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Planning Commission tables prayer policy; adds Pledge of Allegiance as standing agenda item
Summary
Commissioners debated whether to permit invocations at meetings and whether the Pledge of Allegiance suffices; they voted to indefinitely table a formal prayer policy request and later approved adding the Pledge as a standing agenda item.
Members discussed whether a formal policy should allow prayer or invocations at the start of Planning Commission meetings. Legal adviser Denis Tracy explained that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is legal and that a policy on invocations could be drafted if the commission requested research: "If 5 members of this Planning Commission vote to have me spend my time drafting a policy about prayer for you then I'll do so," Tracy said.
After debate over inclusivity and legal constraints, the Commission voted to postpone consideration of a prayer policy indefinitely. Later in the meeting, Commissioner Weston Kane moved — and the commission approved — adding the Pledge of Allegiance as a standing item on future agendas so it will appear near the start of every meeting.
