Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi announced on May 17 that he would introduce to the Nassau County Legislature a bill that would increase penalties and provide stricter enforcement of current Nassau County Human Rights laws. Presently, Nassau County Human Rights laws provide only minimal enforcement powers, a release said.



For example, the proposed law could prevent an owner or landlord suspected of discrimination from renting to another party during an investigation, the release said. The proposed law would also allow some individuals more power to protect themselves against discrimination on the basis of “source of income” and the use of “Section 8 for housing costs.” It also dramatically increases the penalties for other kinds of discrimination prohibited under the existing law. Presently, penalties are limited to between $100 and $500 or imprisonment for between five and 20 days. The law would increase these penalties to $5,000 and $10,000 for a first offense and between $10,000 and $20,000 for subsequent offenses, the release added.