ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Plans to pass a wide-ranging non-discrimination bill in Lehigh County again have been put on hold.
The bill was removed from Wednesday's county Board of Commissioners meeting agenda and future meeting agendas after Zach Cole-Borghi withdrew his sponsorship of the bill.
Cole-Borghi said the move was to go "back to the drawing board" to add parts of proposed amendments he and the legislative team behind the bill believe improve the potential ordinance.
"Add the amendments we need to add, change the wording we need to change, and then in the new year, we can bring it back stronger and more understandable for the public and for the commissioners to vote on."Lehigh County Commissioner Zach Cole-Borghi
The proposed law would establish a set of protected classes beyond state law — including sexual orientation, gender expression, disability, age, weight, citizenship status and marital status.
The protections are designed to guard against discrimination in employment, housing, education, health care and public accommodations in all of Lehigh County.
Bethlehem and Allentown could opt out because of their own similar legislation.
The legislation was the result of efforts by the county's Human Relations Advisory Council, which was formed in 2021 to address issues of discrimination as it might occur in the county.
The board consisted of 11 community members and Cole-Borghi, with activists Guillermo Lopez and Liz Bradbury as chairpersons.
The bill was put on hold from moving forward after conflicting amendments introduced by multiple commissioners came before the board from commissioners and county administration.
Chance to improve it overall
Cole-Borghi said it would be a chance to address the proposed amendments in the legislation, and to improve it overall.
"Add the amendments we need to add, change the wording we need to change, and then in the new year, we can bring it back stronger and more understandable for the public and for the commissioners to vote on," Cole-Borghi said at a committee meeting before Wednesday's board of commissioners meeting.
"This isn't saying that I'm going to consider every single amendment that was proposed," he said.
"But there is the plan is to make a new piece of legislation that incorporates the amendments that I think are beneficial to this ordinance.
"And that can help give it some more teeth and more understanding for the public."
Cole-Borghi noted support for the bill by outgoing board members Dave Harrington, Bob Elbich and Zakiya Smalls, and noted that amendments and comments they made still will be considered.
"This doesn't mean I don't appreciate everything that was provided by my colleagues and given to me by my colleagues," Cole-Borghi said. "I don't want that to go at the wayside.
"We want to make sure we're doing it the right way, for the county and for the administration."
"The work that went in to try and make this as easy as possible was tremendous, and it's been made as easy as possible, but it's still a mess. Taking all the proposed amendments would gut the thing so completely, that would be pretty much meaningless."Lehigh County Commissioner Dan Hartzell
Commissioner Dan Hartzell noted that while there was a lot of effort into the bill, there was a lot more that needed to be done.
"The work that went in to try and make this as easy as possible was tremendous, and it's been made as easy as possible, but it's still a mess," Hartzell said.
"Taking all the proposed amendments would gut the thing so completely, that would be pretty much meaningless."
Still concerns, but support remains
The outlook for the bill in its future form remains positive as commissioners continue to voice support for the effort, and as Cole-Borghi, a Democrat, soon will be bolstered by a Democratic sweep of the four seats that were up for re-election this year.
"Zach, I want to commend you for taking this on," Commissioner Geoff Brace said. "This is a monumental piece of legislation.
"The legislative process is messy, and it isn't always linear. But I'm happy with where the body, [the Human Relations Advisory Council], has helped us to go. And I think in a couple more months we'll be there."Lehigh County Commissioner Geoff Brace
"I'm fully supportive of bringing it forward and we'll continue to work with you on the process that gets this through.
"The only disappointment I have is that we can't do this immediately."
Brace noted amendments by commissioners Hartzell, outgoing commissioner Elbich and Jeff Dutt, saying those proposals will make the final bill stronger as a result.
"The legislative process is messy, and it isn't always linear," Brace said. "But I'm happy with where the body, [the Human Relations Advisory Council], has helped us to go. And I think in a couple more months we'll be there."
Elbich suggested using the state Human Relations Commission so the county could focus just on the workload involved with protected classes not already covered statewide, such as sex and race.
"It would still require all this legislation to go through and create the commission itself, which I support," Elbich said.
"But I would caution, and recommended before the next board proceeds further with this, that they consider this option and have a dialogue with the State Human Relations Commission prior to proceeding.
"And as well, dialogue with Bethlehem and Allentown with regard to participating together."
Dean Browning, a recent state senate candidate and former Lehigh County commissioner, during public comment voiced concern over apparent lack of accountability for the finances, membership of, and decision-making in the proposed Human Relations Commission.
The commission would adjudicate and determine penalties related to complaints made to the county as written in the current legislation.
Browning also said he was concerned over the lack of provided public defense to accused parties and lack of specifics on what constitutes interference in the actions of the commission, which is listed as a punishable offense.
