Human Rights Commission advances municipal code revisions, discuses award changes ⋆ The Palm Springs Post

*Community Service Awards handed out by the city’s Human Rights Commission are laid out at City Hall prior to being handed out last year.*

The Palm Springs Human Rights Commission took steps Monday to update its governing municipal code, focusing on modernizing language while maintaining key functions including domestic partnership registration.

During its first regular meeting of 2025, commissioners reviewed proposed changes to Chapter 2.45 of the city’s municipal code, which establishes the commission’s authority and responsibilities. The revisions aim to align the commission’s work with other major jurisdictions like West Hollywood, San Diego, and San Francisco.

“The majority of the text that you already had is still here,” said Deputy City Manager Jeremy Hammond, the commission’s staff liaison. “You had a pretty good ordinance and it gave you quite a bit to do what you’re talking today about doing.”

A significant portion of the discussion centered on whether to retain provisions about domestic partnerships. While only two partnerships have been registered in the past five years, the city maintains records for over 100 registered domestic partners.

The commission agreed to keep domestic partnership language in the code after learning the city attorney had reviewed and approved its retention. The provisions allow both same-sex and opposite-sex couples to register as domestic partners with the city.

The proposed revisions also remove sections about mediation and reconciliation processes, which the Palm Springs City Council previously determined were outside the commission’s scope.

Commissioners also approved adding language that would make the commission’s community service awards program a statutory requirement.

The move comes as commissioners work to develop a new point-based evaluation system for award candidates. Discussions included measures to eliminate bias in the selection process, such as keeping applicant identities anonymous during review and preventing self-nominations or submissions from current members of the Palm Springs City Council.

The updated code will be presented to the City Council in the coming weeks for review and approval. Hammond noted that while minor non-substantive changes may still be made, the commission reached consensus on the major revisions.

The commission’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Feb. 10 at 5:30 p.m.