3172181v1 Item #______
Rules & Legislation Committee
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Rules & Legislation Committee FROM: City Attorney Barbara J.
Parker, City Administrator
Edward D. Reiskin, Council
President Nikki Fortunato Bas,
and Councilmembers Noel
Gallo, Dan Kalb, and Treva
Reid
SUBJECT: Proposed Charter Amendments to
Replace Gender Specific Charter
Language with Gender-Neutral and
Gender Inclusive Language
DATE: June 16, 2022
RECOMMENDATION
City Attorney Barbara J. Parker , City Administrator Edward D. Re iskin, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, and Councilmembers Noel Gallo, Dan Kalb, and Treva Reid
Recommends that the City Council Adopt The Following:
RESOLUTION ON THE CITY COUNCIL’S OWN MOTION
SUBMITTING TO THE VOTERS FOR THE NOVEMBER 8, 2022,
GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION A MEASURE THAT, PURSUANT
TO COUNCIL RESOLUTI ON NO. 88320 C.M.S., WOULD AMEND THE CITY CHARTER IN ITS ENTIRETY TO:
(1) REPLACE GENDER -SPECIFIC LANGUAGE WITH GENDER-
INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE, IN RECOGNITION THAT WOMEN AND
NON-BINARY PERSON S AS WELL AS ME N, HOLD POSITIONS AS CITY OFFICERS AND CITY STAFF; AND
(2) DELETE ARTICLES XIV AND XV PERTAINING TO OBSOLETE
RETIREMENT SYSTEMS FOR POLICE OFFICERS AND
FIREFIGHTERS, RESPECTIVELY; AND
DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO FIX THE DATE FOR SUBMISSI ON
OF ARGUMENTS AND PROVIDE FOR NOTICE AND PUBLICATION,
AND TAKE ANY AND ALL ACTIONS NECESSARY UNDER LAW TO
PREPARE FOR AND CONDUCT THE NOVEMBER 8, 2022, GENERAL
MUNICIPAL ELECTION
City Attorney Barbara J. Parker
Subject: Charter Amendment Replacing Gender Specific Language with Gender-Neutral Language
3172181v1 Item #_______
Rules & Legislation Committee
June 16, 2022
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This legislation would amend the City Charter in its en tirety to replace gender specific language with gender neutral and gender inclusive language, including gender neutral pronouns as required by City Council Resolution No. 88320 C.M.S.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
In October 2020, the City Council ad opted Resoluti on No. 88320 C.M.S. which established a City Policy that requires that the City conducted its affairs in a manner that uses gender neutral and gender-inclusive l anguage, including non -gendered language and gender -neutral pronouns where appro priate, and ex presses the Counci l’s intent to submit a Charter amendment to the voters in November 2022 to amend th e City Charter in its entirety to use gender -inclusive language, including non -gendered language and gender-neutral pronouns . This proposed legislation would amend the City Charter in accordance with Resolution No. 88320 C.M.S.
Adopted in 1968 , the City Charter contains outdated and gen dered language including referring to City C ouncilmembers, the Mayor, the Ci ty Clerk, the City Auditor, the City Administrator, and City emp loyees using the masculine pronouns “he, ” “him,” and “his .” In addition, the Charter uses outdated gendered terminology such as referring to female police offi cers as “matrons,” referring to surviving spouses as “widows,” r eferring to workers as “workmen, ” and referring to firefighters as “firemen.”
Over the past several years, there has been increasing pu blic awareness and recognition of the existence of nonbinary gender identities, the imp ortance of gender-inclusive language, and the need for government agencies to revise policies, laws, and other writings to appropriately reflect the diversity of constituents and remove language that is outdated and inherently biased.
In 2017, the Califo rnia Legislature enacted the Gender Recognitio n Act (Senate Bill 179), amending the Health and Safety C ode, the Vehicle Code, and ot her state codes to recognize a third g ender option on California state -issued documents including driver’s li censes, identification cards, and birth certifi cates. In 2018, the California S tate Legislature adopted Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR) 260, calling for the use of gender -neutral pronouns and gender-inclusive language in the drafting o f all state legislation, and calling on state agencies to engage in similar efforts to use gender-neutral pronouns and avoid the use of gendered pronouns when drafting policies, regulations, and other guidance.
