Rights law unlikely to flood panel with cases

AUGUSTA – The state panel that will enforce Maine’s new gay rights law doesn’t expect a flood of complaints.

The Maine Human Rights Commission already handles discrimination complaints based on age, religion, race and other factors. When the law goes into effect, it will investigate complaints brought by gays and lesbians.

The five-member commission expects to be able to investigate and rule on the additional cases without hiring extra staff, said Pat Ryan, executive director.

Maine became the last New England state to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation on Tuesday when state voters rejected an attempt to overturn a law enacted by the Legislature. Similar measures had been rejected by voters in statewide referendums in 1998 and in 2000.

Maine’s gay rights law will take effect next month.

Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap has until Nov. 28 to certify the results. Then he’ll send a proclamation to Gov. John Baldacci for his signature. It goes into effect 30 days after that.

Based on the experiences of other states with gay rights laws, Ryan anticipates the commission will receive 12 to 15 complaints each year based on sexual orientation. She believes her agency’s four investigators will be able to handle the additional caseload.

“It will be pretty much business as usual,” Ryan said.

Acting on the recommendations of its investigators, the five-member commission, which is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate, decides on a case-by-case basis if there are reasonable grounds to believe that discrimination has occurred.

If so, the commission tries to broker a settlement between the two sides. When it fails to do so, cases often wind up in court.