Kentucky Senate passes House Bill 18, which blocks source-of-income bans

FRANKFORT — A bill that could block Louisville, Lexington and other local governments from banning source-of-income discrimination in housing took a key step forward in the Kentucky legislature Tuesday.

House Bill 18 passed the Senate after heated debate and will be sent back to the House of Representatives for approval.

The bill prohibits local governments from passing ordinances that ban landlords from discriminating against renters who rely on federal housing assistance, including the Section 8 voucher program.

The House passed its version of the bill on a 74-20 vote last month.

Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, said the Senate's amended bill is a combination of HB 18 and Senate Bill 25, which is aimed at protecting property owners' rights.

If the bill becomes law, it means Lexington's ordinance banning source-of-income discrimination couldn't be enforced.

Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, said the bill is a response to the measure that Lexington passed earlier last week and called that ordinance "discrimination against the market."

"Left-wing liberals on city councils are trying to force landlords to take the below market (rent)," Thayer said. "I'm not going to stand for it when we've got an opportunity to do something about it."

Critics of the bill say it allows discrimination in housing and oversteps local control.

Sen. Reginald Thomas, D-Lexington, said the bill discriminates against poor people and takes away authority from local government.

Other Democrats said the bill will limit affordable housing for both urban and rural areas.

"We should not be limiting the ability for people to access their fundamental and basic aspects of life such as housing," Sen. Gerald Neal, D-Louisville said. "We should be broadening that ability to do that."

Louisville Metro Council adopted a similar measure to Lexington's in 2020 banning housing discrimination.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said at a press conference Tuesday that the bill will make it more difficult for people to access affordable housing.

“We need to be doing everything at the local and state level to make it easier to access affordable housing, to make it easier to build affordable housing, to make it easier to build, renovate and develop housing,” Greenberg said.

West recognized there is an affordable housing crisis but said "it shouldn't be solved by putting new requirements on the backs of landlords."

The bill passed on a 25-11 vote, with six Democrats and five Republicans voting in opposition. Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville and majority caucus chair, was among the Republicans who voted against the bill.

 Reporter Eleanor McCrary contributed to this report. Reach reporter Hannah Pinski at @hpinski@courier-journal.com or follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @hannahpinski

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky source-of-income bans threatened by legislature