TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A legal dispute between the City of Tucson and the State of Arizona over affordable housing is still taking place.
Last month, former Attorney General Mark Brnovich, said Tucson's housing income ordinance was illegal- claiming Tucson does not have the power to enact a new fair housing rule under state law.
Mayor Regina Romero disagrees.
"To put out such a complaint, a 1487 complaint when in fact the City of Tucson is trying to house more individuals. So, I thought it was very heartless and cold," Romero explained.
"As mayor and council, we unanimously approved the source of income protection because we know we need a layered approach to find solutions for homelessness and lack of affordability in our state."
Romero says they have plans to meet with the newly elected Attorney General Kris Mayes, to discuss a hopeful reconsideration of Brnovich's call on the 1487 complaint.
We have reached out to Maye's teams to see what she has planned for this fight. Her team says they hope to have an update on this effort next week.
In the meantime, Romero says to protect the state-shared revenue, the ordinance will not be in effect.
Romero says oftentimes people confuse the source of income protection with the City of Tucson forcing landlords to rent to anyone when in fact it prevents landlords from denying Tucsonans just because they have a Section 8 voucher or receiving social security.
"Without even looking at their background, many people were being denied for the only reason of them having vouchers and that's why the source of income protection is important for Tucsonans," Romero said.
Once the order of protection was passed, Romero says they saw an immediate increase in landlords accepting renters who had vouchers.
Moving forward Romero says her top priority is continuing to work towards better solutions for those seeking housing.
"Every step of the way, we are trying to do much better in terms of providing affordable housing and trying to protect against housing discrimination."
