Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission to gain two members

CEDAR RAPIDS — The city of Cedar Rapids is increasing the size of its Civil Rights Commission from seven to nine members in repealing and replacing the municipal ordinance that prohibits discrimination based on protected classes in the city.

Before the Cedar Rapids City Council voted last week on the revised ordinance, Commission Executive Director Stefanie Munsterman-Scriven told the council that staff reviewed the current Chapter 69 ordinance to ensure compliance with best practices and relevant laws, as well as to make it easier to read.

“It’s a law document, and so it can be confusing for folks,” Munsterman-Scriven said.

The proposed modified ordinance was sent to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for review, and staff incorporated those suggested edits. Munsterman-Scriven said HUD certified it as “substantially equivalent to federal housing laws” under the Fair Housing Act, a requirement for cooperative agreements and receipt of federal funds.

The City Attorney’s Office also reviewed the proposed changes. Current commissioners unanimously approved the revised ordinance Jan. 19.

Having additional commissioners will bring the size of Cedar Rapids’ panel more in line with other municipalities. The commission enforces municipal anti-discrimination law and provides public outreach to prevent and eliminate discrimination.

“This is the average size of Iowa Civil and Human Rights Commissions, and so we thought it’d be good to raise it back up to nine,” Munsterman-Scriven said

The Iowa Civil Rights Commission has seven members, as does Davenport. Cedar Falls has nine. The panel in neighboring Marion has 11 members.

Under the revised ordinance, there are no changes to the protected classes or areas. Protected areas include employment, housing, education, credit and public accommodation. Protected classes include race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, marital status and mental or physical disability.

The modifications updated some definitions, modified processes for the absence of a commissioner from meetings and stated that meetings will be held as needed at least four times a year. Language also was changed to align the commission’s powers and duties with protected classes.

The changed ordinance codifies the commission’s power to vote to send a case to a public hearing. The hearing may go before an administrative law judge if the commission finds “probable cause” that discrimination more than likely has occurred.

Broadly, the ordinance was modified with gender-neutral language to promote inclusion, using “they” and “their” pronouns. Other changes move some sections to provide better flow and clarity and revise some wording for confusing or outdated language, as well as inaccuracies. The revised ordinance clarifies that the executive director hires staff, while the initial version states that is a duty of the commission.

Comments: (319) 398-8494; marissa.payne@thegazette.com