County Council narrowly passes HOME Act

By Sophia Bates
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer

The Baltimore County Council approved a highly controversial bill Monday in a 4-3 decision that prohibits landlords from rejecting renters on the basis of their source of income.

The council’s four Democrats voted for the Baltimore County HOME Act while the three Republicans voted against.

The legislation, which has been the target of the local Republican Party over the past few weeks, includes income from a profession, job, occupation, gift, inheritance, pension, annuity, alimony or child support as legitimate sources that could not be used against a person seeking to rent or buy a home.

Landlords would also be prohibited from discriminating against potential tenants who receive government benefits, such medical assistance, disability payments or housing subsidies like rental assistance or supplements.

The bill allows landlords to verify the source and amount of a potential tenant or home buyer’s income as long as those background checks are done in a “commercially reasonable and nondiscriminatory manner.”

The vote is a victory for County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., who has been pushing for the legislation.

“Discrimination in any form is wrong,” Olszewski said in a  tweet before the meeting. “Tonight, we can make history in Baltimore County. #BringItHOME.”

Following the narrow vote, Olszewski released a statement thanking the council for passing the bill.

“Today is a major step forward for Baltimore County,” Olszewski said. “Together we will continue to expand economic opportunity, improve equity, and build a better Baltimore County.”

Prior to Monday, only two members of council showed support for the bill, Democrats Julian Jones and Izzy Patoka. Democrats Cathy Bevins and Tom Quirk joined Jones and Patoka in voting to pass the bill while Republican members David Marks, Todd Crandell and Wade Kach voted no.

 “I do believe that overall people should have the right to apply with different sources of income and not be discriminated against just because you don’t like their source of income,” Jones said. 

According to Bevins, the HOME Act is the “most misunderstood bill that we [the council] have ever had before us” in her nine years serving.

Bevins said the misunderstanding seems to center around how the bill will affect the federal government’s Section 8 housing program, which provides vouchers that pay a substantial portion of the rent of those who qualify for them. Opponents of the bill have argued that the HOME Act will force landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers, a move that could destabilize neighborhoods.

“People just kept referring to this as forced Section 8, mandated Section 8. That’s not what it is folks,” Bevins said. “All this is about is a source of income.” 

Quirk agreed with Bevins, saying that “investors still have a choice. Bottom line.”

Marks gave a statement of thanks to his colleagues and noted that he thinks “we’ve all learned a lot” but he thinks that the bill is not the determinate of equal opportunity. 

“I just think we can achieve equal opportunity in a more robust strategy that includes more than just this,” Marks said.

The council also approved one amendment to the bill that exempts landlords who own three or fewer properties with four or fewer units each from the requirements. This amendment was proposed by Bevins, Quirk and Jones.

Quirk said the amendment supports “mom-and-pop” landlords.

“In defense of the amendment, I think that the real concern for the small mom-and-pops is that some of them don’t want to have to deal with a lot of regulations,” Quirk said.

Another amendment was withdrawn by the council that would create funds to help landlords whose properties were damaged by someone using a voucher.

The Baltimore County Voters for Fair Housing, a group that has advocated for the HOME Act, tweeted a statement of support after the bill was passed, that was retweeted by Olszewski.

“Last night, Baltimore County made history in passing the HOME Act to prevent landlords from discriminating based on source of income, including housing vouchers,” the tweet read. “This is a huge step forward for Baltimore County.”

The Baltimore County Republican Party was not so happy.

“Think the increase in crime is bad now?” the county GOP said on its Facebook page shortly after the vote. “Thank your ‘county council representative.’ Now they build a perpetual Democratic base of illegal aliens, and extending the crime and squalor from Baltimore City, Baltimore County will now suffer from the fallout of this ‘vote.’ Those ‘representatives’ that voted for this never-ending nightmare, they should be condemned and held personally responsible for the destruction of Baltimore County schools, neighborhoods and communities.”

Following the 4-3 vote, applause erupted in the courtroom with some standing ovation. The bill is set to go into effect 45 days from the enactment date.