SB 643 — An Act amending the act of October 27, 1955 (P.L.744, No.222), known as the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, further providing for definitions; prohibiting use of criminal history and retaliation relating to use of criminal history; providing for notice to prospective occupants and tenants relating to use of criminal history and for exclusions and other legal requirements relating to use of criminal history; and further providing for procedure and for civil penalties.

PRINTER'S NO.   655

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                        SENATE BILL
                        No. 643
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY SAVAL, STREET, KEARNEY, SCHWANK, HUGHES, COMITTA,
        KANE, HAYWOOD, MUTH, L. WILLIAMS, CAPPELLETTI, COSTA AND
        TARTAGLIONE, APRIL 21, 2025

     REFERRED TO URBAN AFFAIRS AND HOUSING, APRIL 21, 2025


                                    AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of October 27, 1955 (P.L.744, No.222), entitled
 2      "An act prohibiting certain practices of discrimination
 3      because of race, color, religious creed, ancestry, age or
 4      national origin by employers, employment agencies, labor
 5      organizations and others as herein defined; creating the
 6      Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in the Governor's
 7      Office; defining its functions, powers and duties; providing
 8      for procedure and enforcement; providing for formulation of
 9      an educational program to prevent prejudice; providing for
10      judicial review and enforcement and imposing penalties,"
11      further providing for definitions; prohibiting use of
12      criminal history and retaliation relating to use of criminal
13      history; providing for notice to prospective occupants and
14      tenants relating to use of criminal history and for
15      exclusions and other legal requirements relating to use of
16      criminal history; and further providing for procedure and for
17      civil penalties.
18      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
19   hereby enacts as follows:
20      Section 1.    Section 4 of the act of October 27, 1955
21   (P.L.744, No.222), known as the Pennsylvania Human Relations
22   Act, is amended by adding clauses to read:
23      Section 4.    Definitions.--As used in this act unless a
24   different meaning clearly appears from the context:
25      * * *
 1      (bb)    The term "accessory dwelling unit" means one or more
 2   rooms that are located within a principle residence, or within
 3   an accessory structure on the same lot as a principal residence,
 4   that is designed, arranged and intended to be occupied by not
 5   more than one household as living accommodations independent
 6   from any other household and is so occupied or vacant.
 7      (cc)    The term "adverse action" means:
 8      (1)    refusing to engage in or negotiate a rental real estate
 9   transaction;
10      (2)    denying tenancy;
11      (3)    representing that a housing accommodation is not
12   available for inspection, rental or lease when in fact it is so
13   available;
14      (4)    failing or refusing to add a household member to an
15   existing lease;
16      (5)    expelling or evicting, or threatening to expel or evict,
17   an occupant from a housing accommodation or otherwise making
18   unavailable or denying a housing accommodation;
19      (6)    creating conditions that make a housing accommodation
20   uninhabitable or unsafe for an occupant;
21      (7)    applying different terms, conditions or privileges to a
22   rental real estate transaction, including, but not limited to,
23   the setting of rates for rental or lease, establishment of
24   damage deposits or other financial conditions for rental or
25   lease or in the furnishing of facilities or services in
26   connection with the transaction;
27      (8)    refusing or intentionally failing to list a housing
28   accommodation for rent or lease;
29      (9)    refusing or intentionally failing to show a housing
30   accommodation listed for rent or lease;

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 1      (10)   refusing or intentionally failing to accept or transmit
 2   a reasonable offer to lease or rent a housing accommodation;
 3      (11)   terminating a lease; or
 4      (12)   threatening, penalizing, retaliating or otherwise
 5   discriminating against an individual for any reason prohibited
 6   by section 5.4.
 7      (dd)   The term "arrest record" means information indicating
 8   that a person has been apprehended, detained, taken into
 9   custody, held for investigation or restrained by a law
10   enforcement department, military authority or United States
11   Immigration and Customs Enforcement due to an accusation or
12   suspicion that the person committed a crime. The term includes a
13   pending criminal charge where the accusation has not yet
14   resulted in a final judgment, disposition, adjudication,
15   acquittal, conviction, plea, dismissal or withdrawal.
16      (ee)   The term "consumer report" means a written, oral or
17   other communication of information by a consumer reporting
18   agency bearing on a consumer's creditworthiness, credit standing
19   or credit capacity.
20      (ff)   The term "consumer reporting agency" means a person
21   which, for monetary fees, dues or on a cooperative nonprofit
22   basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of
23   assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other
24   information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer
25   reports to third parties.
26      (gg)   The term "conviction record" means information
27   regarding a finding or verdict of guilty, an adjudication of
28   delinquency whether deferred or otherwise, a final disposition
29   of a summary offense, an admission of guilt or a plea of nolo
30   contendere.

