The
United States Commission on Civil Rights
The United States Commission on Civil Rights, first created by the
Civil Rights Act of 1957, and reestablished by the United States Commission on
Civil Rights Act of 1983, is an independent, bipartisan agency of the Federal
Government. By the terms of the 1983 act, as amended by the Civil Rights
Commission Amendments Act of 1994, the Commission is charged with the following
duties pertaining to discrimination or denials of the equal protection of the
laws based on race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin,
or in the administration of justice: investigation of individual discriminatory
denials of the right to vote; study and collection of information relating to
discrimination or denials of the equal protection of the law; appraisal of the
laws and policies of the United States with respect to discrimination or denials
of equal protection of the law; investigation of patterns or practices of fraud
or discrimination in the conduct of Federal elections; and preparation and
issuance of public service announcements and advertising campaigns to discourage
discrimination or denials of equal protection of the law. The Commission is also
required to submit reports to the President and the Congress at such times as
the Commission, the Congress, or the President shall deem desirable.
The State
Advisory Committees
An Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights has been established
in each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia pursuant to section 105(c) of the
Civil Rights Act of 1957 and section 3(d) of the Civil Rights Commission Amendments Act of
1994. The Advisory Committees are made up of responsible persons who serve without
compensation. Their functions under their mandate from the Commission are to: advise the
Commission of all relevant information concerning their respective States on matters
within the jurisdiction of the Commission; advise the Commission on matters of mutual
concern in the preparation of reports of the Commission to the President and the Congress;
receive reports, suggestions, and recommendations from individuals, public and private
organizations, and public officials upon matters pertinent to inquiries conducted by the
State Advisory Committee; initiate and forward advice and recommendations to the
Commission upon matters in which the Commission shall request assistance of the State
Advisory Committee; and attend, as observers, any open hearing or conference that the
Commission may hold within the State.