Proposition One is on the ballot in the Empire State this fall, and New Yorkers who value local government should vote against it.
Under the current anti-discrimination provision of the state Constitution, individuals, local governments and businesses are prohibited from violating people’s civil rights due to their race, color, creed or religion. Activists are seeking to expand anti-discrimination protections by passing the Equal Rights Amendment, known aa Proposition One.
The proposal would add ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy to the Constitution’s anti-discrimination provision, prohibiting businesses and local governments from violating people’s civil rights based on these categories.
While this amendment comes from a good place, the ambiguous language threatens local municipalities’ ability to regulate local issues such as school district policies and zoning. If enacted, the proposition would marginalize the interests of numerous communities that would otherwise carry a majority within their local government. The state should not be empowered to preempt localities on matters of local concern.
School district policies are traditionally a local matter, determined by a majority of an elected school board. New Yorkers utilize their electoral power to ensure school boards oversee and enact quality policies in their districts. The transgender movement instigated a surge in parental involvement as concerned parents engaged in hotly contested school board elections to secure their children’s safety.
Rockland County’s Clarkstown Central School District provoked such a controversy when it enacted a policy that allowed biological males to use girls’ restrooms and locker rooms in schools if they identified as female. Clarkstown residents responded by voting for candidates running on a platform of parents’ rights. The new parents’ rights majority repealed the transgender bathroom policy. Similarly in Nassau County, parents were so concerned that the county legislature passed a resolution preventing biological males from competing in women’s sports at county facilities.
Neither of these measures would be permitted under Proposition One. Since the Constitution’s anti discrimination provision and Proposition One don’t define what is discriminatory, anything that has adverse effects on transgender individuals would be prohibited, effectively negating parents’ ability to influence their school districts’ policies on gender and sexual orientation. The language of the bill leaves no leeway for municipal governments to listen to or address residents’ concerns.
Proposition One doesn’t just threaten parent’s rights; it also threatens local governments’ ability to uphold zoning laws. In 2023 New York City started sending migrants to surrounding communities to alleviate the city’s burden. Local governments took action to prevent migrants from arriving and burdening their social services and residents.
For example, Rockland, Orange, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties issued emergency orders prohibiting hotels from becoming temporary shelters for migrants. Towns also acted to stop migrants from becoming burdensome. The town of Orangetown sued the hotel NYC was using to house migrants, arguing that the hotel violated local zoning ordinances. Similarly, the town of Haverstraw issued an emergency executive order preventing charter bus companies from making unannounced drop offs within town limits.
Proposition One is so ambiguous that if passed, every locality’s zoning could be impacted. Under the vague language banning discrimination based on national origin, the practical effect is county executive orders banning hotels from taking migrants will be invalidated because these orders have the discriminatory effect of preventing migrants from obtaining temporary housing.
Similarly, local zoning ordinances like Orangetown’s may be invalidated because the ordinances would discriminate against migrants seeking provisional lodging. Proposition One destroys localities’ ability to regulate their land use and zoning rules.
If New York wants to protect the rights of migrants and transgender individuals, the Legislature should craft a clearer amendment which preserves local government. New Yorkers should vote down Proposition One to conserve local governance and force policy makers to draft a better amendment which protects all New Yorkers — not just those belonging to liberal interest groups.
Silverstein is a law student at Villanova University and a fellow with Villanova’s McCullen Center for Law, Religion and Public Policy.