Approved Minutes — original pdf

Approved Minutes

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 The Human Rights Commission convened in a regular meeting on September 23, 2024, at 301 W. 2nd Street in Austin, Texas. Chair Duhon called the Human Rights Commission meeting to order at 6:12 p.m. Commissioners in Attendance: Kolby Duhon, Chair Gabriella Zeidan, Vice Chair Mariana Krueger Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Meebs Aslam Jeffrey Clemmons Morgan Davis Alicia Weigel Commissioners Absent: Danielle Bryant Harriet Kirsh Pozen Srini Raghavan Michael Stevenson PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approve the minutes of the Human Rights Commission regular meeting on August 26, 2024. The minutes from the meeting of August 26, 2024, were approved on Commissioner Krueger’s motion, Vice Chair Zeidan’s second on a 7-0 vote. Commissioners Bryant, Kirsh Pozen, Raghavan, and Stevenson were absent. 1. 1 DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEM 2. Approve a recommendation to Council to protect voting rights in Texas and Travis County. A motion to approve the recommendation was made by Commissioner Weigel and seconded by Commissioner Clemmons. The following amendment was made by Commissioner Davis and seconded by Commissioner Krueger. The amendment was to revise the fifth “Whereas” clause to read: “Whereas: August 6, 2024, Governor Greg Abbott announced that 1,150,000 have been taken off Texas’ voter rolls since 2021.” The amendment was approved on a 7-0 vote. Commissioners Bryant, Kirsh Pozen, Raghavan, and Stevenson were absent. The following amendment was made by Chair Duhon and seconded by Vice Chair Zeidan. The amendment was to revise section 1 of the “Now, Therefore, be is resolved” clause to read: “1: The Commission calls on Council to pass a resolution calling on Congress to support the Freedom to Vote Act (H. R. 11, S. 1, 118th Congress), to set basic national standards to make sure all people in the United States can cast their ballots in the way that works best for them, regardless of what ZIP Code they live in, improve access to the ballot for people in the United States, advance commonsense election integrity reforms.” The amendment was approved on a 7-0 vote. Commissioners Bryant, Kirsh Pozen, Raghavan, and Stevenson were absent. The following amendment was made by Commissioner Krueger and seconded by Commissioner Clemmons. The amendment was to revise section 2 of the “Now, Therefore, be is resolved” clause to read: “2: The Commission urges City Council to leverage its resources, where appropriate, to support the Travis County Commissioners Court’s efforts to get out the vote.” The amendment was approved on a 7-0 vote. Commissioners Bryant, Kirsh Pozen, Raghavan, and Stevenson were absent. Recommendation Number 20240923-002 to protect voting rights in Texas and Travis County was approved as amended on a 7-0 vote. Commissioners Bryant, Kirsh Pozen, Raghavan, and Stevenson were absent. 2  FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Commissioner Clemmons and Chair Duhon requested a discussion item on police oversight and the new police contract. ADJOURNMENT Chair Duhon adjourned the meeting at 6:33 p.m. without objection. The minutes were approved at the October 28, 2024, meeting on Vice Chair Zeidan’s motion, Commissioner Bryant’s second on a 6-0 vote. Commissioners Davis, Kirsh Pozen, and Krueger were off the dais. Commissioner Raghavan was absent. 3