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Kansas committee hears SB 391, a bill that would bar cities from restricting landlords on Section 8 and screening rules
Summary
Senate Bill 391 would preempt local ordinances that limit landlord screening criteria or bar acceptance of Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8). Proponents told the Federal and State Affairs Committee that the bill protects landlord choice and federal-program voluntariness; opponents said it strips local control and threatens housing protections enacted in Lawrence.
The Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 391, legislation that would prohibit cities and counties from adopting or enforcing ordinances that bar landlords from refusing tenants on the basis of income provided through the Housing Choice Voucher program (Section 8) and would preempt local limits on tenant screening methods, security-deposit caps, and rights-of-first-refusal.
The measure, as summarized to the committee, would also nullify any local ordinance or resolution in effect on the bill's effective date that conflicts with the statute; the presenter said the bill would take effect July 1 if enacted.
Proponents, including representatives of state real-estate interests and property companies, said the bill is necessary to preserve what they described as landlords' private-property rights and to keep participation in HUD programs voluntary. "They're real money," Stanley Weber, CEO of Tower Properties, said of voucher…
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