PRRAC — Connecting Research to Advocacy

Poverty & Race Research Action Council

PRRAC in the Courts

Most of PRRAC’s advocacy is at the federal and state executive branch level – working to implement civil rights mandates in housing, education, and environmental justice. We have also been occasionally involved in litigation, as amici curiae in a number of key Supreme Court and appellate cases (see here), sometimes convening or working with expert witnesses, and on one occasion participating as a plaintiff (as part of the coalition that brought a challenge to Maryland’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit program). More recently, in response to the unlawful suspension of important civil rights rules that PRRAC worked so hard to secure during the Obama administration, we have joined as co-counsel in two direct litigation challenges to HUD’s authority, Open Communities Alliance et al v. Carson and National Fair Housing Alliance et al v. Carson (see below).

Court papers in Open Communities Alliance et al v. Carson (2017-18)

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On October, 23rd, 2017 five organizations – the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), the Relman, Dane & Colfax PLLC law firm, the Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC), the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Public Citizen Litigation Group–sued the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) challenging its decision … [Read more...] about Court papers in Open Communities Alliance et al v. Carson (2017-18)

Baltimore Regional Housing Campaign v. State of Maryland Press Release (October 2017)

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Link to the press release FAIR HOUSING AGREEMENT REACHED WITH HUD, STATE TO CREATE AFFORDABLE FAMILY HOUSING IN OPPORTUNITY AREAS Media Release 10/3/2017 Contact: Barbara Samuels, ACLU 410-889-8555, samuels@aclu-md.org Philip Tegeler, PRRAC, 202-360-3906, ptegeler@prrac.org The State of Maryland and its Department of Housing and Community Development have entered into … [Read more...] about Baltimore Regional Housing Campaign v. State of Maryland Press Release (October 2017)

OCA v. Carson and Small-Area Fair Market Rents Materials (2017-2018)

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In fall 2017, PRRAC joined other civil rights organizations (NAACP LDF, Relman Dane and Colfax, Lawyers' Committee, and Public Citizen) in filing an Administrative Procedure Act suit against the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) challenging its decision to suspend a 2016 rule change that would have helped low-income families with Housing Choice Vouchers move to … [Read more...] about OCA v. Carson and Small-Area Fair Market Rents Materials (2017-2018)

Baltimore Regional Housing v State of Maryland Voluntary Compliance Agreement (August 2017)

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Link to the full agreement Voluntary Compliance Agreement and Conciliation Agreement Between The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Baltimore Regional Housing Campaign And The State of Maryland The Department of Housing and Community Development For the State of Maryland … [Read more...] about Baltimore Regional Housing v State of Maryland Voluntary Compliance Agreement (August 2017)