Deconstructing Segregation? Our latest field report on the intersections of fair housing, education, and transportation looks at efforts to take down the interstate highway that divided Syracuse, NY in the 1960s. See “Deconstructing Segregation in Syracuse: The fate of I-81 and the future of one of New York State’s highest poverty communities,” authored by Buffalo-based Make Communities.
NFHA et al v Carson update: Two weeks ago, in response to the lawsuit challenging the suspension of the AFFH process, HUD withdrew its original suspension notice and substituted a “withdrawal” of the AFFH Assessment Tool, which is the form that is required to comply with the AFFH rule. Although this regulatory maneuver changed nothing on the ground, it forced the plaintiffs to amend their complaint, resubmit their preliminary injunction motion and accompanying affidavits, and respond in more detail to HUD’s attempts to justify its indefinite suspension of the rule. You can see the amended pleadings on our NHFA v. Carson page.
Source of Income Discrimination: We have posted our annual update of the directory of “State, Local, and Federal Laws Barring Source of Income Discrimination” – with additional sections on proposed legislation, and recent academic articles. Congratulations to Washington State on joining a growing list of states that protect families with Housing Choice Vouchers from discrimination!
ACTION ITEMS
Bipartisan housing mobility demonstration bill advances in Congress: A bill providing for up to $50 million in funding for housing mobility services and mobility vouchers for families with young children has been approved by both the House Financial Services Committee and the House Appropriations Committee. If the bill makes it into the final 2019 budget, housing mobility grants for up to 15 metro areas could become available as early as the summer of 2019. For more information, see CBPP’s fact sheet. Now would be a good time to contact your Senators! (mention S. 2945, the Housing Choice Voucher Demonstration bill, introduced by Senators Todd Young and Chris Van Hollen…)
NCSD presses for elimination of anti-integration rider in 2019 budget bill: Encouraged by a small initial win in the 2018 budget, the National Coalition on School Diversity is renewing its efforts to have an archaic anti-integration provision inherited from the 1970s removed from the annual federal budget, with a letter to Congress signed by dozens of national civil rights and education groups – see the NCSD’s press release here and sign the petition here!
