CORRECTIVE REPRINT
PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 1080
PRINTER'S NO. 3014
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
955
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY FITZGERALD, MURT, McNEILL, ZABEL, KENYATTA,
CALTAGIRONE, FREEMAN, SOLOMON, HILL-EVANS AND McCLINTON,
MARCH 25, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON URBAN AFFAIRS, MARCH 25, 2019
AN ACT
Providing for the rights and privileges of homeless persons.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Bill of
Rights for the Homeless Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Homeless." The term shall have the same meaning as in
section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
(Public Law 100-77, 101 stat. 482)
"Housing status." The status of having or not having a fixed
or regular residence, including the status of living on the
streets, in a shelter or in a temporary residence.
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Section 3. Legislative intent.
The following shall apply:
(1) It is the long-standing policy of this Commonwealth
that no individual should suffer unnecessarily from cold or
hunger, be deprived of shelter, or the basic rights incident
to shelter, or be subject to unfair discrimination based on
the individual's homeless status.
(2) Many individuals have been rendered homeless as a
result of economic hardship, a severe shortage of safe and
affordable housing and a shrinking social safety net.
(3) It is the intent of the General Assembly to lessen
the adverse effects and conditions caused by homelessness.
Section 4. Rights afforded to homeless individuals.
(a) General rule.--No individual's rights, privileges or
access to public services may be denied or abridged solely
because the individual is homeless.
(b) Specific rights.--A homeless individual shall be granted
the same rights and privileges as other residents of this
Commonwealth. A homeless individual shall have all of the
following rights:
(1) To use and move freely in public spaces, including,
but not limited to, public sidewalks, public parks, public
transportation and public buildings, in the same manner as
any other individual and without discrimination on the basis
of the individual's housing status.
(2) To equal treatment by State and local government
agencies, without discrimination on the basis of housing
status.
(3) To be free from discrimination while maintaining
employment due to the individual's lack of permanent mailing
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address or due to the fact that the mailing address used by
the individual is for a shelter or social service provider.
(4) To emergency medical care free from discrimination
based on the individual's housing status.
(5) To vote, register to vote and receive documentation
necessary to prove identity for voting without discrimination
due to the individual's housing status.
(6) To protection from disclosure of the individual's
records and information provided to homeless shelters and
social service providers without appropriate legal authority.
(7) To confidentiality of personal records and
information in accordance with limitations on disclosure
established by the following:
(i) Federal Homeless Management Information Systems.
(ii) The Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-191, 110 Stat.
1936).
(iii) The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (Title
IV of Public Law 103-322, 108 Stat. 1902).
(8) To a reasonable expectation of privacy in the
individual's personal property to the same extent as personal
property in a permanent residence.
Section 5. Damages and attorney fees.
In a civil action alleging a violation of this act, the court
may award appropriate injunctive and declaratory relief, actual
damages and reasonable attorney fees and costs to a prevailing
plaintiff.
Section 6. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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