Sex offender shelter ban trades safety for housing access
H.R. 7624 — Safe Shelters for Survivors Act of 2026 · Filed by Nancy Mace (R-SC) · Introduced Feb 20, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill prohibits registered sex offenders from entering or using federally funded domestic violence and homeless shelters. Shelters that violate this ban lose federal funding for the following fiscal year, and sex offenders who knowingly enter such shelters face up to 5 years in prison. The bill takes effect 180 days after enactment.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a categorical exclusion of a defined population (registered sex offenders) from federally funded shelters, paired with criminal penalties for violation. This is a public-safety-motivated access restriction, not a subsidy, deregulation, or commemorative measure.
What the text implies
- Shelters may face operational burden determining offender status and verifying compliance, potentially increasing administrative costs and liability exposure.
- The 180-day implementation window may create a gap period during which shelters must develop verification procedures and policies.
- Registered offenders denied shelter access may increase street homelessness or informal housing arrangements, potentially concentrating risk in unmonitored settings.
- The bill does not address tiered risk assessment—all registered offenders are treated identically regardless of offense severity, victim age, or time since conviction.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill protects vulnerable shelter residents (domestic violence survivors, homeless individuals) from potential harm by registered sex offenders, a concrete public safety benefit. However, it may deny shelter access to registered offenders who pose no current threat and have completed sentences, potentially increasing homelessness and recidivism risk among this population—a genuine countervailing cost to public safety and rehabilitation.
Named in the bill
National Sex Offender Registry, Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, domestic violence shelters, homeless shelters, Federal funds
Where it stands
- Feb 20, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 20, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Financial Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $3,220,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 10 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Nancy Mace, the sponsor, reported $8,000 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Southern Company — $3,220,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (2,713 characters) on Aug 29, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Sex offender shelter ban trades safety for housing access” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr7624 Report an error
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