A Springfield City Council committee this week was presented an incomplete version of a bill designed to expand the scope of the city's nondiscrimination ordinance. The city's law department has taken the blame for the error.
The bill, sponsored by Mayor Bob Stephens and Councilman Craig Fishel, was meant to reflect language of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Task Force's top recommendation in a
report submitted last year, according to a news release.
In that
report, the SOGI task force recommended council approve the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity on the city's nondiscrimination ordinance, but only in the area of housing, with religious exemptions. The recommendation also included a request for city staff to gather data related to discrimination and public accommodation. However, the portion of the task force's recommendation related to city staff gathering additional data was not present in the draft presented to council's community involvement committee on Tuesday, the release said.
The original 2012 bill recommended amending the city code to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories for employment, public housing and public accommodations. In its report late last year, the task force recommended taking the protected categories of public housing and public accommodations out of the equation, and to only add sexual orientation and gender identity nondiscrimination protection in the area of housing.
The release said City Attorney Dan Wichmer regretted the error, which led to the committee discussing what was effectively a draft that did not fully incorporate the task force's top choice. It also had not received a final review by Stephens or Fishel before the attorney's office sent the draft to the city clerk, according to the release.
The full council is expected to see the bill next month.
When the issue was brought before council in 2012, City Hall was host to overflowing crowds anxious to speak or listen to business owners and others address the proposed changes. During the Aug. 13, 2012, meeting, Brentwood Christian Church Pastor Phil Snider gave a speech with a twist, leading to a viral video on YouTube. The initial 2012 bill called on the Mayor’s Commission on Human Rights to investigate cases of discrimination in matters of housing, employment or public services based on sexual orientation and gender identity. After being submitted to the SOGI force for review, a lesser version of the bill was recommended to the city, according to
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