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Committee approves Safe and Healthy Homes amendments after debate over public listing of properties
Summary
Senate Bill 941, conforming to the House Safe and Healthy Homes for All Act, was moved favorably after members debated whether the bill’s provisions would create a public list of problematic properties; sponsors said the bill requires DHCD and the Attorney General to develop a plan, not to publish a punitive list in the first instance.
Senate Bill 941, as amended, was moved favorably by the Economic Matters Committee on April 8. The bill aligns the Senate measure with the House Safe and Healthy Homes for All Act, applies to properties with 50 or more units, and requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to prepare a report with additional information.
Committee discussion focused on whether the bill would produce a public listing of properties that fail to meet safety and health standards. One member objected to publishing a list of properties or companies, calling it a "naughty list." "I just have this real rub for whether or not we should be listing company names and/or businesses...to send out like a naughty list of properties I just have a hard time with," the member said.
Supporters and the subcommittee chair responded that the bill requires DHCD and the Attorney General to develop a plan to identify and address severe health-and-safety-risk properties and that the statutory change was intended to enable a plan for enforcement and support rather than immediate publication of a punitive list. The subcommittee chair said the bill only requires agencies to return a plan detailing how to address problem properties; any concrete enforcement steps would follow after that plan.
The bill was moved favorably as amended and passed on the committee roll call. Members asked follow-up questions about whether the Senate or House versions were being conformed and whether a list or report was part of the final statutory language; sponsors confirmed the House amendments adding reporting requirements were included in the text being voted on.
The committee’s action sends the House-conformed SB 941 to the House floor for further consideration; the bill’s reporting requirement assigns DHCD and the Attorney General to develop and recommend a course of action for properties identified as posing severe health and safety risks.
