CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to housing regulations; adding a new Chapter 14.09 (Fair Chance Housing) to the Seattle Municipal Code to regulate the use of criminal history in rental housing; authorizing the Seattle Office for Civil Rights to enforce the regulations set out in this new chapter; and amending Section 3.14.931 of the Seattle Municipal Code to expand the Seattle Human Rights Commission's duties.
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WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Justice has estimated one in every three adults in the United States has either an arrest or conviction record1; and
WHEREAS, the Center for American Progress reports that nearly half of all children in the U.S. have one parent with a criminal record2; and
WHEREAS, over the past two decades, there has been a rise in the use of criminal background checks to screen prospective tenants for housing; and
WHEREAS, a study by the Vera Institute of Justice has shown that people with stable housing are more likely to successfully reintegrate into society and are less likely to reoffend;3 and
WHEREAS, individuals and parents who have served their time must be able to secure housing if they are to re-enter into society to successfully rebuild their lives and care for their families; and
WHEREAS, African Americans are 3.4 percent of Washington's population but account for nearly 18.4 percent of Washington's prison population;4 Latinos are 11.2 percent of Washington's population but account for 13.2 percent of Washington's prison population;5 and Native Americans are 1.3 percent of the state population but account for 4.7 percent of Washington's prison population;6 and
WHEREAS, racial inequities in the criminal justice system are compounded by racial bias in the rental applicant selection process, as demonstrated by fair housing testing conducted by the Seattle Office for Civil Rights in 2013 that found evidence of different treatment based on race in 64 percen...
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