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Committee advances bill to expand civil-rights commission's remit with wording changes
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Summary
The Judiciary Committee voted to move House Bill 11-93 forward after adopting amendments that replace 'unconstitutional practice' with 'discriminatory practice' and remove a redundant phrase; committee leaders said the bill would let the civil-rights commission accept complaints beyond housing and employment.
House Bill 11-93, a measure to broaden the state civil-rights commission's authority, was advanced by the Judiciary Committee after members adopted two technical amendments and voted to send the bill forward as amended.
A committee member described the bill's purpose as making the civil-rights commission “a sort of a clearing house for all claims of discrimination wherever they come from,” expanding the panel’s reach beyond its current concentration on employment and housing complaints. Lawmakers accepted an amendment replacing the phrase “unconstitutional practice” with “discriminatory practice” to avoid unintended overlap with federal law. A chairman's amendment removed a redundant phrase elsewhere in the text.
A motion to “do pass as amended” was made and seconded, and a roll call produced a 10‑0 tally during the committee session; the chair said the vote would be held open briefly to accommodate late arrivals. Committee members did not record further debate on policy trade-offs during the hearing.
Next steps: the committee forwarded the amended bill for further consideration; the chair kept the vote open until later in the meeting for additional members to record their votes.