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 1      (hh)    The term "criminal history" has the same meaning as
 2   criminal history record information in 18 Pa.C.S. § 9102
 3   (relating to definitions).
 4      (ii)    The term "fair chance housing" means a practice that
 5   reduces barriers to housing accommodations for persons with
 6   criminal histories in accordance with section 5.4.
 7      (jj)    The term "landlord" means a person that owns, manages
 8   or operates a housing accommodation for rent or a housing
 9   accommodation that is offered or advertised as available for
10   rent.
11      (kk)    The term "legitimate business reason" means a reason
12   that exists when a policy or practice is necessary to protect
13   resident safety or to protect property, in light of the
14   following factors:
15      (1)    The nature and the severity of the offense underlying
16   the conviction as indicated by the Commonwealth through such
17   techniques as gradation and gravity score.
18      (2)    The time that has elapsed since the date of conviction,
19   provided that the landlord may not consider a conviction that
20   occurred more than two years prior to the adverse action as a
21   factor supporting a legitimate business reason for taking an
22   adverse action. For purposes of this subclause, the term
23   "conviction" means a finding of guilt or a plea of guilty or
24   nolo contendere, whether or not a judgment of sentence has been
25   imposed as determined by the law of the jurisdiction in which
26   the prosecution was held, except that the term does not include
27   a conviction that has been expunged or overturned or for which
28   an individual has been pardoned or an order of accelerated
29   rehabilitative disposition.
30      (3)    Supplemental information related to the person's

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 1   rehabilitation, good conduct and additional facts or
 2   explanations provided by the person, if the person chooses to do
 3   so. For purposes of this subclause, review of conviction
 4   information is limited to those convictions included in registry
 5   information.
 6      (ll)     The term "minor" means an individual under the age of
 7   18 years.
 8      (mm)     The term "prospective occupant" means a person who
 9   seeks to lease, sublease or rent a housing accommodation.
10      (nn)     The term "registry information" means information
11   solely obtained from a county, statewide or national sex
12   offender registry, including a registrant's physical
13   description, address and conviction description and dates.
14      (oo)     The term "supplemental information" means information
15   produced by a prospective occupant or tenant, or produced on the
16   individual's behalf, with respect to the individual's
17   rehabilitation or good conduct, including:
18      (1)    written or oral statement from the prospective occupant
19   or the tenant;
20      (2)    written or oral statement from a current or previous
21   employer;
22      (3)    written or oral statement from a current or previous
23   landlord;
24      (4)    written or oral statement from a member of the judiciary
25   or law enforcement, parole or probation officer or person that
26   provides similar services;
27      (5)    written or oral statement from a member of the clergy,
28   counselor, therapist, social worker, community or volunteer
29   organization or person or institution that provides similar
30   services;

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 1      (6)    certificate of rehabilitation;
 2      (7)    certificate of completion or enrollment in an
 3   educational or vocational training program, including an
 4   apprenticeship program; or
 5      (8)    certificate of completion or enrollment in a drug or
 6   alcohol treatment program or certificate of completion or
 7   enrollment in a rehabilitation program.
 8      (pp)     The term "tenant" means an individual who occupies or
 9   holds possession of a housing accommodation according to a
10   rental agreement.
11      Section 2.    The act is amended by adding sections to read:
12      Section 5.4.     Prohibited Use of Criminal History.--(a)   It is
13   an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person to:
14      (1)    Advertise, publicize or implement a policy or practice
15   that automatically or categorically excludes individuals with an
16   arrest record, conviction record, conditions of sentence or
17   criminal history from a housing accommodation offered for rent
18   or lease.
19      (2)    Require disclosure, inquire about or take an adverse
20   action against a prospective occupant, a tenant or a member of
21   their household, based on an arrest record, conviction record,
22   or criminal history, except for information under paragraph (3)
23   and subject to the exclusions and legal requirements in section
24   5.7.
25      (3)    Carry out an adverse action based on registry
26   information of a prospective adult occupant, an adult tenant or
27   an adult member of their household, unless the landlord has a
28   legitimate business reason for taking the action.
29      (4)    Carry out an adverse action based on registry
30   information regarding a prospective occupant who is a minor, a

