FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) - The city of Fayetteville is scheduled to consider a new non-discrimination ordinance at its June 16 city council meeting, according to a meeting agenda.
The ordinance is titled "An ordinance to ensure the uniform non-discrimination protections within the city of Fayetteville or groups already protected to varying degrees throughout state law." It is also known as the Uniform Civil Rights Protection Article.
It was approved for the agenda by Alderman Matthew Petty on Wednesday (June 3), according to an agenda request form.
In a letter to Mayor Lioneld Jordan and the Fayetteville City Council, Fayetteville City Attorney Kit Williams mentions Little Rock's recently-passed non-discrimination ordinance and said he doesn't believe it violates the Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act passed by the Legislature and signed into law during the 2015 legislative session.
The Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act prohibits cities and counties in the state from passing civil rights ordinances that are different from federal law.
Little Rock City Attorney Tom Carpenter wrote an analysis on Little Rock's non-discrimination ordinance and concluded that it doesn't violate the Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act because it doesn't create a protected class or prohibit discrimination not already protected by state law, according to Williams' letter.
Williams' letter said Little Rock's ordinance was "very limited" in scope and only covered city employees and contractors seeking to do business with the city.
In contrast to Little Rock's law, the new ordinance proposed by Alderman Adella Gray and Petty would cover most employees, tenants and business customers in the city, similar to Fayetteville's first civil rights ordinance, which was repealed by voters in December 2014, according to Williams.
"Therefore, I believe it is likely that once the Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act goes into legal effect in July, an opponent will sue Fayetteville if you have passed the Gray/Petty ordinance," Williams said.
Gray has scheduled a news conference to announce the new non-discrimination ordinance on Friday (June 5) at the Fayetteville Town Center at 11 a.m., officials said.
If passed by the Fayetteville City Council, the ordinance will go straight to Fayetteville voters in a special election scheduled for Sept. 8, officials said. Voters will then chose to enact or reject the ordinance.
The ordinance states that the right to be free from discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity is the same right of every citizen to be free from discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, gender and disability as recognized and protected by the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993.
Churches, religious schools, daycare facilities and religious organizations of any kind are exempted from the ordinance.
The non-discrimination ordinance aims to adopt and incorporate the following rights:
- The right to obtain and hold employment without discrimination.
- The right to the full enjoyment of any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage or amusement.
- The right to engage in property transactions (including sales and leases) without discrimination.
- The right to engage in credit and other contractual transactions without discrimination.
- The right to vote and participate fully in the political process.
It also states a person engaging in a real estate transaction, a real estate broker or salesman shall not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity as prohibited by the Arkansas Fair Housing Act.
If passed, the ordinance would also prohibit employers from discriminating against or threatening employees who oppose any act that is made unlawful by the ordinance or any employee who helped in an investigation or hearing related to the ordinance.
A civil rights commission made of two representatives of the business community, two owners or managers of rental property, one representative with experience in human resources and two Fayetteville citizens (at least one of whom identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender) will be appointed by the city council, according to the ordinance.
Under the Uniform Civil Rights Protection Article, a person asserting a claim of discrimination would present their claim in writing to the city attorney's office no more than 90 days after the discrimination took place. The city attorney's office will then notify the civil rights commission that a complaint was received, and the city will attempt to mediate between the complainant and the alleged discriminator.
If mediation is unsuccessful, the civil rights commission will establish a hearing for both parties to present their cases and determine if the alleged discriminator violated the Civil Rights Protection Article. If that is the case, the civil rights commission will forward the case to the Fayetteville City Prosecutor.
A person's first violation of the non-discrimination ordinance carries a penalty of up to a $100 fine. For repeated violations, the city of Fayetteville can inflict a penalty of up to a $500 fine, according to Fayetteville City Code 10.99. That same code states that if imposed fines aren't paid for violation of any city ordinance, a violator can be jailed for up to 30 days.
A violation of the ordinance will never be considered a misdemeanor or felony.
If voters reject the ordinance during the special election, the Uniform Civil Rights Protection Article will not go into effect. If voters uphold the ordinance, it will go into effect 60 days after voters approve it.
In response to the announcement of the Uniform Civil Rights Protection Article, the coalition on Repeal 119 released the following statement:
"We, along with our legal team are reviewing the new proposal and the legality of adding new protected classes to areas that are not recognized in state or federal law. Fayetteville has spoken on this issue, and this attempt by some on the city council shows that the will of the people and the city's limited financial resources are secondary to personal agendas of some on the council."
The statement continued, "We stand in opposition to any ordinance that sets the stage to negatively impact the city of Fayetteville, businesses, families of all different backgrounds, people of various faiths and the safety of the general public."