Housing Committee
JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
Bill No.: SB-355
AN ACT CONCERNING A LANDLORD'S ABILITY TO CONSIDER THE
Title: CRIMINAL RECORD OF PROSPECTIVE TENANTS.
Vote Date: 3/9/2021
Vote Action: Joint Favorable
PH Date: 3/4/2021
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:
Sen. Martin Looney, District 11
REASONS FOR BILL:
The reason for this bill is to help people with past criminal offenses reenter society by
restricting the look back period to five years when a landlord is screening them as a tenant.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
None
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
The following support the bill because it reduces homelessness and reduces the stigma
around civilians with a criminal record looking for a home
CEO of New Reach Kellyann Day- Supports this bill because it will reduce homelessness
Kathy Flaherty-Supports this bill because many people with criminal records who are denied
housing, become repeat offenders and mental health issues.
Hartford Foundation- Supports this bill because denying people with past criminal offenses
makes it harder for them to reenter society.
Connecticut Fair Housing Center- Supports this bill because some people with criminal
records are falsely accused yet still are black listed from getting apartments and homes.
Senator Martin Looney- Supports this bill because it makes it easier for people with past
criminal offenses to reenter society.
Kelly McConney Moore of ACLU CT- Supports this bill because it will reduce the
homelessness rate and make it easier for people with a criminal record to reenter society.
Margaret Middleton of Columbus House Inc-Supports this bill because it would reduce
homelessness
NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:
Senator Rob Sampson- Opposes this bill because it could endanger property owners and
their other tenants. He also opposes the bill because the state should not be involved in a
private contract between a landlord and their tenants.
The following oppose the bill because it could endanger the lives of property owners and their
other tenants in the area by preventing them from seeing the criminal history of a possible
tenant:
Bill Abo
Riya Abraham
Saji Abraham
Alexander Alicki Jr.
Anthony
Michael Batista
Richard Binns
Ken Burkhamp
Shahida Chaudhary
Naveen Chintu
Stephen Cornell
Janice Curtiss
Deblina
Trevor Dorian
Richard Dubina
Dora Edgerly
Casey Edwards
Michael Flaherty Jr.
Andres Galeano
B. Glow
David Haberfeld
Debina Hadler
Robert Hinners
Robert Jackson
Jan Jagush
Judy Januszewski
Lorraine Januszewski
Paul Januszewski
Michael & Nancy Jevits
Chris Johnson
Karl Koch
Peter Kreckovic
Tomas Laferriere
Carol Langeland
Page 2 of 3 SB-355
Jie Lu
Haiwen Ma
Art Mannion
Marie Matta-Isona
Sonja Murphy
Evon Muschinsky
Mahesh Nimmagadda
Mat O'Grady
Paul Palmer
Ram Patel
Joseph Paulose
Filipe Pereira
Mike Perugini
Charles Peterson
Stever Portera
Lorraine Potvin
Anne-Marie Puelo
Yinghui Qin
B Rahul
Tara Ramlal
Stephen Rejniak
Eric Rogers
Rick & Anne Sadlon
Pam Savejs
Erik Scarpati
Julie Scolastico
Erin Sheehan
Barbara Sullivan
Tedford Real Estate
TN Properties
Rosa Toledo
Helen Tu
Ana Ughetti
Toula Varvitsiotis
Zhibo Wang
Lin Yang
Hanlin Zhang
Reported by: Eddie Aledia Date: 3/18/21
Page 3 of 3 SB-355


Statutes affected:
Committee Bill: 8-45a
HSG Joint Favorable: 8-45a
File No. 107: 8-45a