HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION Regular Meeting Monday, April 22, 2024 6:00 p.m. Austin City Hall, Board & Commission Room, 1101 301 West 2nd Street, Austin, Texas 78701 AGENDA Some members of the Human Rights Commission may be participating by videoconference. Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely by telephone. Speakers may speak up to three minutes on an item only once either in-person or remotely. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation. To register, call or email the board liaison at 512-974-3253 or Damian.Pantoja@austintexas.gov CURRENT COMMISSION MEMBERS: Kolby Duhon, Chair (He/They) Gabriella Zeidan, Vice Chair Alicia Weigel (She/They) Michael Stevenson Muneeb ‘Meebs’ Aslam (He/Him) Morgan Davis (He/Him) CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL AGENDA Mariana Krueger (She/Her) Jeffrey Clemmons Srini Raghavan Harriett Kirsh Pozen Danielle Bryant The first ten speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. APPROVAL OF MINUTES DISCUSSION ITEM 1. Approve the minutes of the Human Rights Commission meeting on March 25, 2024. 2. Welcome the new Commissioners and allow introductions. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 3. Approve a recommendation related to transgender and sexual identity protections. 4. Conduct office elections for the Chair and Vice Chair for the term ending in April 2025. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please email Damian Pantoja at damian.pantoja@austintexas.gov for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711.
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Human Rights Commission Draft Number: 20240422‐003 Transgender and Sexual Identity Protections WHEREAS, the City of Austin has been one of the fastest‐growing cities in the United States for over a decade, resulting in rapidly increasing demands on housing, infrastructure, public safety, and other city resources; and WHEREAS, in 2023, the Texas state legislature passed legislation restricting or criminalizing access to gender‐affirming healthcare across Texas, which was subsequently signed by the governor and became law effective September 1, 2023; and WHEREAS, as a home‐rule city, the City has the authority and responsibility to prioritize the use of its limited resources and taxpayer dollars to address the most urgent needs of all residents, including focusing the use of public safety resources on substantive and broad threats to residents’ safety and livelihood; and WHEREAS the City Council recognizes that families and healthcare providers in Austin are living in uncertainty and fear, and many are considering moving away or have already moved to other states to access medical care for their children or to be able to practice medicine freely in accordance with professional and ethical standards; and WHEREAS multiple healthcare providers in Texas have scaled back healthcare services in response to legal challenges, perception of legal risk, harassment, or threats of violence; and WHEREAS gender‐affirming healthcare has been proven to be evidence‐based, medically necessary, and lifesaving by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatricians, the Endocrine Society, the American Psychiatric Association, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, amongst other institutions; and WHEREAS, studies have shown that gender transition, including access to gender‐affirming healthcare, improves the overall well‐being of transgender people and that access to gender‐affirming healthcare for youth is associated with better mental health outcomes and lower risks of suicide; and WHEREAS over 94 percent of LGBTQIA+ youth surveyed by the Trevor Project in late 2021 said recent politics have negatively impacted their mental health, and 93 percent of transgender and nonbinary youth surveyed by the Trevor Project in 2022 said they have worried about transgender people being denied access to gender‐affirming medical care due to state or local laws; and WHEREAS a majority of U.S. adults agree that transgender minors should have access to gender‐ affirming care; and WHEREAS, the City of Austin has consistently declared its commitment to furthering transgender equity and supporting its transgender and nonbinary …
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MONDAY APRIL 22, 2024 The Human Rights Commission convened in a regular meeting on April 22, 2024, at 301 W. 2nd Street in Austin, Texas. Chair Duhon called the Human Rights Commission meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Commissioners in Attendance: Kolby Duhon, Chair Danielle Bryant Jeffrey Clemmons Morgan Davis Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Gabriella Zeidan, Vice Chair Meebs Aslam Mariana Krueger Srini Raghavan Michael Stevenson Alicia Weigel Commissioners Absent: Harriet Kirsh Pozen PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL None APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. DISCUSSION ITEMS 1 Approve the minutes of the Human Rights Commission meeting on March 25, 2024. The minutes from the meeting of March 25, 2024, were approved on Commissioner Davis’ Motion, Commissioner Clemmons’ second on an 8-0 vote. Vice Chair Zeidan and Commissioner Weigel were off the dais. Commissioner Kirsh Pozen was absent. 2. Welcome the new Commissioners and allow introductions. Commissioner Bryant introduced herself. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 3. Approve a recommendation related to transgender and sexual identity protections. A motion to approve the recommendation was made by Commissioner Clemmons and seconded by Vice Chair Zeidan. An amendment to change the title of the recommendation to read “Transgender, Sexual Identity, and Gender Identity Protections” was made by Commissioner Krueger, seconded by Commissioner Bryant, and approved without objection. An amendment to revise where the recommendation reads “transgender and nonbinary” to read “transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive,” excluding the references in the first and third Whereas clauses of the second page, was made by Chair Duhon, seconded by Commissioner Krueger, and approved without objection. The recommendation was approved as amended on Commissioner Clemmons’ motion, Vice Chair Zeidan’s second on a 9-1 vote. Commissioner Raghavan voted nay. Commissioner Kirsh Pozen was absent. Conduct officer elections for the Chair and Vice Chair for the term ending in April 2025 Commissioner Davis nominated Commissioner Duhon for the role of Chair with a second from Commissioner Zeidan. The motion to elect Commissioner Duhon as Chair was approved on a 10-0 vote. Commissioner Kirsh Pozen was absent. Commissioner Krueger nominated Commissioner Zeidan for the role of Vice Chair with a second from Commissioner Clemmons. The motion to elect Commissioner Zeidan as Vice Chair was approved on a 10-0 vote. Commissioner Kirsh Pozen was absent. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS A future recommendation related to Austin Police Department vacancies was requested by Commissioner Aslam and Chair Duhon. A future recommendation related to …