In 2018, the League of California Cities issued extensive guidance to municipalities setting forth best pr actices for ci ty offic ials related to promoting inclusi ve workplaces. Amongst othe r recommendations, the League recommends updating all municipal code s, ordinances, policies, and procedures to replace all gendered language with ter minology that is gender-neutral. The League also advised that failure to use app ropriate pronouns in addressing transgender and/or gender nonconforming people may constitute h arassment and recommended that local governments review ope rating procedures (such as re cord keeping, repo rting, and City Attorney Barbara J. Parker
Subject: Charter Amendment Replacing Gender Specific Language with Gender-Neutral Language
3172181v1 Item #_______
Rules & Legislation Committee
June 16, 2022
intergovernmental relations) to prepare for integration of the third ge nder marker authorized by SB 179.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
Language plays a signifi cant role in shap ing cultural and social attitudes, as well as signaling certain biases and hi storical inequitie s. U se of gendered (i.e., gender specific) language perpetuates stereotypes and excludes people who do not ascribe to or iden tify with strictly “male” or “female” pro nouns and other g ender markers. The proposed resolution includes the following changes in pronouns and terminology:
Original Term Amendment
Fireman Firefighter
He; He or She; He/she; She/He They
Him; Him or Her Them
Himself; Himself or Herself Themselves, Themself
His; His or Her; Her or His Their
Matron; Substitute Matron Member of the Police Department Mother Parent
Policewoman Member of the Police Department
Widow; Widower Surviving spouse
Workmen Workers
Note: The amendments do not replace g ender sp ecific language that references the titles of obsolete Articles or pertains to calculation of benefits based on gender-based mortality tables.
FISCAL IMPACT
This resolution will have little if any direct or indirect fiscal impact or cost.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
The City Attorney’s Office consulted with the City’s Race and Equity Department and various interest groups in the development of this resolution.
COORDINATION
The City Attorney’s Of fice coordinated with the City Administrator ’s Office and City Council co-sponsors, Council President Ba s and Councilmembers Gallo, K alb and Reid regarding the proposed resolution.
City Attorney Barbara J. Parker
Subject: Charter Amendment Replacing Gender Specific Language with Gender-Neutral Language
3172181v1 Item #_______
Rules & Legislation Committee
June 16, 2022
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: Having laws, policie s, and o ther City communicatio ns that accurately reflect the diversity of residents and employees will help encourage greater civic participation, engagement, and productivity among residents and employees who may otherwise feel excluded, undervalued, and/or discouraged as a result of perceived bias, stigma, and/or frequent misgendering.
Environmental: Using language that is inclusive and affirming of people of all genders promotes a welcoming and safe environment and reduces negative health impacts of perceived bias and exclusion.
Race & Equity: The use of g ender-inclusive and gender-neutral language is consistent with and directly promotes the Cit y’s commitment to equity. The use of gendered terminology reinforces outdated professional and social gender norms (for example, using the word “firemen” instead of “firefighters” reinforces the idea that only men are or should be firefighters). Moreover, the use of gendered language has an exclusionary impact on persons who id entify as transgender, nonbinary, intersex, two -spirit, and/or who othe rwise identify outside of the strictly “male” or “female” gender binary.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
City Attorney Parker, City Administrator Reiskin, Council President Bas and Councilmembers Gallo, Kalb and Reid request that the Council pass a Resolution on the City Council’s own motion submitting to the voters for the November 8, 2022, general municipal election:
Resolution On The City Council’s Own Motion Submitting To The Voters For The November 8, 2022, General Municipal Election A Measure That, Pursuant To Council Resolution No. 88320 C.M.S., Would Amend The City Charter In Its Entirety To:
(1) Replace Gender-Specific Language With Gender-Inclusive Language, In Recognition That Women And Non -Binary Persons As Well As Men, Hold Positions As City Officers And City Staff; And
(2) Delete Articles X IV And XV Pertaining To Obsolete Retirement Systems For Police Officers And Firefighters, Respectively
City Attorney Barbara J. Parker
Subject: Charter Amendment Replacing Gender Specific Language with Gender-Neutral Language
3172181v1 Item #_______
Rules & Legislation Committee
June 16, 2022
For question s regarding this report, please contact Laura Lane , Supervising Deputy C ity Attorney, at (510) 238-3838.
Respectfully submitted,
________________________________
Barbara J. Parker
City Attorney
________________________________
Nikki Fortunato Bas
Council President
________________________________
Noel Gallo
Councilmember
_________________________________
Edward D. Reiskin
City Administrator
_________________________________
Dan Kalb
Councilmember
_________________________________
Treva Reid
Councilmember