Credit: Montgomery County.
The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners has approved a resolution establishing the County’s first-ever Human Relations Commission (HRC), a local body dedicated to ensuring that all residents receive the protections guaranteed under Pennsylvania law.
The Commission will provide Montgomery County residents with a direct, local pathway to address complaints of discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations based on race, religion, age, sex, national origin, or disability status.
“By creating the Montgomery County Human Relations Commission, we are making sure that our residents will not need to depend solely on a state-level process in Harrisburg or whether their municipality already has a local HRC,” said Neil K. Makhija, Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. “They will be able to turn to the Montgomery County HRC—made up of neighbors from their own communities—who will work to uphold the principles of fairness, dignity, and equal opportunity. This action is another way that Montgomery County is showing that, no matter where you live, no matter who you love, no matter what you look like, we believe that everyone belongs and deserves equal protection under the law.”
“We have been working on the establishment of this commission for a long time, and I’m proud to see it come to fruition,” said Jamila H. Winder, Vice Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. “This sends a clear message to our residents: discrimination has no place here, and if you face it, Montgomery County will stand with you. This Commission goes beyond compliance. It’s about dignity. It’s about ensuring that every resident, in every community across Montgomery County, has a fair chance to live, work, and raise a family.”
Montgomery County is the first non-home rule county in Pennsylvania to establish its own Human Relations Commission. The Board of Commissioners will appoint 5–7 Montgomery County residents to serve on the Commission. Applications open next week and will be available on the County’s Boards & Commissions webpage.
Jason Landau Goodman of the Pennsylvania Youth Congress helped Lower Merion become the first municipality to pass a local non-discrimination ordinance 15 years ago. “From the beginning, the goal was always to expand these protections countywide,” said Goodman in the Commissioners’ board meeting. “You are taking the action today that will make a significant difference.”
Emma Hertz, President of HealthSpark Foundation, said, “We applaud the County’s establishment of a local Human Relations Commission. As federal policies are rolling back protections for our most vulnerable neighbors, local access to legal resources and information is more important than ever. Data has shown that people with disabilities, people of color, and others are most at risk of having their rights violated when searching for housing, and the HRC will be a valuable resource in our collective efforts to ensure that every Montgomery County resident has access to a safe and stable place to call home.”
