Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has signed SB 599 a bill that will ban landlords from asking about the immigration status of tenants, according to her press secretary Roxy Mayer.
The bill, SB599, passed both houses of the Oregon Legislature according to reports.
The bill takes effect 30 days after signing by the governor which she did on May 28.
“Certainly we want to be sure people have access to housing,” Kotek said about the bill pointing out it had bi-partisan support.
Other states with laws on immigration status of tenants
Washington, California, New York and Illinois have similar laws preventing residents’ legal status from serving as a barrier to housing.
“This bill is about more than documents — it’s about dignity,” said chief bill sponsor Rep. Ricki Ruiz (D-Gresham) in a press release. “No Oregonian should have to live in fear that where they were born could cost them their home. This bill makes it clear: Housing is a human right, and discrimination has no place in Oregon.”
Ruiz said in the release that “under the bill, landlords can verify applicants and run credit checks but cannot limit tenant identification to forms that are presumed to be tied to citizenship or permanent residency.
“The proposed law designates as acceptable Social Security cards, birth certificates, ‘green cards,’ travel and immigration visas, taxpayer ID number cards from the IRS, passports, driver licenses, other government IDs, and reasonably verifiable nongovernment IDs.”
The bill’s language says it “Prohibits landlords from inquiring about or [disclosing] discriminating on the basis of a tenant’s or applicant’s immigration or citizenship status, [or] rejecting an applicant [due to immigration status. Prohibits discrimination based on immigration status for real property transactions.] based on the type of identifying documentation or disclosing or threatening disclosure of an applicant’s or a tenant’s immigration or citizenship status for improper purposes. Authorizes statutory penalties.”
The Oregon Capital Chronicle said Oregon, in 1987, was the first state in the United States to pass a sanctuary law prohibiting state and local law enforcement from helping federal officials enforce immigration law.
As the Trump administration has heightened its immigration enforcement, Gov. Kotek has repeatedly said she supports Oregon’s immigrant community and will uphold Oregon’s sanctuary law.