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 1   minor tenant or a minor member of their household.
 2      (5)    Carry out an adverse action based on registry
 3   information regarding a prospective occupant who is an adult, an
 4   adult tenant or an adult member of their household if the
 5   conviction occurred when the individual was a minor or a minor
 6   tried as an adult.
 7      (b)    If a landlord takes an adverse action based on a
 8   legitimate business reason, the landlord shall provide written
 9   notice by email, mail or in person of the adverse action to the
10   prospective occupant or the tenant and state the specific
11   registry information that was the basis for the adverse action.
12   If a prospective occupant provides supplemental information
13   regarding rehabilitation, the landlord must explain why, in
14   light of the supplemental information, a legitimate business
15   reason remains.
16      (c)    If a consumer report is used by a landlord as part of
17   the screening process, the landlord must provide a free copy of
18   the consumer report to the prospective occupant or tenant in the
19   event of a denial or other adverse action, and the landlord must
20   provide the prospective occupant or tenant with an opportunity
21   to dispute the accuracy of information appearing in the consumer
22   report.
23      Section 5.5.    Retaliation Prohibited Relating to Use of
24   Criminal History.--(a)   It is an unlawful discriminatory
25   practice for any person to:
26      (1)    Interfere with, restrain or deny the exercise of, or the
27   attempt to exercise, a right protected under section 5.4.
28      (2)    Take adverse action against another person because the
29   other person exercised in good faith the rights protected under
30   section 5.4. The rights include the following:

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 1      (i)    The right to fair chance housing accommodations and
 2   regulation of the use of criminal history under section 5.4.
 3      (ii)    The right to make inquiries about the rights protected
 4   under section 5.4.
 5      (iii)    The right to inform others about their rights under
 6   section 5.4.
 7      (iv)    The right to inform the person's legal counsel or
 8   another person about an alleged violation of section 5.4.
 9      (v)    The right to file an oral or written complaint with the
10   Commission for an alleged violation of section 5.4.
11      (vi)    The right to cooperate with the Commission in its
12   investigations of section 5.4.
13      (vii)    The right to testify in a proceeding under or related
14   to section 5.4.
15      (viii)   The right to refuse to participate in an activity
16   that would result in a violation of section 5.4.
17      (ix)    The right to oppose any policy, practice or act that is
18   unlawful under section 5.4.
19      (3)    Communicate to another person exercising rights
20   protected under this section, directly or indirectly, the
21   willingness to inform a government employee that the other
22   person is not lawfully in the United States or to report, or to
23   make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report,
24   suspected citizenship or immigration status of a prospective
25   occupant, a tenant or a member of their household to a Federal,
26   State or local agency because the prospective occupant or tenant
27   has exercised a right under this section or section 5.4.
28      (4)    Communicate to another person exercising rights
29   protected under this section, directly or indirectly, the
30   willingness to take an action so as to cause an issue with the

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 1   other person's probation or parole through contacting a person
 2   responsible for the other person's supervision.
 3      (b)   It shall be a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if a
 4   landlord or person takes an adverse action against another
 5   person within 90 days of the other person's exercise of rights
 6   protected under this section. The landlord or person who took
 7   the adverse action may rebut the presumption with clear and
 8   convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a
 9   permissible purpose.
10      (c)   Proof of retaliation under this section shall be
11   sufficient upon a showing that a landlord or person has taken an
12   adverse action against another person and the other person's
13   exercise of rights protected under this section was a motivating
14   factor in the adverse action, unless the landlord or person who
15   took the adverse action can prove that the action would have
16   been taken in the absence of the protected activity.
17      (d)   The protections afforded under this section shall apply
18   to a person who mistakenly, but in good faith, alleges
19   violations of this section and section 5.4.
20      (e)   A complaint or other communication by any person
21   triggers the protections of this section regardless of whether
22   the complaint or communication is in writing or makes explicit
23   reference to this section or section 5.4.
24      Section 5.6.   Notice to Prospective Occupants and Tenants
25   Relating to Use of Criminal History.--(a)   A landlord shall
26   provide written notice to prospective occupants and tenants that
27   the landlord is prohibited from requiring disclosure, asking
28   about, rejecting an applicant or taking adverse action based on
29   an arrest record, conviction record or criminal history, except
30   for information under section 5.4(a)(3) and subject to the

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 1   exclusions and legal requirements in section 5.7.
 2      (b)   If the landlord uses a criminal history record check on
 3   a prospective occupant or tenant for information under section
 4   5.4(a)(3), the landlord must provide a free copy of the criminal
 5   history record check to the prospective tenant or occupant.
 6      (c)   If a landlord screens prospective occupants under
 7   section 5.4(a)(3), the landlord must provide notice of an
 8   applicant's ability to provide supplemental information related
 9   to the applicant's rehabilitation, good conduct and facts or
10   explanations regarding the applicant's registry information.
11      (d)   The Commission shall adopt a rule or rules to enforce
12   this section.
13      Section 5.7.   Exclusions and Other Legal Requirements
14   Relating to Use of Criminal History.--(a)   Sections 5.4 and 5.5
15   shall not be interpreted or applied to diminish or conflict with
16   a requirement of Federal or State law. In the event of a
17   conflict, the Federal or State law requirement shall supersede
18   the requirements of this section.
19      (b)   Sections 5.4 and 5.5 shall not apply to the renting,
20   subrenting, leasing or subleasing of the personal residence of
21   the landlord.
22      (c)   Sections 5.4 and 5.5 shall not apply to the renting,
23   subrenting, leasing or subleasing of an accessory dwelling unit
24   or detached accessory dwelling unit in which the owner or person
25   entitled to possession maintains a bona fide residence, home or
26   abode on the same lot.
27      (d)   Sections 5.4 and 5.5 shall not be construed to
28   discourage or prohibit a landlord from adopting screening
29   policies that are more generous to prospective occupants and
30   tenants than the requirements of those sections.

