For
Immediate Release
September 26, 2000
Contact: Betsy Nowland-Curry (502)
564-6643
Governor
Patton Signs Executive Order Calling for Gender Equity on State Boards and
Commissions
Covington, Ky. – Governor Patton signed an executive order today that will provide the tools to achieve gender equity on all administrative boards and commissions of the Commonwealth. According to the Kentucky Commission on Women, during his administration Governor Patton has increased the percentage of women on boards from 31% to 45%. He has also appointed more women to judicial posts in his first administration than all previous governors combined, bringing the numbers from 17% to 41%.
Governor Patton said, ”My commitment to gender equity in the state of Kentucky is strong, and this order will ensure that all boards and commissions contain an equal percentage of women and men, whenever possible.”
Praising the governor’s action, Betsy Nowland-Curry, Executive Director of the Kentucky Commission on Women, said, “While the governor has already shown his commitment to creating gender equitable boards and commissions, this executive order provides him with an additional tool for doing so and sends a message to the citizens of the Commonwealth, once again, that the Governor takes the improvement of the status of the women of Kentucky seriously.”
During the 2000 Legislative Session there was a failed attempt to pass gender equity legislation, lead by Rep. Mary Lou Marzian and sponsored by every female member of the House of Representatives, Republican and Democrat. The bill passed the house with a 93-1 vote, but did not make it to the Senate floor; instead it stalled in the Senate State and Local Government Committee led by Committee Chair Albert Robinson.
The
task of the Kentucky Commission on Women is to work to improve the status of
women in Kentucky. According to
Nowland-Curry, Governor Patton’s announcement will go a long way in ensuring
that Kentucky leads the way in issues of gender equity.
###
WHEREAS, a cornerstone of my commitment to the people
of Kentucky is to promote diversity of interest and points of view, particularly
as it relates to achieving as much as possible gender equity on administrative
boards and commissions of the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to KRS
12.070, members of administrative boards and commissions are required to be
citizens of Kentucky appointed by the Governor from the state at large on the
basis of their interests in public affairs, their good judgment, and their
knowledge and ability in the field of action of the department for which
appointed, with a view to providing diversity of interests and points of view in
the membership and without regard to their political or religious opinions or
affiliations:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Paul E. Patton, Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Ky Const. §69 and KRS 12.028, hereby order and direct the following reorganization of administrative boards and commissions of the Commonwealth:
I. In the event the current membership of a board or commission does not reflect gender equity, and if the Governor determines that the achievement as much as possible of gender equity for a board or commission would enhance its function, and if a list of names submitted to the Governor for his consideration in filling the vacancy of a board or commission does not contain names of qualified individuals that would allow for achieving the goal of gender equity, then the Governor may either: (1) reject the list and require that other lists be submitted for his consideration until he is provided with a list that includes persons whom the Governor deems suitable for appointment to the office; or (2) the Governor at his discretion may appoint to a board or commission a non-voting member who may otherwise participate in the consideration and deliberations of the board or commission until such time as the Governor makes a permanent appointment to that position from a list of suitable nominees.
II. The Governor’s Executive Director of Boards and Commissions, Finance and Administration Cabinet, the Governor’s Office for Policy and Management and the Personnel Cabinet, shall take the necessary actions to implement this Order.
_______________________________
Paul
E. Patton, Governor
Commonwealth
of Kentucky
______________________________
John Y. Brown III, Secretary of State