[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4235 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4235

        To amend the Fair Housing Act to prevent certain abuses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 27, 1996

   Mr. Fox of Pennsylvania introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
        To amend the Fair Housing Act to prevent certain abuses.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Housing Amendments Act of 
1996''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON LITIGATION.

    Section 813 of the Fair Housing Act is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
    ``(f) Limitation on litigation.--No person may commence a civil 
action under this section with respect to a discriminatory housing 
practice relating to a particular dwelling who cannot demonstrate, upon 
motion by the defendant, that such person has the ability and intent to 
inhabit the dwelling if the dwelling is offered to that person.''.

SEC. 3. REQUIRING INTENTIONAL DISCRIMINATION FOR DISCRIMINATORY HOUSING 
              PRACTICE.

    Section 802(f) of the Fair Housing Act is amended by inserting ``, 
committed with the intent to discriminate,'' after ``act''.

SEC. 4. EXEMPTION RELATING TO PUBLISHING OF INFORMATION.

    Section 807 of the Fair Housing Act is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
    ``(c) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to permit the 
imposition of any liability for a discriminatory housing practice on 
any publisher of information, such as a newspaper, that reasonably 
relies on the advertising copy presented for publication.''.

SEC. 5. LITIGATION COSTS.

    Section 812(c)(2) of the Fair Housing Act is amended by striking 
``the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party'' and 
inserting ``the court shall allow the prevailing party (whether 
plaintiff or defendant)''.
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