If lenders discriminate by race, it is up to bank regulators and the Justice Department to enforce anti-bias laws.
The Boy Scout organization argued that it is a private group not subject to anti-bias laws that apply to public facilities.
It ended years of hypocrisy by voting to apply to itself anti-bias laws similar to those it applies to others.
Conservatives, who believe that anti-bias laws effectively create special rights for homosexuals, said the decision would not necessarily have such a broad legal impact.
Mayor Wellington Webb of Denver, where an anti-bias law had been overturned by Amendment 2, declared "a day of celebration for our city, state and the nation."
The county attorneys could also initiate investigations and take legal action against building owners and landlords who repeatedly violated anti-bias laws.
Mr. Mullaney argued today the state's anti-bias law is "so vague it is almost impossible to defend against."
New York City's Commission on Human Rights, charged with enforcing anti-bias law, was recently found by Federal investigators to have discriminated against two women on its payroll.
The bill is meant to give the state attorney general's office a paper trail to detect the existence of any abusive practices, which could mean litigation under the federal anti-bias law.
The Bohemian Club in San Francisco, whose 2,300 members include President Reagan and Vice President Bush, is contesting a municipal anti-bias law on similar grounds.
