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MDHR Update May 10, 2011 For League of Minnesota Human Rights Commissions Item 4a April28,2011 Update LMHRC Report MDHR Topic: Attached you will find a bio of MDHR's new commissioner, Kevin Lindsey. Commissioner Lindsey was appointed by Governor Dayton in early March 2011. Additionally,Ytmar Santiago was recently named as Deputy Commissioner for MDHR. CASE PROCESSING Topic: MDHR's six-month legislative report will be available in early July. Past semi-annual reports to the legislature summarizing the results of investigation and resolution of charges can be found here- www.humanrights.state.mn.us/about/commissioner.html. OUTREACH Topic: MDHR continues to build its presence in the social media arena. In addition to publishing a Facebook page, MDHR now has a Twitter account. You can follow MDHR on Twitter at"mnhumanrights." We encourage all local human rights commissions to share with us lists of human rights related events taking place in your communities that you feel we can share on our Facebook page and Twitter accounts. OTHER Topic: Legislative update—the MDHR has spent much time recently visiting with legislators and handling media inquiries and other inquiries related to legislative proposals for MDHR's budget. Here is a summary on the current legislative proposals: • The House passed an omnibus judiciary and public safety budget bill that included a 65%reduction to the MDHR's biannual. In addition to the appropriations reduction,the budget bill included policy provisions that modify the Minnesota Human Rights Act(MHRA)and limit the MDHR's focus in the next biennium to"enforcement measures". A summary of policy changes proposed include: • A policy rider on the agency's appropriations designates MDHR's mission priority in the next biennium to "enforcement measures." • A policy provision to eliminate ability of Commissioner to develop and conduct programs of formal and informal education to eliminate discrimination, unless the Commissioner secures non-state funds to do so. • A policy provision to eliminate ability of Commissioner to develop programs to determine compliance throughout the state and to develop accurate data on the nature and extent of discrimination in the state. • A policy provision that raises the eligibility threshold for a certificate of compliance,thereby reducing the number of contractors the Commissioner can monitor for compliance. The Senate passed a judiciary and public safety omnibus budget bill that included a 50%reduction to the MDHR. Unlike the House bill,the Senate budget bill does not include any policy provisions modifying the MHRA or limiting MDHR's mission or focus. The proposed budget reductions would have a devastating impact on the MDHR's staffing and operations. The proposed policy changes would unnecessarily curtail the MDHR's ability to enforce the MHRA. Page 1 of 1 Prepared by Mario A.Hernandez April28,2011