1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: March 15, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Zizette Mullins, MMC, City Clerk
BY: Desiree Jimenez, CMC, Assistant City Clerk
SUBJECT: Consideration of an Introduction of an Ordinance Amending the Burbank Municipal Code in its Entirety to Replace Gender-Specific Langu age with Gender Neutral Language
RECOMMENDATION
1. Introduce AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK
AMENDING THE BURBANK MUNICIPAL CODE IN ITS ENTIRETY TO REPLACE
GENDER-SPECIFIC LANGUAGE WITH GENDER NEUTRAL LANGUAGE
or
2. Note and file and take no further action.
BACKGROUND
On November 16, 2021, Council Member Schultz requested a first step report to consider updating the City of Burbank (City) Burbank Municipal Code (BMC ) to reflect gender neutral language (Project). This request is consistent with upd ating the BMC to ensure the Code’s provisions are consistent with federal and state laws ensuring equal protection under the law.
DISCUSSION
The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides that all persons are afforded equal protections under the law. These protections extend to the free doms of speech and expression (1 st Amendment). Subsequently passed legislation, s pecifically the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibit discrimination based on pr otected classifications, inc luding a person’s gender identity and gender expression.
Staff is foregoing the traditional two-step agenda process beca use this request is a necessary update to the BMC to make it consistent with both federal and state laws.
CITY CLERK’S
OFFICE
2 The City Clerk’s Office has reviewed a February 8, 2022 City Cl erk ListServ inquiry response regarding the incorporation of gender neutral language into a Municipal Code.
The City Clerk’s Office has also evaluated options to update th e BMC to replace all gender-specific references with gender neutral pronouns and is hereby presenting the following available options to the City Council for consideration:
1. Leave the BMC as-is with t he utilization of gender-specific pronouns or
2. Amend the entire BMC to remove all references to gender-spec ific language and any other gendered pronouns or nouns.
Gendered language shall be repl aced with gender neutral pronoun s. Gender- specific language such as “he,” “she,” “him,” “his,” or “her” s hall be replaced with appropriate gender-neutral pronouns s uch as “they,” “their,” or “them” as grammatically appropriate and in a manner that does not change the legal meaning of any provision of the BMC.
Gendered language will be preserv ed if legally required due to the specific gendered intent of the provision.
(a) The gender neutral pronoun includes the feminine and mascul ine genders.
(b) “They/them/their” shall indicate a singular individual, unless the context indicates the contrary.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City of Burbank’s existing Codification Vendor, Code Publis hing Company, has provided a proposal for an estimate in the amount of $1,000 for the completion of this Project. The City Clerk’s Office has identified FY 2021-22 Budget funding for this Project which would be charged to 001.CC01A. 62170.
CONCLUSION
In an effort to prioritize inclusivity of all individuals, including those whose gender identity and gender expression are not cons istent with traditionally est ablished forms of a person’s gender identity and expression, staff hereby recommends the introduction of the proposed ordinance to begin the process to implement gender neutral pronouns.
Should the City Council direct staff to move forward with this Project, the Burbank City Clerk’s Office stands ready to execute necessary documents to b egin the services from the City’s Codification Vendor, Code Publishing Company, to cha nge all gender-specific pronouns and nouns to gender neutral pronouns based on an ordin ance enacted by the City with exceptions as provided by the City.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Proposed Ordinance
Attachment 2 – Code Publishing Company Gender Neutrality Proposal