Title
Ordinance amending and supplementing the Pittsburgh Code, Title One - Administrative, Article IX - Boards, Commissions and Authorities, Chapter 177, Equal Opportunity Review Commission, Section 177A.04, so as to reformat this section and add new language.
Body
Whereas, the Code of the City of Pittsburgh states a commitment to providing all citizens an equal opportunity to participate in City employment; and,
Whereas, the Pittsburgh Code states a commitment to provide all vendors, regardless of race, gender or religious affiliation, an equal opportunity to participate in engaging in commerce with the City; and,
Whereas, the United States Supreme Court, at City of Richmond, VA vs. J.A. Croson Co. 488 U.S. 469 (1989), ruled the necessity of accurate and timely data in the development and implementation of programs and activities; and,
Whereas, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Croson that corrective programs must be based on a "compelling government interest", established through statistical proof of past discrimination against specific groups; and,
Whereas, the use of stale data in designing and implementing such programs has led to successful legal challenges to those programs (U.S. District Court - Western District of Missouri Case No. 04-0872-CV-W-GAF); and,
Whereas, the City has an obligation to uphold the Equal Protection clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which provides for all people to be treated equally under the law; and,
Whereas, the Equal Opportunity Review Commission is charged with monitoring compliance with the provisions of Chapters 161 and 177A of the Pittsburgh Code and producing reports which detail the extent to which minority-owned and women-owned businesses have been participants in the sale of goods and services to the City.
The Council of the City of Pittsburgh hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section ยง177A.04 - Responsibilities of the EORC is hereby a...
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