>Constitutionality of housing bill questioned
Proposed legislation that would change the way affordable housing is apportioned and built in the state may not survive a constitutional challenge. That was the finding of the Office of Legislative Services regarding the bill (S1) sponsored by state Sens. Raymond J. Lesniak, D-Union, Christopher Bateman, R-Somerset, and Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May. The OLS analysis, in a letter dated April 13 but released Wednesday by the Fair Share Housing Center in Cherry Hill, says the Legislature does not have the statutory authority — under the two state Supreme Court Mount Laurel decisions in the 1970s and 1980s — to amend the Fair Housing Act and abolish the Council on Affordable Housing, which the legislation would do. (Bowman, Gannett)
