HomeMy Public PortalAboutPKT-CC-2020-02-18DocuSign Envelope ID: BF4CO20E-2072-41CD-98A2-448E3CC15EDB
CITY OF
217 East Center Street
Moab, Utah 84532-2534
Main Number (435) 259-5121
Fax Number (435) 259-4135
Memorandum
To: Councilmembers and Media
From: Mayor Emily S. Niehaus
Date: 2/14/2020
Re: Special City Council Meeting
B
UTAH
Mayor: Emily S. Niehaus
Council Tawny Knuteson-Boyd
Rani Derasary
Mike Duncan
Karen Guzman -
Newton
Kalen Jones
The City of Moab will hold a Special Joint Moab City/Grand County Council Meeting on Tuesday,
February 18, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. The purpose of this meeting will be:
1. Proposed Resolution 12-2020: A Resolution in Support of Ratification by Utah of the Equal
Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution
Briefing and possible action
2. Discussion Items
• UDOT Recreational Hotspot Funding Review and Discussion (County
Councilmember Wells)
• Duplication of City/County Services and Opportunities for
Collaboration/Consolidation (County Councilmember Wells)
• Review of County/City Legislative Agendas for 2020 Utah Legislative Session
(County and City Councilmembers)
• Review of City/County Affordable Housing Policies and their Impacts (County
Councilmember Wells)
3. Future considerations
• Joint Vision Statement for City and County (County Council Chairperson McGann)
• The Meeting will be held in the Grand County Council Chambers at 125 East Center
Street, Moab, Utah.
The Meeting will be held in the Grand County Council Chambers at 125 East Center Street, Moab, Utah.
—DocuStgned by:
APIRTIEFERITK Niehaus
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, individuals needing special accommodations during this meeting should
notify the Recorder's Office at 217 East Center Street, Moab, Utah 84532; or phone (435) 259-5121 at least three (3) working days
prior to the meeting.
RESOLUTION 12-2020
A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF RATIFICATION BY UTAH OF THE EQUAL
RIGHTS AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 1 of the Utah Constitution, adopted in 1895, states: “The
rights of citizens of the State of Utah to vote and hold office shall not be denied or abridged on
account of sex. Both male and female citizens of this State shall enjoy equally all civil, political
and religious rights and privileges”; and
WHEREAS, when Utah joined the nation in 1896 as the third state to include women’s
voting rights in its constitution, Anna Howard Shaw, one of the nation’s greatest suffrage
leaders, expressed no surprise that the men of Utah had chosen to lead in this way, saying, “Utah
is . . . dear to the heart of every woman who loves liberty in these United States”; and
WHEREAS, Utah should tout our history of being a leader in equal political rights; and
WHEREAS, on February 14, 1870, Seraph Young, the grandniece of Brigham Young,
was the first woman to legally cast a vote in any election in the United States; and
WHEREAS, in Utah in 1896, Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon became the first woman in the
United States ever to be elected as a state senator, and a statute of her will join that of Brigham
Young in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C., recognizing Martha Hughes Cannon
as a pioneer for women’s equality in government; and
WHEREAS, Utah must reaffirm this historical example of women leadership and
highlight the advances of Utah women today;
WHEREAS, there is reason to celebrate the historic and ongoing accomplishments of
women and their role in numerous positions of importance in the state and to affirm the
autonomy and independence of women to pursue opportunities to serve as elected, appointed,
and hired leaders in the state, and to recognize our historical roots of women's equal political
rights; and
WHEREAS, Utah’s state constitution is a shining example to the nation that women
everywhere shall have equal political rights and enjoy equally all civil, political, and religious
rights and privileges; and
WHEREAS, equality under the law is a fundamental value of the United States and the
people of Utah; and
WHEREAS, legislation and court decisions have increased women’s access to education,
employment, and public service; and
WHEREAS, that same legislation can be repealed and the Supreme Court may strike
legislation or retreat from its own precedent, thereby eliminating or abridging legal rights
currently enjoyed by women, girls, and their families; and
WHEREAS, inclusion of the Equal Rights Amendment in the Constitution would require
courts to apply the same strict level of scrutiny it applies to test the constitutionality of
government action based on race, religion, or national origin; and
WHEREAS, a majority of American citizens reported in a 2015 poll that they support an
amendment to the United States Constitution to guarantee equal rights for both men and women;
and
WHEREAS, Utah residents value the continued participation of women in education, the
military, public service, and other spheres of our society; and
WHEREAS, a recent poll revealed that more than 70 percent of Utahns support ratifying
the Equal Rights Amendment; and
WHEREAS, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed in 1972 by Congress, which
imposed a seven-year ratification deadline on states, later extended to ten years; and
WHEREAS, the Constitution does not expressly authorize Congress to impose
ratification deadlines on the states, and, moreover, if Congress does have such power, then it also
has the power to extend or eliminate its deadlines; and
WHEREAS, well after the 1982 deadline set by Congress, Nevada in 2017 and Illinois in
2018 ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, bringing the total number of states that have ratified
the amendment to 37, just one shy of the 38 needed to satisfy the Constitutional requirement that
an amendment be ratified by three-fourths of the states to become valid; and
WHEREAS, Virginia in 2020 became the 38th state to ratify the ERA – crossing the
three-fourths threshold of support required from the states to become a constitutional
amendment; and
WHEREAS, the Equal Rights Amendment states:
Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the
provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Moab City Council, the Council
for the Town of Castle Valley, and the Grand County Council, urge the Legislature of the State
of Utah to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as proposed by Congress
on March 22, 1972, during the 2020 legislative session.
PASSED AND ADOPTED in open meeting by a majority vote of the legislative bodies
of the City of Moab, the Town of Castle Valley, and Grand County this 18th day of February,
2020.
CITY OF MOAB
ATTEST:
Emily S. Niehaus, Mayor Sommar Johnson, City Recorder
TOWN OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH
ATTEST:
Jazmine Duncan, Mayor Jocelyn Buck, Town Clerk
GRAND COUNTY, UTAH
ATTEST:
Mary McGann, Chair Chris Baird, Clerk/Auditor