Civil Rights Council adopts member handbook and discusses strategic planning; adds Jonathan Glater to AI subcommittee

Council member Helen Hong presented a draft council handbook modeled in part on the California Commission on Hate handbook and adapted to the council's statutory and regulatory responsibilities. Hong said the handbook covers onboarding, terms, required trainings, Bagley‑Keene meeting rules, quorum and voting, chair roles, subcommittee duties, public conduct and conflict‑of‑interest guidance.

Members praised the handbook as a useful onboarding and reference document. The council accepted a friendly amendment permitting the department to make non‑substantive edits; the council then moved and adopted the handbook by roll call.

In strategic planning discussion, members debated how to balance intensive regulatory packages with broader education, outreach and hearing‑based work that could inform future rulemaking. Several members urged alignment with department staff, careful use of volunteer council time, and follow‑up from hearings to produce memos or regulatory proposals.

The council reviewed active and paused subcommittees, identified three subcommittees with only one member (AI, reasonable accommodations for associational disabilities, and religious creed discrimination), and by motion added Council member Jonathan Glater to the Algorithms and Bias (AI) subcommittee. The motion passed on roll call.