Just last week, I was thinking about how the Republican supermajority has been relatively restrained so far—on more common-sense policy legislation like school finance and nuclear power, rather than widespread fraud and culture wars.
Another Pollyanna sent to the corner. On Wednesday, Republicans followed in their dear leader’s footsteps by releasing a bill that would essentially repeal all environmental regulations. Also following Trump’s spirit, they passed Rep. Daniel Elliott (R-Danville)’s bill, which claimed to do one thing but actually did a lot more.
Of course, I’m talking about House Bill 468, which passed the House Judiciary Committee, and reporter John Cheves reported on it in his own unique style:
“Elliott initially described his bill to the committee as an effort to update the Kentucky Civil Rights Act to reflect new language used in the federal Americans with Disabilities Act,” Cheves wrote.
“This bill does just that.
As Elliott acknowledged during questioning, it would also severely weaken the authority of the Kentucky Human Rights Commission and the 22 local human rights commissions in Lexington, Louisville, Richmond, Berea, Frankfort, Paris, Danville and Georgetown.
The bill would allow the commission to exist in name only. But this would take away any power to adjudicate discrimination claims. To do that, Elliott said, all it takes is taking it to court.
“The reason I am making this recommendation is that I believe the right to a jury trial, enshrined in the Kentucky Constitution and the Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, is the appropriate forum to address these complaints,” the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Daniel Elliott, D-Danville, said in committee Wednesday.
sure. Let’s be blunt: This is our new Trump reality, and LGBTQ people, people of color, poor people, or anyone who is marginalized should be stripped of as many protections as possible. If systemic racism doesn’t exist, as Republicans insist, why are people fighting it through local means?
“Going to court is a very expensive proposition,” retired Fayette Circuit Court Judge Ernesto Scorsone, a former lawmaker, told me. “It’s really bad public policy to say that’s the only way you can get relief when your rights are violated.”
After retiring, Scorsone worked in court-ordered mediation, the idea that many disputes can be resolved outside of court.
“This is a valuable process that avoids the expense, trauma and delays inherent in the legal system,” he said. “We work hard to avoid, mediate and solve problems. The Human Rights Commission is a great tool to deal with these issues more effectively and cheaply.”
Daniel Elliott is a lawyer, so he knows this very well. Furthermore, I cannot imagine that the courts would welcome any more cases to their already overburdened docket. But then again, in this political era, cruelty is the point.
The bill passed out of committee on a 16-0 vote, with two Democrats “passing” the vote (which seems odd), and one in particular, Rep. Pam Stevenson, D-Louisville, asked a pertinent question: “So where do those people who don’t have the money and the ability to navigate the system go?”
The answer is clear, Scorsone said.
“In reality,” he said, “if you don’t have a way to protect your rights, then your rights really don’t exist.”
