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Supervisors defeat motion to set public hearing on proposed human-rights ordinance amendments
Summary
The Johnson County Board initially voted to set a March 27 public hearing on proposed amendments to Chapter 4 (Article 4.5) of the county code concerning human rights, then reconsidered and voted to remove the hearing.
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors initially voted to set a public hearing for March 27 at 9 a.m. on proposed amendments to Chapter 4 (Public Order, Safety and Health), Article 4.5 (Human Rights) of the Johnson County Code of Ordinances and authorized the auditor to publish notice. That action was later reconsidered and defeated by roll call, leaving the proposed amendments without a scheduled county hearing.
The item was introduced during office and department business with a motion to set the hearing and authorize the auditor to publish the notice; the board voted aye on that motion during the early part of the meeting. Later in the session, supervisors discussed whether to proceed with the hearing amid other agenda changes and moved to reconsider the earlier decision. Fixmore moved to reconsider and Sullivan seconded the motion. After discussion, the board took a roll-call vote in which all supervisors voted nay; the chair declared Item D1 defeated and the hearing removed from the calendar.
Board discussion before the reconsideration focused on process timing and whether it was appropriate to proceed while the state legislature was in session. Supervisors noted concern about what might be ‘‘picked up’’ if the hearing were held now and whether scheduling should wait until after legislative activity concludes. No public testimony on the ordinance amendments was recorded in the meeting transcript.
Because the board ultimately voted to defeat the motion to set the hearing, no new publication or hearing date will be executed under the board action recorded in this meeting; further action on the ordinance would require a new motion in a future meeting.
Votes at a glance: the initial motion to set the hearing carried on an earlier roll call; a later motion to reconsider (moved by Fixmore, seconded by Sullivan) passed to allow a new vote, and the final roll call to retain the hearing resulted in unanimous nays and the item was defeated.
The board did not adopt or amend any ordinance text at the March 6 meeting. The transcript shows supervisors discussing timing and process only; no ordinance content was debated on the record at this session.
The board’s next public meeting is Tuesday, March 11 at 10 a.m. in the same boardroom, when the board will sit as canvassers for recent elections.
