Nov. 23: that’s the date a proposed Human Rights Ordinance (HRO) will skip the workshop phase and go straight to a Commissioner vote.
The proposal has had a rocky road to get to this point. Some background: Orange County has no comprehensive HRO prohibiting discrimination. In 2004, and after consistent pressuring from local LGBT activists, Orange County mayor Richard Crotty backed protections in housing and county employment that include sexual orientation. Early this year, Commissioner Linda Stewart began pushing for a sweeping HRO that expands protections to important areas like employment and public accommodations. Citing cost concerns, Crotty rebuffed Stewart’s requests to schedule a workshop. Commissioner Bill Segal, who is in a heated race to replace the term-limited Crotty as mayor, asked Crotty on Sept. 13 to schedule a commissioner’s report “as soon as possible” to consider an HRO and domestic partner benefits.
That led to a heated debate on Sept. 21 where Crotty tried to block the HRO’s advancement. After the meeting, a series of memos between Crotty, Segal and Stewart resulted in Crotty agreeing to add the HRO to the Oct. 5 agenda.
“They’ve reached a mutual agreement on the ordinance,” said county spokesperson Kelly Kwas. Kwas said the Orange County HRO will be based on a HRO passed by Leon County in May.
“It was a lot different [at the Oct. 5 meeting] than it was a few weeks ago, and we are now not going to be required to have a workshop, which is very time-consuming,” said Commissioner Stewart. “Everyone is happy with the Leon County [HRO], happy using that model.”
Segal said he’s “thrilled that the mayor thought about it and was big enough to reconsider it. That says a lot about him and this community.”
The commission discussion lasted about 20 minutes, and the audience was packed with LGBT supporters wearing red shirts.
Stewart said the hardest part of getting approval was dispelling “false information that the HRO would cost $900,000,” and once people realized it would not be a financial burden, “we could talk business.”
The version up for vote on Nov. 23 does not include benefits for domestic partners of county employees.
“I didn’t want to remove it, but there are only four meetings left for the current county commission and we’re not going to have time to workshop it,” Stewart said. “Both mayoral candidates, [Teresa] Jacobs and Segal have promised that they will have a workshop on domestic partnership inclusion after the first of the year.”
Open enrollment ends at the end of October, so county employees would not have been able to enroll their partners for the coming fiscal year even if the domestic partnership aspect was put up for a vote in Nov.
“I’m a little worried about [the domestic partnership proposal] because it’s a new board, but if we do have it pass, as of October 2011, county employees could start putting their partners on their health insurance,” Stewart said.
So what does the HRO cover? It prohibits discrimination based on gender or sexuality – including those who identify as transgender – within all county housing, employment, accommodation and establishments, such as restaurants. Stewart said exceptions are religion-based discrimination or companies with fewer than five employees.
Segal said an HRO isn’t just about rights.
“This is something that a world-class city requires to attract major corporations and big businesses expect this. Their workers expect it,” he said. “I think we might have lost a research institute a few years ago because [we didn’t have an HRO in place]. It’s expected now, in 2010.”
Stewart is optimistic about the upcoming vote.
“After a year of dealing with this request [for a HRO] and numerous memos back and forth, I do feel now we will not look back,” said Stewart. “We’re just going to pass it. I think this will be successful.”
Segal agrees.
“I think it’ll pass 6-1,” he said.
Kwas said opportunities for public comment will be available at the beginning of the Nov. 23 meeting. Those who wish to speak can register online ahead of time, or fill out a speaker card at the meeting itself.
Crotty has not yet returned calls for comment. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
