Housing Committee
JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
Bill No.: SB-105
Title: AN ACT ESTABLISHING A RIGHT TO HOUSING.
Vote Date: 3/10/2020
Vote Action: Joint Favorable Substitute
PH Date: 2/18/2020
File No.:
Disclaimer: The following JOINT FAVORABLE Report is prepared for the benefit of the
members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and
explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber
thereof for any purpose.
SPONSORS OF BILL:
The Housing Committee
REASONS FOR BILL:
To establish a right to housing for families and children by establishing best practices to
prevent homelessness for families and children. Preventing a family from losing their home in
the first place shall be critical. However, should this prove insufficient, the state should work
with unsheltered homeless families and children and provide them with emergency shelter,
supportive services and placement in permanent housing and establish a process that treats
participates with dignity and respect, to help stabilize the family and create as little trauma as
possible.
SUBSTITUTE LANGUAGE:
Changes the spelling of "Analysis" to "Analyses".
Adds Section 3, which provides information regarding the types of items housing agencies
are to include during a regulatory and flexibility analysis.
Added the language "as amended by this act" throughout the bill for clarity.
Added references to Section 3 of the Act to clarify information in other sections.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
Sarah Fox, Director of Advocacy and Community Impact for the Connecticut Coalition to End
Homelessness, Hartford: Sarah states that her organization supports SB-105 with concerns
about the language of the bill. She states that it isn't clear if the bill refers to a "a right to
permanent housing". They fear that the bill provides services more akin to a shelter rather
than a house regarding aiding in emergency situations. They would like the committee to
reconsider the language of the bill to ensure that the bill doesn't enforce a right to shelter, and
instead focusses on providing permanent stable housing to all that need it.
The following people support SB-105 conditionally, stating that the bill may only provide a
"right to shelter" and not a right to housing. These people would like the language revised to
provide more support for permanent housing.
Representative Susan Johnson, 49th House District, Windham
Kathleen Flaherty, Executive Director of the CT Legal Rights Project
Kiley Gosselin, Executive Director of the Partnership for Strong Communities
Matt Morgan, Executive Director of Journey Home, Hartford
Raphael Podolsky, Public Policy Advocate for Connecticut Legal Services, Middletown
The following people support SB-105 conditionally, stating that although the bills intentions
are good, the bill does not explain where funding would come from and would like to discuss
further on the fiscal matters of the bill.
Connecticut Realtors, East Hartford
Carrie Rowley, Member of the Connecticut Apartment Association
The following people support SB-105 conditionally, stating that the bill does not go far
enough in protection the tenant's rights. They would like to see an amendment providing
protections for tenants whose right are being violated and protecting those with criminal
records.
Kelly Moore, Policy Councilor for the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, Hartford
The following people support SB-105 stating that the bill would enable integration of
Connecticut communities and reduce homelessness across the state.
Rob Baril, President of the Service Employees International Union.
Page 2 of 5 SB-105
The following people support SB-105 stating that the bill will keep homelessness rare and
one-time. They support the financial and legal assistance that tenants would receive in times
of need.
Kellyann Day, Chief Executive Officer of New Reach Inc.
Pamela Heller, Staff Attorney for the Connecticut Fair Housing Center
Chris Senecal, Public Policy and Media Relations Officer for the Hartford Foundation,
Hartford
The following people expressed support for SB-105.
Michele Mudrick, Legislative Advocate for the United Church of Christ, Hartford
Jennifer Paradis, Executive Director of the Beth-El Center Inc., Milford
NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:
The following people oppose SB-105 due to an opposition of providing free lawyers and
assistance to tenants, claiming that tenants would easily be able to abuse the law and
increase rent among other tenants to pay for longer eviction times.
Adrianne Angel, Property Manager
Michael Batista, Resident
Adam Bonoff, Landlord
Allison Bonoff, Landlord
Peter Cao, Resident, New Haven
Michael Cervellino, Resident, Waterbury
Pete D'Amato, Resident, Hartford
Shirish Dhume, Resident, Cheshire
David Epstein, Rental Resident, New Britan
L. Flynn, Resident
Page 3 of 5 SB-105
Naomi Freeman, Resident, New Haven
Kevin Harris, Resident
Diane Jones, Broker, Brookfield
Thomas Kopchick, Resident
Lucien Laliberty, Broker for Signature Properties of New England, Danielson
Peter Lucchese, Broker for Sound Harbor Realty
Ming Luo, Resident
Luthein, Resident
Robert, Makas, Landlord
Marie Matta-Isona, Realtor for National Association of Realtors
Jeffery Mita, Landlord, Riverwalk
Ken Murry, Landlord, Waterbury
Rudy O'Neil, Landlord, New Britan
Yashesh Parikh, Resident, Rocky Hill
Bill Parry III, Realtor, Milford
Filipe Pereira, Resident
Denise Robillard, Realtor for Continental Realty Associates, Jewett City
Eric Rodgers, Landlord, CT Association of Real Estate Investors
Tushar Shah, Landlord
John Souza, Landlord part of the Connecticut Coalition of Property Owners
Iovanna Steven, Landlord, Meriden
Zachary Upton, Landlord, Bridgeport
Bo Yang, Resident
Lin Yang, Resident, Woodbridge
Page 4 of 5 SB-105
The following people oppose SB-105 due to finding the bill unclear on the what a "right to
housing" entails regarding funding, enforcement, or how municipalities will consider the bill.
Betsy Gara, Resident, West Hartford
Anthony Johnson, Executive Director of the Greenwich Housing Authority, SVP of Housing
and Legislation Committee. Greenwich
The following people expressed opposition for SB-105.
Stephen Briotti, Real Estate Broker
Guihong Gerema, Resident, New Britan
Richard Dubina, Resident, Chaplin
Phil Gerardo, Resident
Paul Januszewski, Landlord, Enfield
Rich Pavlik, Realtor
Raj Pillai, Business Advisor
Latha Rams, Blog Analyst
Sharon Stryker, Realtor
Kalidas Sukumaran, Resident
Sean Toomey, Resident
Reported by: Dalton Mongeau Date: 03/16/2020
Page 5 of 5 SB-105


Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 4-166