Effort underway to give Luzerne County voters say on new anti-discrimination ordinance

Prior Luzerne County controller Walter Griffith said he and others are serious about trying to activate a county home rule charter power that would give voters a say on repealing council’s new anti-discrimination ordinance.

This citizen-initiated referendum option had been touted before home rule took effect in 2012, but it has not been exercised, largely due to the steep signature requirement and tight turnaround, Griffith said.

At least 11,615 voter signatures would be required to get a repeal vote on the ballot, analysis shows.

“This section of the charter is powerful,” Griffith said. “It gives people a voice in government that wasn’t available before home rule and means that a council majority can’t ram an ordinance down our throats.”

County Council voted 7-4 last week to enact an anti-discrimination ordinance that would impact businesses and entities outside county government.

The ordinance establishes a county human relations commission to hear discrimination complaints involving employment, housing, healthcare, education, and establishments that sell goods or services to the general public. Council must still adopt an ordinance on the commission makeup.

Supporters said the ordinance will protect classes not already covered in state and federal laws and speed up processing of complaints due to a state backlog. Critics argued the county should not get involved in such matters and raised concerns about potential liability, litigation, and added expenses.

Griffith told council during public comment that he was exploring the referendum option. He said several residents, upset with the ordinance, subsequently told him they would be willing to participate in the referendum-seeking process.

Here’s a general breakdown of the referendum process based on charter parameters:

• To get the ball rolling, at least 100 registered voters must file a referendum petition with the council clerk stating the ordinance proposed for repeal.

Those signing this application are known as the “petitioners committee” and are responsible for coordinating the circulation of the referendum petition.

Griffith said a petitioners committee has been forming since last week’s meeting, and the initial petition request may be filed this week.

• If this application is deemed sufficient, the council clerk’s office must issue petition forms to the petitioners committee.

The committee must then file a petition seeking repeal that is signed by the equivalent of at least 1% of the county votes cast in the state governor’s race in the most recent general election for that office.

A total 116,153 county voters cast ballots in the governor’s race in the last gubernatorial general election in November 2022, which means at least 1,162 petition signatures would be necessary to meet the 1% threshold.

• If that step is completed, there is a 60-day pause.

During this pause, the petitioners committee is required to obtain and submit signatures totaling at least 10% of the governor’s race votes, or 11,615.

• Upon verification and approval of the 10% signatures, council would have 30 days to reconsider its approval of the ordinance proposed for repeal.

If council fails to repeal the referred ordinance during that 30-day period, the county election board must place the repeal referendum on the ballot of the next election that falls at least 13 Tuesdays from then.

• The county ordinance would be voided if a majority of county voters cast ballots in favor of repeal. The majority voter rejection of a repeal would cause the ordinance to take effect upon certification of the election results.

Griffith said he already informed county officials he and others were working to initiate the process so the county can ready the necessary paperwork that would have to be supplied to the petitioners committee.

The procedures governing this process fall under Article 10 (initiative and referendum) of the charter, which is posted at luzernecounty.org.

Griffith acknowledged the referendum process is a “heavy lift.” He said the anti-discrimination ordinance is worth the effort and likely to draw the necessary signatures because of its potential impact on both public and private entities beyond county government.

“Something this important and widespread should be put on the ballot,” Griffith said. “Why are we so afraid to give the people an opportunity to weigh in on something that is this important?”