Public safety
and consumer protection took center stage late yesterday
in a package of housing-related bills the House of Representatives sent across the
rotunda for Senate consideration.
Topping the
list was House
Bill 1529. Involving the disclosure of
information by landlords in the screening of potential tenants, the measure is
aimed at preventing discrimination against the victims of domestic violence
when they are seeking housing.House Bill 1647 requires that landlords exercise appropriate care and safety when they are keeping copies of any master keys or duplicate keys for the dwellings they manage. Three years ago a maintenance man used a key from a landlord's office to enter a woman's apartment in Richland and sexually assaulted the tenant.
House
Bill 1170 updates the
property-tax-exemption program to help make sure that folks on fixed incomes --
such as low-income senior citizens, as well as disabled veterans and other
people in need -- aren’t being taxed out of their homes.
House Bill 1853clarifies that licensed
real-estate brokers are independent contractors. State law would thus exempt real-estate brokers, managing brokers, and designated brokers from overtime
requirements, unless a broker is specifically designated as an employee in his or her contract with a real-estate firm.
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