City Of Oklahoma City: Comment Deadline Extended To July 5 For Proposed Human Rights Commission Ordinance

Oklahoma City OK

16 June, 2022

10:55 AM

Description

Press release from the City of Oklahoma City: June 14, 2022 The comment period for Oklahoma City's proposed Human Rights Commission ordinance has been extended to July 5, and the City Council meeting to consider its adoption is expected on July 19. Residents can review the proposed ordinance and weigh in by filling out an online comment form. The Human Rights Commission Task Force meetings can be viewed on YouTube from the City's account, CityofOKC. Among other duties, the Human Rights Commission will be responsible for addressing alleged harm to people who have been discriminated against because of their race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender, national origin, age, familial status, genetic information, or disability related to employment, housing and public accommodations under the Oklahoma Anti-Discrimination Law. The proposed ordinance establishes a Human Rights Commission made up of nine members. Each of the eight City Council members will recommend to the Mayor one person to represent their ward. The Mayor will appoint one person at large, who will serve as the commission chair. One member must be a lawyer. Initially, members representing even-numbered wards will serve for two years and members representing odd-numbered wards will serve for three years. Following the initial service, terms will be for three years. Some of the Commission's responsibilities include: The commission will be staffed by a compliance officer appointed by the City Manager. The City's first Human Rights Commission met from 1980 until it was repealed in 1996. Task Force Background Mayor David Holt created the Human Rights Commission task force in 2020 and named the following co-chairs: Ward 7 Councilwoman Nikki Nice, Maurianna Adams and Dr. Andrea Benjamin. They led the group as it drafted a proposal for the City Council. This press release was produced by the City of Oklahoma City. The views expressed here are the author's own.