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 1      Section 3.   Sections 9(f)(1) and (2) introductory paragraph,
 2   (f.1) and (f.2) and 9.3 of the act are amended to read:
 3      Section 9.   Procedure.--* * *
 4      (f)   (1)   If, upon all the evidence at the hearing, the
 5   Commission shall find that a respondent has engaged in or is
 6   engaging in any unlawful discriminatory practice as defined in
 7   this act, the Commission shall state its findings of fact, and
 8   shall issue and cause to be served on such respondent an order
 9   requiring such respondent to cease and desist from such unlawful
10   discriminatory practice and to take such affirmative action,
11   including, but not limited to, reimbursement of certifiable
12   travel expenses in matters involving the complaint, compensation
13   for loss of work in matters involving the complaint, hiring,
14   reinstatement or upgrading of employes, with or without back
15   pay, admission or restoration to membership in any respondent
16   labor organization, the making of reasonable accommodations, or
17   selling or leasing specified housing accommodations or
18   commercial property upon such equal terms and conditions and
19   with such equal facilities, services and privileges or lending
20   money, whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise for the
21   acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or maintenance
22   of housing accommodations or commercial property, upon such
23   equal terms and conditions to any person discriminated against
24   or all persons, and any other verifiable, reasonable out-of-
25   pocket expenses caused by such unlawful discriminatory practice,
26   provided that, in those cases alleging a violation of section
27   5(d), (e) or (h) or 5.3 where the underlying complaint is a
28   violation of section 5(h) or 5.3, or in those cases alleging a
29   violation of section 5.4 or 5.5, the Commission may award actual
30   damages, including damages caused by humiliation and

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 1   embarrassment, as, in the judgment of the Commission, will
 2   effectuate the purposes of this act, and including a requirement
 3   for report of the manner of compliance.
 4      (2)   Such order may also assess a civil penalty against the
 5   respondent in a complaint of discrimination filed under sections
 6   5(h) [or], 5.3, 5.4 or 5.5:
 7      * * *
 8      (f.1)   If, upon all the evidence at the hearing, in those
 9   cases alleging a violation of section 5(d), (e), (h) or 5.3
10   where the underlying complaint is a violation of section 5(h) or
11   5.3, or in those cases alleging a violation of section 5.4 or
12   5.5, the Commission finds that a respondent has engaged in or is
13   engaging in any unlawful discriminatory practice as defined in
14   this act, the Commission may award attorney fees and costs to
15   prevailing complainants.
16      (f.2)   If, upon all the evidence at the hearing, in those
17   cases alleging a violation of section 5(d), (e), (h) or 5.3
18   where the underlying complaint is a violation of section 5(h) or
19   5.3, or in those cases alleging a violation of section 5.4 or
20   5.5, the Commission finds that a respondent has not engaged in
21   or is not engaging in any unlawful discriminatory practice as
22   defined in this act, the Commission may award attorney fees and
23   costs to a prevailing respondent if the respondent proves that
24   the complaint was brought in bad faith.
25      * * *
26      Section 9.3.   Civil Penalties.--The Commission shall have the
27   power to adopt a schedule of civil penalties for violation of
28   section 5(h)(5) or 5.4(a)(1) by the advertiser and the publisher
29   in instances where the complainant does not take action to
30   secure housing accommodations or financing and is not denied

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 1   housing accommodations or financing based on the alleged
 2   discriminatory language in the advertisement. The schedule of
 3   penalties, guidelines for their imposition and procedures for
 4   appeal shall be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, provided
 5   that the Commission shall, within two (2) years of such
 6   publication, promulgate a regulation setting forth the schedule
 7   of penalties, guidelines and procedures. Any such penalty shall
 8   not exceed the sum of five hundred dollars ($500.00). Duly
 9   authorized agents of the Commission shall have the power and
10   authority to issue citations and impose penalties for any such
11   violations. Any such penalty imposed may be appealed to the
12   Commission pursuant to regulations promulgated under this act.
13   All proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with the
14   provisions of 2 Pa.C.S. (relating to administrative law and
15   procedure).
16      Section 4.   This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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