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4 • City M.tnager 1P,al ;-r= asked if, since the state had pre-en,pl ed the field, attempt., had been made to enact the MCFH :r°econuncnd tti_olrs at the i21 -te level . Joellyn Murphy said that , yes , such a,tt mpts had been made but that unpopular amendments were always tacked on and the whole bill defeated . Rob Wesson s:tid that there was no reason to let pre -emption stand in the way of the program . When the County Board of Supervisors had wanted to pass ordinances concerning logg:ing where the State had pre -empted the field , they had gotten the power to do so . Mayor Kec].ley reiterated the belief that Redwood City must be careful not to take a giant step backward by ending State pre-emption of the fair housing field . Joellyn Murphy suid that she th ura ht federal Lair housing laws would make a step r ccwards � : t . K 2s_•: : Cs sai:a that it would be lard to t... -. e a step bae.]'m%rds since it would lac a step backwards from nothing . Maybe some cojianunitic.s could take a step backwards by teaching courses in bigotry . I lc said that the City should ask the City Attorney , not "can we" do something in the fair housing area, but "how can we" do soar. 2thing . Jim Thompson said that using existing State f it housing laws was extreme) difficult , since they called for an " exhaustion of administrative remedies., . " Someone experiencing ing di scr-i m inat ion , therefore , would have to push his case through the Fair Earpl oynient Practices Col-omission , the same body that ovens w discrimination sir labor , before he could get it into court . Even then , if le won his case , the court would only :Levy a token $250 fine on the di.scrimin.a ..ing owner or manager . He said tli:i,t this procedure "doesn ' t have the teeth" ter c, the MCFF! proposals have , which would give the victim of discrimination irrn ? Late access to redress . He said that now attorneys are not even taking cases to court under the E tate law, but using the federal law . Mary Henderson said that Redwood City can no more afford to improve discr. x:.nation practice in only one city than it can to impose low-cost housing on just certain communities . '12 do so would be a detriment to satisfactory solutions on a larger basis , she said . Joellyn Nurphy said that the problem was indeed nationwide , but that the r. e kl responsibility was "right here" . Discrimination , she said was a "day-to-day occurance " doing violence to the psyches of hundreds of people . Concerning the participation of the City Attorney in fair housing suits , Mary Henderson asked if any cities had put this recommendation into effect. Joellyn Murphy said that Palo Alto had done so . She said that the Palo Alto City Council had decided to act as attorney for victims in housing discrimination after they elici ;ed from their city attorney an opinion that the city can engage in a suit on behalf of a private individual in cases of racial or religious discrimination . The Palo Alto city attorney said that in each case he will seek an injunction to halt the discrimination, punitive damages , and the cost of the suit . She said that no discrimination cases have come up in Palo Alto since that action had been taken . Discussing the City setting up a loan fund for the legal fees of those who believe that they have been discriminated against , W yor Keckley asked if MINUTES HOUSING CONCERNS COMMITTEE JUNE 28, 1972 PACE 3 OF 5