In 1963, Michigan approved a new constitution which included the creation of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. In 1965, a principal department was formed to support the work of the commission. In 1991, the Michigan Women's Commission was transferred to the Department from the Michigan Department of Management and Budget by the Governor's Executive Order. By 1998, the Department also housed the Indian Affairs Commission, and the Commission on Spanish Speaking Affairs. In April 2011, Governor Rick Snyder transferred from the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth to the Department the Commission on Disability Concerns, the Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission and Hispanic/Latino Commission. The Hispanic/Latino Commission and the Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission were transferred to the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs by Executive Order in 2016. In February 2013, the department filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Education against 35 Michigan high districts that use “American Indian mascots, names, nicknames, slogans, chants and/or imagery”. The Education Department dismissed the case using the previously-established ‘hostile environment’ standard. Over the years, MDCR has produced a number of issue papers and policy documents. Beginning in 2006 through 2017, a series of reports on migrant and seasonal farmworkers were completed. In January 2013, the Department issued the Report on LGBT Inclusion Under Michigan Law for the Commission to review. In 2014, the department blocked the Twitter account then being used by Barack Obama from following its own Twitter account. The same year, an "uproar" occurred after the civil rights commission, which oversees the department, unanimously voted to pay a $24,740 bonus to department executive director Agustin Arbulu in a secret meeting that violated Michigan's open meetings law. The commission ultimately agreed to "redo the bonus vote" in open session. Arbulu rejected the bonus. In 2018 Ira Combs, whom Michigan Radio characterized as "one of the most prominent and active anti-LGBT activists" in Michigan was appointed to the civil rights commission. The appointment was met with bipartisan concern.
Department Commissions
Michigan Women's Commission
The Michigan Women’s Commission was created by statute in 1968 with the mission of improving the lives of Michigan women. The MWC consists of 15 members representing numerous fields of interest to women. The Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoints members to the Commission for three-year terms. The Governor also designates a chair and vice chair from commission members. Meetings are held quarterly, and the location rotates throughout the state.
