North Dakota Human Rights Coalition
Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights
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North Dakota Human Rights Coalition Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights |
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Testimony Senate Bill 2337 Senate Human Services Committee February 1, 2005
Chairman Lee and members of the Committee, I am Cheryl Bergian, Director of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition. The Coalition includes a broad-based, statewide membership of individuals and organizations interested in the furtherance of human rights in North Dakota; the Coalition’s mission is to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights.
The North Dakota Human Rights Coalition supports the creation of a North Dakota Commission on Human Rights. The proposed Commission is advisory in nature and would operate in addition to the current Division of Human Rights in the North Dakota Department of Labor. The Commission would not replace or supplant the Division; the intention of this legislation to is enhance and augment the work of the Division, and provide the resources to the Division to accomplish activities that the Division has not had the ability to accomplish.
The Division of Human Rights was given the ability to investigate and enforce all forms of discrimination prohibited by state law in the 2001 legislative session. Prior to the 2001 session, the Division had the ability to investigate and enforce discrimination in housing, and investigate discrimination in employment (before 2001, those cases were referred to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for enforcement if discrimination was determined by the Division of Human Rights to have occurred). While the Division has made progress in investigating individual complaints, much of the education component about discrimination and the nature and extent of discrimination has not been achieved. The Division is charged with fostering prevention of discrimination through education for the public, employers, providers of public accommodations or services, and commercial lenders, reporting legislative or other action needed, and conduct studies relating to discrimination. The Commission would be able assist the Division in more thoroughly achieving these goals, including reaching out to the public across the state.
The North Dakota Human Rights Coalition is proposing this Commission to assist the Division in meeting the needs of North Dakota residents. The Commission will assist the Division in providing information on discrimination and in publicizing the Division’s availability to citizens of North Dakota. The proposed Commission is needed to fill role. It is critical that citizen participation be part of the human rights education and enforcement role of state government. The participation and involvement of citizens, those who are affected by the discrimination laws of the state, including members of the protected classes, business, and government, is needed to be able to fully, adequately, and effectively fulfill the needs of those who experience or might discrimination within our state. The law passed in 2001 giving full investigation and enforcement authority to the Division of Human Rights was one step in reaching this goal. The creation of a North Dakota Commission on Human Rights is the next step that is needed.
The Commission will have the following responsibilities:
The proposed Commission would be a visible example of North Dakota’s commitment to embracing and celebrating diversity, both to those who are residents of North Dakota and those who might be considering residence in North Dakota, and a visible response to the complexities that diversity can bring for those who live here. The Commission would be a low-cost resource for those who are assessing the ability of the state of North Dakota to respond to and encourage the celebration of diversity within the state. It would be a resource for communities that might be considering ways to attract and retain residents of diverse backgrounds and experiences.
As you may know, advisory commissions are a typical way to provide citizen participation in state government in North Dakota. Some advisory commissions that have been proposed in this session are:
HB 1028 – Unemployment Insurance Advisory CouncilHB 1038 – Advisory Commission on No Child Left BehindSB 2349 – Advisory Commission on Faith-based Initiatives
And, examples of commissions which provide an advisory component to state agencies and entities are the Advisory Board to the Bank of North Dakota and the Game and Fish Advisory Board.
As part of this testimony, we’re providing to you a list of organizations in the state of North Dakota which support the creation of a North Dakota Commission on Human Rights. The organizations are diverse in nature and scope and represent many of the citizens of North Dakota in varied capacities.
The fiscal note for this bill is $149,288.00. The fiscal note for the proposed independent North Dakota Commission on Human Rights in 2003 was $66,746.00. The Labor Commissioner made some assumptions in creating this fiscal note that were different than in 2003 (the Labor Commissioner did not invite information from the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition in developing the fiscal note). We believe that the 2005 fiscal note is unnecessarily high. While I understand that the appropriation for this Commission is not the responsibility of this Committee, I wish to dispel any reluctance to approve this bill because of the fiscal note.
The fiscal note assumes the creation of a new full FTE for staff support for the Commission. The fiscal note in 2003 assumed the creation of ˝ FTE. We believe that ˝ FTE would be more than sufficient to provide staff support for this Commission. The Fargo Human Relations Commission, like this Commission an advisory committee to the Fargo City Commission, has assigned to it ˝ FTE for its work. I’ve distributed a copy of the Fargo Human Relations Commission’s 2004 Strategic Plan and 2003 Annual Report for information on what the proposed Commission could do, with ˝ FTE assigned, and the Fargo Human Relations Commission’s budget of $7,500.00.
The fiscal note assumes that the Commission would meet twice a month. Local human relations commissions around the state (Dickinson, Bismarck and Fargo) meet once a month. It is assumed that one meeting would be to carry out local intervention and mediation activities. The intervention and mediation activities provided for in SB 2337 are not required of the Commission; they are optional. There are funds provided for in the fiscal note for mediation training for commissioners. It is my understanding that the investigators for the Labor Department are in the process of being trained as mediators. Given that the intervention and mediation responsibilities of the Commission are optional, and that the Labor Department already has trained mediators, we suggest that that amount may not be necessary to carry out that responsibility, should the Commission wish to undertake it.
The NDHRC would like to note that since 1999, the Division has had three additional full-time employees added by the North Dakota legislature to assist its investigation and enforcement work. A Commission would be able to assist the Division by taking on responsibilities that the Division has not been able to address, which would be done with current staff in the coming biennium.
We ask for a do pass recommendation on Senate Bill 2337. I appreciate this opportunity to testify on behalf of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition.
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North Dakota Human Rights Coalition P.O. Box 1961 Fargo, North Dakota 58107-1961 Phone: (701) 239-9323 Fax: (701) 478-4452 Email: humanrights@ndhrc.org
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