Laws Against Racial and Religious Bias Passed in 14 States This Year

Twenty-four laws against racial and religious discriminations were adopted during 1959 by 14 states, the American Jewish Congress reported today following a special study made on civil rights legislation in various states.

“Both in number and content, ” the study notes, “the civil rights laws enacted by the states this year exceeded the product of any year in the past decade. ” The study summarizes the principal legislative advances of 1959 as follows:

1. California and Ohio adopted enforceable fair employment laws. This brought to 16 the number of states having such legislation.

2. Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Oregon adopted broad fair housing legislation, thereby following the path recently marked by New York City and Pittsburgh.

3. Maine became the 24th state to enact an enforceable law prohibiting discrimination in places of public accommodation. A number of other states improved the effectiveness of their laws in this area.

The Congress survey also reveals that the work of the 1959 state legislatures “brings to an impressive total the number of state anti-discrimination laws in effect today.” Sixteen states, it notes, now have fair employment laws enforceable by an administrative agency using the method of conciliation, backed by the power to issue administrative orders enforceable in the courts. Four states have laws broadly prohibiting discrimination in education, enforced by administrative agencies, while a number of others have more limited legislation in that area.

Twenty-five states have prohibited discrimination in a substantial portion of the general housing market. Three others have prohibited discrimination in virtually all public and publicly assisted housing, and a number of states have more limited statutes in this area.