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Commissioner Gordon made reference to the section 8 housing issue and the question of whether a landlord could discriminate against someone that has section 8 funding. Geof Gledhill said as long as there is no other protected class involved. Senator Kinnaird has a concern about this and asked about Orange County's position. Commissioner Jacobs said that he mentioned to Senator Kinnaird that the Board could ask the Human Relations Commission to look at this issue. It could also be brought to the attention of the news media. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the rehab code and said that it might be useful. He can see that there will be concerns raised by counties about training for inspectors. He said that it would be good if Orange County could provide some contact information and the Code Enforcement Supervisor can continue to work with the historic community, and as they work through it, they can provide information on the experience. This might be a service to other counties. PUBLIC COMMENT: Damon Seils, Vice-Chair of the Human Relations Commission, spoke about the human rights issues for the legislative agenda. He made reference to the man from the homosexual community that was beaten in Chapel Hill and said that today there was a candlelight vigil in Chapel Hill for this man. The victim is recovering with his family, but he is afraid to return to Chapel Hill. He said that the Chapel Hill Police classified it as a hate crime. Unfortunately, the State government does not recognize sexual orientation as a protected category in the hate crime statute. He asked the County Commissioners to encourage the legislators to enact a comprehensive hate crimes law, so that North Carolina can join the 29 states that have already done so. He also hopes the County Commissioners will oppose the constitutional amendment now before the General Assembly. Both the senate and house versions of this bill would disallow same-sex marriages and also domestic partnerships and all other similar arrangements. This would affect domestic partner health insurance benefits. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he has no problem in putting all of this into the legislative package. The Board agreed to add these to the orange-colored resolution sheets. Noah Rannells is the Vice-Chair of the Ag Preservation Board. He distributed a handout. The feedback is from the Ag Preservation Board in previous meetings, the Carolina Farms Stewardship Association, American Farm Bureau National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, and American Farmland Trust. He said that he supports the conveyance tax mentioned earlier. He summarized the items on the list, which is incorporated by reference. He highlighted items 2-d; 3-f, g, and h; 4-b; 5-b; and 7-a and c. He said that if the County Commissioners specifically want the Ag Preservation Board to follow up on particular items, he would take it back to them. Commissioner Halkiotis asked for an explanation of item 2-d. Noah Rannells said that he knows that the State Cooperative Extension Specialist has read it and supports it. He hopes that it reduces the liability, which would reduce the insurance. Commissioner Jacobs suggested taking the list to the Ag Preservation Board and boil it down. Commissioner Jacobs pointed out the first two revenue items on the orange sheet because they seem to be part of the Governor's proposed revenue enhancements. He thinks 15