Raising awareness in Iowa about immigration reform and discrimination and improving how the Iowa Civil Rights Commission investigates complaints dominated commissioners’ discussion during their first meeting of the year.

The state agency has a long list of issues it wants to tackle, but a limited budget could continue to hamper plans to work through a backlog of citizens’ discrimination complaints, officials said.

Legislative priorities for the commission this year include extending the deadline for filing a discrimination complaint from 180 days to 300, which would match the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Housing and Urban Development deadlines. The commission also wants to obtain subpoena powers to use during the course of an investigation, which officials said would strengthen the commission’s ability to determine the merits of discrimination complaints.

Commissioners discussed a wide range of topics during the 90 minute meeting, including:

  * Ralph Rosenberg, the commission’s executive director, said expected federal budget cuts of 10 to 12 percent and no expected increase in the money allocated from the state could stall the commission’s plans to hire more staff. “We want to reduce the backlog and improve the casework,” Rosenberg told commissioners on Thursday.

  * The need to educate commissioners, the public and the media about immigration laws and reform. A training session dubbed “Immigration 101″ will be held for commissioners, but no date has been set. An education coalition has been created to raise awareness about the issue, said Alicia Claypool, chairwoman.

  * The commission plans to name its offices at the Grimes State Office Building after Des Moines civil rights activist Edna Griffin, who died in 2000. A celebration is planned for July, which marks the 60th anniversary of Griffin’s battle with Katz Drug Store, which refused her service in 1948 because she was black. Griffin and other activists protested, and Griffin sued the store owner and won an Iowa Supreme Court case.

  * Commissioner Connie Gronstal told commissioners that she was dismayed by calls she received after the Iowa caucuses last week from women who told her that some men at the caucuses were vocal about not wanting “any woman in charge” in reference to presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton. The calls showed “how insidious sexism is in our state particularly,” she said. “I think we’re going to hear a lot more about racism and sexism” during the presidential election, said Claypool.

Commissioners will meet with Iowa legislators during a legislative breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 28 at the State Capitol.

The commission’s next meeting is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. March 27 at the Grimes State Office Building.

(Photo: Clockwise from top left: AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer Crystal Schrader, Ralph Rosenberg, Rick Morain, Rich Eychaner, Tim Tutt and Alicia Claypool.)