Joint Inclusion Committee Regular Meeting of the Joint Inclusion Committee - Regular Meeting of the Joint Inclusion Committee - Hybrid meeting format, in-person at City Hall and Virtual
JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE (JIC) REGULAR MEETING AGENDA AUGUST 24th, 2022 REGULAR MEETING of the JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE (JIC) WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2022 3:00 P.M. Austin City Hall Boards & Commissions Room 301 W. 2nd Street, Austin, TX Regular Commission Meeting MEETING AGENDA This meeting is being held in a hybrid format, and some members of the Commission may be participating by video conference. Public comment will be allowed in-person or via telephone. Remote speakers must register in advance (August 23rd by 12pm-Noon). All public comments will occur at the beginning of the meeting and public speakers will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. To speak or attend remotely, residents must contact the Equity Office’s Commission/Neighborhood Liaison, Jeremy Garza, no later than 12pm-noon on Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022. Please telephone call at (512) 978-1797 or email jeremy.garza@austintexas.gov. The information required is the speaker’s name, the item number(s) they wish to speak on, whether they are for/against/neutral, email address, and telephone number (must be the same number that will be used to call into the meeting). CURRENT JIC MEMBER COMMISSIONS & REPRESENTATIVES: Member Commission: African American Resource Advisory Commission Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission Commission for Women Commission on Immigrant Affairs Commission on Seniors Early Childhood Council Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Resource Advisory Human Rights Commission LGBTQ+ Quality of Life Commission Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities JIC Representative: Alternative: Gregory Smith Serita Fontanesi Vincent Cobalis Hanna Huang Rebecca Austen Karen Crawford (Vice-Chair of JIC) Amy Temperley Raul Alvarez Amanda Afifi Idonna Griffith Charles Curry (Chair of JIC) Robin Orlowski Diana Melendez Krystal Gomez Sally VanSickle Johanna Hosking Pulido Sharon Vigil Kimberly Brienzi Ryn Gonzalez Joey Gidseg AUGUST 24th, 2022 JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE (JIC) REGULAR MEETING AGENDA MEETING AGENDA CALL TO ORDER The meeting is called to order by Chair Charles Curry at: ROLL CALL: ● Rebecca Austen – Commission on Women ● Karen Crawford – Commission in Immigrant Affairs ● Gregory Smith – African American Resource Advisor Commission ● Vincent Cobalis – Asian American Quality of Life Commission ● Amy Temperley – Commission on Seniors ● Charles Curry & Ryn Gonzalez – LGBTQ+ Quality of Life Commission ● Robin Orlowski – Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities ● Amanda Afifi – Hispanic Quality of Life Advisory Commission ● Raul Alvarez – Early Childhood Council ● Idonna Griffith – Human Rights Commission ABSENT: PRESENT: PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: …
Equity Considerations in Contracts and Program Funding Joint Inclusion Committee August 24, 2022 Neal Falgoust, Assistant City Attorney Purpose • Discuss legal risks associated with using race, gender and protected-class criteria in determining awards of contracts and program funding. 2 Why Now? • Recent federal court decisions that put race-focused programs at risk. • Law Department deliberative process. • Briefing to City Council. 3 Acknowledgement • History of intentional racial segregation – 1928 Master Plan and “Negro District.” • Oppression of BIPOC – 1954 Federal Housing Act, “urban renewal,” and seizing of Black-owned land. • City Council has committed the City to correcting its racist practices. (Resolution 20210304-067) 4 City’s Programs • As part of Project Connect, community members developed displacement mitigation strategies and an equity tool to guide decision making. (“Nothing About Us Without Us”) • EDD also wants an equity focus for the Cultural Arts and Heritage Tourism grant programs. 5 Legal Foundation • 14th Amendment – Equal Protection Clause • No government may “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” 6 “Tiered Scrutiny” • Strict Scrutiny (Race, National Origin, Religion, Alienage) – Government must demonstrate the policy is narrowly tailored to meet a compelling purpose. • Intermediate Scrutiny (Gender, Sex, Sexual Orientation?) – Government must demonstrate the policy is substantially related to an important purpose. • Rational Basis (Age, Disability, Wealth, Felony Status) – The policy must have a rational connection to a legitimate interest. 7 Strict Scrutiny Any government program that takes race into consideration faces strict scrutiny by the courts. Strict scrutiny is the most rigorous judicial review. Courts start with presumption that policy is invalid and government must prove its interests. 8 Compelling Government Interest The government must demonstrate: • actual discrimination in the relevant market, and • that the government either actively or passively perpetuated the discrimination. 9 Narrowly Tailored The government must demonstrate: • it considered other race-neutral policies; • race-neutral policies failed to achieve the compelling interest. 10 City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co. • “Generalized assertions” of past racial discrimination would not justify “rigid” quotas; • 30 percent quota could not be connected to “any injury suffered by anyone;” • Race-neutral measures must be seriously considered. 11 Evidence Acceptable to a Court Disparity studies are conducted to determine if there is discrimination in the studied market and if the government is an active …
LGBTQ QUALITY OF LIFE ADVISORY COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION 20220822-1 CURRENT AND FUTURE RESPONSE TO MONKEYPOX VIRUS WHEREAS, the City of Austin and Travis County have declared a public health emergency regarding the outbreak of monkeypox in our community, and WHEREAS, the vaccine supply available to Austin Public Health is extremely limited which creates concerns in the community about prioritization and equity access, and WHEREAS, Austin Public Health has provided information to the community suggesting up to a twenty-one day isolation period for persons diagnosed with monkeypox which creates a hardship for those who are economically disadvantage and lack access to paid sick leave, and WHEREAS, isolation is a critical factor in controlling the spread of this communicable disease to the community and requires advance planning for overcoming the barriers to isolation in order to provide a public information campaign that will encourage people to seek treatment, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the LGBTQ Quality of Life Commission recommends to City Council that: The City Manager be directed to identify funds for emergency short-term financial assistance to those who cannot afford to isolate for 28 days due to a monkeypox exposure or diagnosis, and The City Manager be directed to present a plan for an emergency public information campaign to inform the community on monkeypox prevention, access to vaccinations, medical care, and isolation assistance, and The City Manager be directed to provide a monthly report to City Council, the first of which should be due 30 days after passage of a resolution to this effect, on the status of vaccination utilization for Priority 1 clients as well as for Priority 2 clients and that the report also includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status (SOGI+) and other demographic data on those who have received the vaccine. Page 1 of 2 1. Arteaga 2. Curry 3. Dreke 4. Gonzales 5. Jones 6. Rendon 7. Taylor 8. Vieira 9. Wollerson VOTE Date of Approval: August 22, 2022 Record of the Vote: Adopted without objection on a 9-0 vote. Present: Attest: _____________________________________________ Ryn Gonzales, Chair Page 2 of 2
