a)(1)(B)(ii)) is amended by inserting `in sufficient detail to allow the respondent to prepare a response and make any available defenses' after `practice'. SECTION 4. EXHAUSTION OF STATE REMEDIES. Section 815 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3615) is amended-- (1) by inserting `(a)' before `Nothing in'; and (2) by adding at the end the following: `(b) A provision of a State or local law shall not be construed to violate this title if the party alleging such violation has not first sought appropriate relief through available administrative procedures provided by the State or local government regarding the application of that provision of law.'. SECTION 5. CLARIFICATION OF FAMILIAL STATUS PROTECTION. Section 802(k) of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3602(k)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (1), by striking `person' and inserting `individual'; and (2) by adding at the end the following: `With respect to a State or local law, the protections afforded against discrimination on the basis of familial status apply only with respect to groups of persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption, and with respect to a child under the age of 18 years living in a foster care arrangement with persons who are so related.'. SECTION 6. LOCAL CONTROL OF RESIDENTIAL USES. Section 807 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3607) is amended by adding at the end the following: `(c) Nothing in this title prevents-- `(1) State or local government regulation of facilities for residential services for persons with handicaps, if such regulation reasonably requires the dispersal of such facilities; `(2) State or local government restriction on the maximum number of unrelated persons permitted to occupy a dwelling, in an area restricted to single family dwellings, as applied to a recovering drug addict or alcoholic; or `(3) State or local government restriction on the occupancy of facilities for residential services for persons with handicaps, by persons convicted of a crime, for which a term of imprisonment greater than one year may be imposed, or juveniles adjudicated delinquents on the basis of conduct that would constitute such a crime if committed by an adult.'. Am I missing something here? Is congress so lacking in initiative's for REAL, tangible national needs, that they must destroy even the most rudimentary previously GOOD legislation enacted by them, and/or their predecessors? Apparently, this is the case. I see no GOOD or HONEST reason for them to take such a draconian action otherwise. How many more of these 'midnight raids' on the rights of the public must we endure before you congressional REPRESENTATIVES of the people learn that what you do MUST be for the national good, not personal gratification? The voters expect more, and better from you than what we have gotten to date. These kinds of legislation must cease. All of you come up for election sooner or later, and the public will REMEMBER this, and other recent events of this caliber. We ask only that you do your duty, and HONOR the promises you made to GET elected to serve the nation. This destructive behavior is nowhere near the expectations the voters had when putting hand to the lever that got most, if not all, of you elected. Leading national newspapers report that discrimination in housing is still widespread in many regions of the United States. In light of this evidence, Congress cannot consider rolling back vital civil rights protections. The disability community is one of the largest and most underrepresented groups in the nation. Thank you for your time to read this letter. I appreciate it greatly. Sincerely, Richard Roehm Chief Editor Deaf Watch Newsletter