Thread: NE: Equal Opportunity Commission 'Peace' deal is short-lived

Does anyone know of other like situations in the states you are in?

Published Saturday | April 19, 2008
NE: Equal Opportunity Commission 'Peace' deal is short-lived
BY MARTHA STODDARD
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2 ... d=10314097

LINCOLN — Federal funding for the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission remains in jeopardy after a "peace" agreement between the agency and the Attorney General's Office fell apart Friday.

In response, the commission authorized its executive director, Anne Hobbs, to seek outside legal advice about possible courses of action.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development notified the commission earlier in the week that it was suspending funding for 30 days because of Attorney General Jon Bruning's refusal to prosecute housing discrimination cases referred by the NEOC.

"It's a major concern if people file complaints and they don't get litigated," said Bryan Greene, who handles enforcement for HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity in Washington, D.C.

"We want to make sure the residents of Nebraska get full benefit of their fair housing law," he said.

Myrtle Wilson, director of the regional fair housing office in Kansas City, Kan., pointed to Bruning's refusal to file a recent case involving an illegal immigrant as a problem. Wilson said HUD policy is that people, regardless of immigration status, are protected by the Fair Housing Act.

Bruning said Friday morning he would not file housing discrimination cases involving illegal immigrants. He said illegal immigrants are not entitled to have free representation by state attorneys.

Bruning also said he would continue to use discretion in filing other housing discrimination cases and won't be influenced by the HUD decision to pull funding.

"Nobody is going to make this office file any case I don't believe has merit," he said. "We have to be a filter."

Bruning called a press conference to announce that his office had "brokered a peace with the NEOC." The agreement was reached during a Thursday meeting called by Gov. Dave Heineman.

J.L. Spray of Lincoln, one of the commissioners who had been at the meeting, said Bruning's comments at the press conference contradicted the understanding reached the day before. Spray and Chairman Arnold Nesbitt of Omaha represented the commission at the meeting.

"The representations made by the attorney general is that he would work with us on all these issues," including filing cases involving illegal immigrants, Spray said.

Bruning's office offered no comment about the agreement falling apart other than to repeat that he would not file lawsuits on behalf of illegal immigrants.

HUD provides the commission with $2,400 for each case it handles, said Hobbs, the agency's executive director.

The commission gets about $250,000 annually from the federal agency, according to the state's Legislative Fiscal Office.

Wilson said the commission has 30 days to resolve several matters, particularly Bruning's stance on prosecuting housing discrimination cases, or face the loss of federal certification.

If the state agency lost its certification, the job of enforcing housing discrimination laws would fall to federal officials. Spray said that outcome could be troublesome for Nebraska property owners.

"The big picture objective is to keep the housing cases local in Nebraska," Spray said.

Nebraska is one of 37 states, plus the District of Columbia and some municipalities, which handle housing discrimination cases on behalf of HUD, said Greene, the HUD enforcement official.

Bruning blamed what he called poor investigations by the commission's staff for the small number of housing discrimination prosecutions.

His office and the commission differ about the number of cases referred and filed. Hobbs said the two agencies were working to resolve discrepancies in the numbers.

The agreement that had been worked out called for Bruning's office to work more closely with commission staff at the investigation stage.

It was a revision of an agreement reached two years ago that was intended to resolve similar concerns raised by federal officials. Nesbitt said that agreement was never officially put into effect.

Nebraska came close to losing its certification four years ago, after the Legislature passed a law allowing people being investigated for housing discrimination to see copies of their file — even before the investigation is completed.

Federal officials said the state law violated federal statutes. The law, which had been pushed by the real estate industry, was repealed in 2005.

Now I've really hear it all...at least for today. Housing discrimination suits for illegals, when it's against the law for them even to be here. It's total INSANITY!