Austin, Texas, sought to address racial and socioeconomic discrimination in rental housing by prohibiting landlords from rejecting otherwise qualified tenants based solely on their source of income (e.g., federal housing assistance). Across the country, only one in three voucher households is protected by nondiscrimination laws like those Austin adopted. The Texas state legislature responded by invalidating Austin’s ordinance and preempting localities from adopting similar antidiscrimination laws, despite the absence of any statewide protections for recipients of housing assistance and despite clear evidence that source-of-income discrimination disproportionately harms people of color. Read more at Tighe JR, Hatch ME, Mead J. Source of income discrimination and fair housing policy. J Plan Lit. 2016;32(1):3-15.

A study suggests a relationship between state preemption of local mandatory inclusionary zoning (IZ) policies and both increased rates of self-reported poor or fair health status and a greater likelihood that Black adults report delaying medical care because of cost. Read more at Melton-Fant, C. Relationship Between State Preemption of Inclusionary Zoning Policies and Health Outcomes: Is There Disparate Impact Among People of Color?. Housing Policy Debate. 2020. doi: 10.1080/10511482.2020.1798488.