Posted: | October 3, 2016 09:40 AM |
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From: | Senator Art Haywood |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Amending the Housing Authorities Law to Allow for Relocation of Victims of Domestic Violence |
In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation amending the Housing Authorities Law to allow a victim of domestic violence to request relocation. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and this is an effort to combat domestic violence in the Commonwealth. This bill was developed with input from the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Domestic violence continues to plague our communities. Last year, the 60 community centers providing services throughout the Commonwealth assisted more than 89,000 victims of domestic violence. This bill allows a tenant of a housing authority to request they be relocated to another unit under the control of the authority or in the same geographic region when they certify to a housing authority that they are the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The housing authority would have 5 days to approve a request and 30 days to relocate the individual and other members of their household. The housing authority would be prohibited, absent a court order, from releasing the new address of the tenant. I hope that you will join me in sponsoring this legislation. |
Introduced as SB1387