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Bill would codify disparate‑impact enforcement in Maryland to preserve fair‑housing protections amid federal uncertainty
Summary
HB 1239 would explicitly preserve disparate‑impact (discriminatory effect) claims under Maryland law; backers including the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division and public‑interest groups said the change merely codifies current judicial interpretation but creates a state‑level safeguard should federal standards be rolled back.
Delegate Tavares presented HB 1239 to affirm that Maryland courts and agencies should continue to recognize disparate‑impact claims — challenges to neutral policies that disproportionately harm protected groups — as part of state fair‑housing enforcement.
Jonathan Smith, chief of the Civil Rights Division in the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, told the committee Maryland’s anti‑discrimination law tracks federal law and that disparate‑impact and intentional‑discrimination theories have…
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