House committee debates H.169 language on immigration status, IDs and rental applications

The House General & Housing Committee reviewed draft 2.1 of H.169 on Tuesday, a proposal that would add protections against discrimination in housing on the basis of citizenship and immigration status and require residential rental applications to accept specified forms of identification.

Why it matters: The draft aims to make clear what forms of identification landlords must accept when conducting background or credit checks, and to protect landlords from conflicts between state nondiscrimination rules and any future federal requirements.

Cameron Wood of the Office of Legislative Council presented the revisions. He said the draft reorders what landlords must accept when conducting background checks and adds language intended to shield landlords from conflict if federal law were to require verification or differential treatment on the basis of immigration…