While supportive of the general idea, Mayor Rocky Anderson criticized the proposal Saturday, saying it lacked the ability to really help people.

"This basically says if there are problems they can be raised and recommendations can be made," he said. "We ought to have substantive protections with meaningful enforcement."

The commission proposal is being pushed by council members Eric Jergensen and Jill Remington Love, both of whom are up for re-election this year. They plan to explain their idea to the full council on Tuesday.

Jergensen and Love want to fold the Multi-Ethnic Community Resource Board, which looks into race- and ethnicity-based discrimination, into a broader commission, which would address accusations of discrimination in a variety of categories including ancestry, age, sexual orientation and disability.

The commission would plan educational events and review community complaints before advising city government.

Anderson said that's not enough.

"It is always nice to talk about these things and get advice," he said. "But if there is going to be real protections they should be included in the law."

A Human Rights Commission is not a new idea for Salt Lake City. Michael Mitchell of Equality Utah, a gay-rights political action committee, raised the same proposal in early 2004. Nothing ever came of it.

Love worked on the proposal then and has found it difficult to make it "meaningful" with the city's tight budget. She called the plan a "first step," saying she would welcome Anderson's help.

The mayor equated the proposal to the old Civilian Review Board, which looked into accusations of police misconduct. He revamped that board, adding investigative authority during his first term.

Love and Jergensen want Ty McCartney, who now oversees the Civilian Review Board, to staff this new commission, with volunteers as members.

The commission is not a reaction to any complaint - Love said she has heard of no problems with any ordinance or city process - rather it is a proactive step.

"We are saying as a city we won't tolerate discrimination," she said.

The council is expected to ask Anderson's administration to draft an ordinance, which council members will debate at some future meeting.

mcanham@sltrib.com