July 23, 2002 |
2002-R-0668 | |
DIVERSITY ON STATE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS | ||
By: Sandra Norman-Eady, Chief Attorney | ||
You asked what legislatures in other states have done to encourage diversity on state boards and commissions.
SUMMARY
Although most states have laws encouraging ethnic, racial, gender (and sometimes geographic and economic) balance on certain state boards and commissions, we found only eight with a general requirement for appointing authorities to try to achieve this diverse balance on all such boards and commissions.
Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Tennessee generally require appointing authorities to strive for diversity on state boards, commissions, committees, and councils. Missouri has the strongest language; requiring the governor to take affirmative action to create diversity. North Carolina's law, which was modeled after Florida's, seeks to establish gender, rather than ethnic or racial, balance. Table One shows the general requirements by state and statutory citation.
In addition to the general requirement, Kentucky's governor has issued an executive order (Executive Order 2000-1289, issued 9/28/00) allowing him to reject a list of qualified candidates to fill a vacancy on a board or commission in favor of a gender equitable list if the current membership does not reflect gender equality.
Minnesota, one of the states with requirements for certain boards, takes a unique approach to achieving diversity on the board governing the Rural Policy and Development Center at Mankato State University. If at any time the board does not reflect the ethnic and gender diversity of rural Minnesota, the board can appoint additional members (up to a total of 20) to better reflect this diversity (MSA § 116J.421).
TABLE 1: DIVERSITY ON STATE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
State and Citation |
Diversity Requirement |
Connecticut § 4-9b |
When the governor or a legislator is the appointing authority for a state board, commission, committee, or council, he must make a good faith effort to ensure that, to the extent possible, the membership is qualified and reflects the state's gender and racial diversity. Multiple appointing authorities for a single board, commission, committee, or council must coordinate their efforts to facilitate compliance. The requirement does not apply to ex-officio membership. The executive officer or chairperson of the body, except committees made up solely of legislators, must give the secretary of the state a biennial report of the number, and racial and gender composition of the members. |
Florida § 760.80 |
The legislature recognizes the importance of racial balance, and getting the best-qualified people to serve, on statutorily created state decision-making or regulatory boards, commissions, councils, or committees. To create diversity: 1. appointing authorities should select people to serve who accurately reflect the proportion of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and American women represented in the state population as stated in the most recent federal decennial census. (But no one may be removed from a board or commission for the sole purpose of creating diversity.) 2. multiple appointing authorities must consult with each other to achieve this balance. 3. appointing authorities must annually report to the secretary of the state (a copy goes to the governor, House speaker, and Senate president) the number of minority and non-minority appointments made during the preceding year. 4. Each appointing authority must designate a person to retain copies of all applications for appointment, including information on each applicant's race, ethnicity, gender, and physical disability, and make them available for public inspection. If the size of the board or commission precludes an accurate representation of all minority groups, the appointing authority should conform as possible. |
Kentucky § 12.070 |
Except as otherwise provided by law, the governor must appoint, as members of each administrative board and commission, Kentucky citizens with interest in public affairs, good judgment, knowledge and ability in area of the appointment, and a view to providing diverse interests and points of view in the membership. If the membership of a board or commission reflects a proportion of a minority group less than that of the state's total population, the governor can appoint a member of the minority group even if appointments are made from submitted lists and the list of nominees for a vacancy does not include a member of the minority group. “Minority” means American Indian, Alaskan, African-American, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, and other underrepresented ethnic groups. |
Missouri § 620.120 |
When making appointments to boards and commissions, the governor must take affirmative action to appoint women and minorities. |
North Carolina § 143-157.1 |
The legislature recognizes the importance of gender balance, and getting the best-qualified people to serve, on statutorily created state decision-making or regulatory boards, commissions, councils, or committees. To create diversity: 1. appointing authorities should select people to serve who accurately reflect the proportion that each gender represented in the state population as stated in the most recent federal decennial census. (But no one may be removed from a board or commission for the sole purpose of creating diversity.) 2. multiple appointing authorities must consult with each other to achieve this balance. 3. appointing authorities must annually report to the secretary of the state (a copy goes to the governor, House speaker, and Senate president) the number of appointments made by gender during the preceding year. 4. Each appointing authority must designate a person to retain copies of all applications for appointment, including information on each applicant's gender and make them available for public inspection. If the size of the board or commission precludes an accurate representation of appointment by gender, the appointing authority should conform as possible. |
Oregon § 182.100 § 236.115 |
All appointing authorities for state boards, commissions, and advisory bodies must implement the state's affirmative action policy in their appointments, subject to the legal requirements for each. “Affirmative action” means a method of eliminating the effects of past and present discrimination, intended or unintended, on the basis of race, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, or physical or mental disabilities that are evident by analysis of present appointment patterns, practices, and policies. When filling a vacancy on a state board, commission, committee, or council with someone eligible for compensation (works less than full time), the appointing authority must include in the criteria for appointment the degree to which the candidate will contribute one or more of the following: 1. a diverse viewpoint; 2. demographic variety reflecting the state's or region's racial and gender; or 3. remediation of existing disparities between the number of qualified applicants of one race or gender and the number of members of such groups serving on the board, commission, committee, or council. Appointing authorities must give the governor an annual report of their efforts to comply with the law. |
Rhode Island § 28-5.1-3.1 |
Each person responsible for appointments to any board or commission or to the governing body of any public authority or board must endeavor to assure that, to the fullest extent possible, the composition reflects the diversity of Rhode Island's population. The boards, agencies, and commissions file an annual report with the state equal opportunity office listing its members and designating their race, gender, and date of appointment. |
Tennessee § 10-7-611 |
Appointing authorities should make a conscientious effort to select, from among the most qualified, those people who would ensure that the membership of boards, commissions, councils, and committees accurately reflect the proportion that each minority group represents in the state population. |
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