Attorney General Brian Frosh sued Westminster Management, an apartment management company, for routinely using “unfair or deceptive” rental practices while running rodent-infested apartments in Baltimore.

That suit was filed in October 2019.

I introduced House Bill 499 at the 2021 session, requiring that any funds the State receives from such a lawsuit, brought under our Consumer Protection Act, be deposited in a Rental Housing Restitution Fund.

That money could then be used only for rental and legal assistance for individuals facing eviction.

HB 499 did not pass, but legislation creating access to counsel in eviction cases did.

I introduced a revised bill this session.

Under House Bill 571, money received from these lawsuits would be deposited in the Access to Counsel in Evictions Special Fund.

That fund was created in the law we passed last year.

HB 571 passed the Senate yesterday and now awaits Governor Hogan’s approval.

The rental property owners opposed my bill until I removed language referring to the lawsuit brought against Westminster Management.

One of the owners of that company is Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump.