San Francisco: proposed Affordable Housing. (Photo: HUD.gov)
California AG Bonta Supports ‘Justice-Involved Individuals’ for HUD-Subsidized Housing
Are criminals in California considered a protected category with the other 17 protected classes?
By Katy Grimes, June 11, 2024 7:30 am
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced his support Monday for “justice-involved individuals’ need for safe, affordable housing with housing providers’ interest in maintaining the safety of their tenants and staffs.”
Most Californians would tell AG Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom, “just keep them in prison,” also known as “safe, affordable housing.”
What the %$&!?
Bonta’s office explains:
“Bonta today submitted a comment letter in support of a proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that would reduce barriers to HUD-assisted housing for individuals with past involvement in the criminal-legal system (justice-involved individuals). According to HUD, nearly a third of adult Americans have a criminal record. In California alone, approximately eight million individuals have some form of criminal record. In today’s comment letter, Attorney General Bonta underscores that affordable housing is vital to the successful reentry of justice-involved individuals and reducing recidivism. He also urges HUD to make several changes to the proposed rule to strengthen its effectiveness.”
Let’s unpack this jargon.
“Reduce barriers” means “justice-involved individuals” who we call criminals, can’t qualify for apartment rentals in many cases.
“HUD-assisted housing for individuals with past involvement in the criminal-legal system (justice-involved individuals)” means criminals who need subsidized housing.
“Affordable housing” means subsidized or free government housing.
“Those in our communities who have experienced interactions with the criminal justice system” means recently released criminals.
Did you know “there are over half-a-million HUD-subsidized housing units in California, housing nearly one million low-income individuals and families?”
AG Bonta wants HUD address “housing providers’ reluctance to follow California laws that provide additional housing protections for justice-involved people,” meaning even HUD doesn’t want to be responsible for criminal tenants.
Bonta wants HUD to “Expand the proposed rule to also exclude, in addition to arrest records, the use of non-conviction records; juvenile records; records of service calls to law enforcement; and conviction records where the person has obtained an expungement, pardon, or other post-conviction relief in housing decisions,” meaning scrap all arrest records.
And this is because “Attorney General Bonta has been committed to ensuring equal access to housing.”
Here’s the kicker: In February, Bonta issued updated guidance outlining cities’ and counties’ obligations under the recently enacted Assembly Bill 1418 (AB 1418). Authored by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood), AB 1418 prohibits local governments from, among other things, enacting ordinances, regulations, and rules that impose penalties on tenants and landlords solely for contacts with law enforcement. It is the first law in the nation that regulates crime-free housing programs.
This is because local jurisdictions have exercised that discretion to maintain Crime-Free Housing Policies, in some cases, for decades. Bonta claims “Crime-Free Housing Policies can contribute to the segregation of our communities and the exclusion of people of color from certain areas in violation of federal and state law.”
The Bottom line:
Bonta says thanks to AB 1418, local governments are prohibited from enforcing or implementing any ordinance that threatens to impose a penalty against a tenant as a consequence of contact with a law enforcement agency.
“In particular, local governments are prohibited from adopting or enforcing Crime-Free Housing Policies which require or encourage a housing provider to engage in, or impose a penalty on a housing provider.”
Bonta says Local governments are also prohibited from defining any contact a tenant may have with a law enforcement agency as a “nuisance,” and describes this as “Intentional discrimination.”
So now, are criminals in California considered a protected category with the other 17 protected classes?
Lawyers, please weigh in. This doesn’t pass the smell test.
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Uggh!
….and that is why the stack and packs look like prisons!
Very cold uninviting places to live.
It all makes sense now, it never has been about building affordable housing for working people.
How well will most sleep knowing there are more criminals in their building?
BTW, I am so sick of the new feel good terminology such as Justice Involved Individuals. Call it what it is;criminality. These same Social Justice Warriors sure like to refer to Trump as a convicted criminal. Has anyone described him as a Justice Involved Individual?🤔
it’s strange how we in California allow these crazy Democrats to ruin our state but you keep voting for them. criminals are not are friends and shouldn’t be given any help what at ever. your not safe as long as you keep voting for these idiots.
Election cheating ——– heard of it?
But Zach – we DON’T vote for them – Dominion does via their security exploits and back-doors, ballot “adjudication” and tabulation “algorithms”…
And until the California Department of Justice actually does its JOB and investigates these fradulent platforms AND the various cheat-by-mail and voter-roll manipulations, we will ALL suffer with rigged elections…
Want proof? Here it is :
Statewide:
https://votingsystems.cdn.sos,ca.gov/vendors/dominion/dvs510staff-report.pdf
LA County :
https://votingsystems.cdn.sos.ca.gov/vendors/LAC/vsap2-sec-tel.pdf
Check out page 18 onwards…
Another stupid and counter intuitive decision by Bonta, with little understanding of the housing market, crime, or pressures on landlords. What’s the recidivism rate? 41%? This means that over 40% of the time a landlord will rent to someone he knows (at least statistically) is likely to re-offend.
This is so stupid. It’s bad enough that when you fill out your paperwork they ask if you are undocumented, day labor or have a green card. Plus I no we had a child molester that was on Second 8 in my Apartment complex but in the rules it states you can’t have a criminal back ground. And the weighting list is 20 to 40 plus years some people have told me. We even had a half way house that was a total of 3 Apt so they could transition out of prison that went over well. They were selling drugs and had prostitutes coming and going all the time. Yes there are people that don’t need to be on housing but for the ones that do need it don’t penalize them and let these ones coming out get a free ride.
The short version:
A person can not be evicted for criminal behavior…..
1. Evicting or penalizing a tenant because of the tenant’s association with another tenant or
household member who has had contact with a law enforcement agency or has a criminal
conviction;
2. Evicting or penalizing a tenant because of the tenant’s alleged unlawful conduct or arrest
on or near the property;
3. Including a provision in a lease or rental agreement that provides a ground for eviction
not provided by, or in conflict with the law; and
4. Performing a criminal background check of a tenant or prospective tenant
Agree with Katy Grimes that prisons are safe and affordable housing for “justice-involved individuals” aka criminals. Rob Bonta is a Yale trained lawyer with ZERO ethics who has blatantly steered state contracts and campaign funds to his wife Mia’s non-profits and campaigns. Maybe he needs to be a “justice-involved individual?”
https://www.theepochtimes.com/opinion/the-new-california-homeless-from-american-dream-to-poverty-and-tyranny-5665114?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge
Here we are again…
The Liberal Communist Marxist Party of California is now allowing “FREE HOMES FOR FELONS” on Every California’s Taxpayers Dime!
When are you foolish fools going too stop this?
This is a discrace too our state and our country.
See comment #3
Oh, you mean CRIMINALS???
C’mon Bonta, you swish, call em what they are….
keep voting for Democrats and this will never stop and only get worse. newsom and bonta must go and never be voted into public office