Human Rights Commission Meeting Date: June 13, 2019
To: Human Rights Commissioners
From: Ben Martig, City Administrator
Beth Kallestad, Program Coordinator
Title
Municipal Identification Ordinance Discussion of Amendment Request.
Body
Action Requested:
This is an informational item to update the Northfield Human Rights Commission on this item that was raised during Commissioners Comments at the May 9, 2019 meeting.
Summary Report:
At the May 9, 2019 HRC meeting Chair Valdecantos requested a discussion item related to interest in pursuing amendments specifically with regard to the use of “legal name” and “preferred name” fields on the to the Municipal Identification. There is concern that this is not useful for transgender persons as they may not wish to use their legal name for a variety of reasons.
Staff checked with the City attorney and verified that an amendment to the Municipal Identification Ordinance would be required in order to change the Legal Name field on the card. The question arose as to the legitimacy of the card if the person’s legal name was not displayed. Before any changes are suggested to the ordinance staff would like to get a better understanding of how the cards are being used now. As the cards have been in use for a year, this is a good time to assess use. If they are being used in locations where having a legal name is integral to their being accepted then this should be consider before any changes are proposed. Staff recommendations is for a survey to be developed that could be mailed to the existing ID holders to assess how they are using the cards, benefits, drawbacks and the fee charged. We could then better assess how changes to the legal name field could affect all users and if moving forward with an ordinance change is the best course of action.
Alternative Options:
Not applicable.
Financial Impacts:
Not applicable.
Tentative Timelines:
Not applicable.