BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2800
Author: Laird (D)
Amended: 8/7/06 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 3-2, 6/20/06
AYES: Dunn, Escutia, Kuehl
NOES: Morrow, Harman
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-31, 5/25/06 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Housing: discrimination
SOURCE : Equality California
California State Conference of the NAACP
DIGEST : This bill conforms to the Fair Employment and
Housing Act various non-discrimination in housing
provisions in various codes related to real estate brokers,
real property deed restrictions, mobilehome park clubs,
condominium association clubs, floating home marina park
clubs, local government land use decisions and community
redevelopment projects. It incorporates in those other
code provisions characteristics enumerated in the Fair
Employment and Housing Act. This bill is double-jointed
with AB 790 (Yee) and AB 2511 (Jones).
ANALYSIS : Existing law, the Fair Employment and Housing
CONTINUED
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Act (FEHA), makes it unlawful to discriminate or harass any
person with respect to housing because of race, color,
religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national
origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, or
disability of that person. [Section 12955 et seq. of the
Government Code (GOV)]
Existing law prohibits discrimination by local government
agencies with respect to ownership and other land use, as
specified. [GOV Section 65008]
Existing law prohibits restrictive clauses in real property
deeds. [Section 782, 782.5 of the Civil Code (CIV)]
Existing law licenses and regulates the conduct of real
estate brokers, including a prohibition on solicitation or
inducement of a sale, lease, or listing of residential
property on various grounds, including the entry into the
neighborhood of a person or persons having certain
characteristics. [Section 101177(l) of the Business and
Professions Code (BPC)]
Existing law prohibits discrimination in clubs operated by
condominium homeowner associations, as specified. [BPC
Section 23428.2]
Existing law prohibits discrimination in clubs and
organizations for which membership is a condition of
tenancy in a mobilehome park, as specified. [CIV Section
798.20]
Existing law prohibits discrimination with respect to
community redevelopment projects, as specified. [Section
33050, 33435, 33436, 33724, 33769, 35811, 37630, 37923,
50955, 51602 of the Health and Safety Code]
This bill enacts the Omnibus Housing Nondiscrimination Act.
This bill conforms the above provisions in the Government,
Civil, and Business and Professions Codes to relevant
provisions in the FEHA.
Background
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Under FEHA, it is unlawful to discriminate or harass any
person because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual
orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry,
familial status, source of income, or disability of that
person. [GOV Section 12955 et seq.]
There are 17 housing provisions, scattered throughout
several codes, which prohibit discrimination against
individuals who are members of a protected class. This
bill conforms those provisions to the FEHA prohibition
against discrimination on the basis of listed
characteristics.
Last year, AB 1400 (Laird), Chapter 420, Statutes of 2005,
was enacted. AB 1400 (Laird), cross-referenced the FEHA
definition of what classes are protected (GOV Section
12955) in various civil rights statutes, so that all such
statutes are harmonized. This bill does the same for
housing law.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/10/06)
California State Conference of the NAACP (co-source)
Equality California (co-source)
Aids Healthcare Foundation
Aids Legal Referral Panel
Aids Project Los Angeles
American Civil Liberties Union
Anti-Defamation League
Applied Research Center
Bienestar Human Services, Inc.
California Commission on the Status of Women
California Foundation for Independent Living Centers
California National Organization for Women
Gay and Lesbian Center
Human Rights/Fair Housing Commission of the City and County
of Sacramento
Lambda Letters Project
Log Cabin Republicans
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
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National Center for Lesbian Rights
Office of the Attorney General
Protection and Advocacy, Inc.
San Francisco Aids Foundation
State Controller Steve Westly
State Treasurer Phil Angelides
Transgender Law Center
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/10/06)
Concerned Women For America of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office states that
under current law the 17 provisions related to
discrimination in housing are inconsistent. In other
words, the list of classes protected from discrimination
varies from statute to statute. For example, the provision
that prohibits discrimination in membership of condominium
homeowners' association clubs only covers "race, color,
creed, religion, national origin and sex." Another
provision applicable to clubs established by mobilehome
parks includes the same categories (except "creed") and
includes "ancestry and marital status." These variances,
according to proponents, created gaps in protection for
Californians, in addition to creating confusion for those
charged with implementing and complying with these laws.
FEHA's provision against discrimination is the most
comprehensive in terms of who is protected under the law.
In order to remedy the deficiencies in the other statutes,
and ensure that future changes to the list of protected
classes are automatically covered, this will reference the
FEHA list of protected classes instead of the various
categories listed in the 17 provisions.
Last year, AB 1400 (Laird), Chapter 420, Statutes of 2005,
harmonized the civil rights statutes with the FEHA list of
protected classes. That bill extended civil rights
protections in various code sections to classes of persons
not then named in a particular statute but are named in the
FEHA provision (GOV Section 12955). Although this bill
will do the same (extend protections to all of the classes
protected under FEHA), the impact will be to a lesser
degree than AB 1400 because the housing statutes are
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already subject to enforcement under FEHA anyway.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Concerned Women for America of
California contends that "when "sexual orientation" is
added to a legal or corporate nondiscrimination code, it is
a giant step toward the adoption of policies that
discriminate against people with traditional views of
morality. Simply put, this bill continues the trend of
denying personal rights of conscience and closely-held
moral or religious beliefs in deference to the desires of
the activists. Private businesses and organizations should
not be forced by the state to set aside their principles in
order to do business."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Arambula, Baca, Bass, Berg, Bermudez, Calderon,
Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez, Chu, Cohn, Coto, De La Torre,
Dymally, Evans, Frommer, Garcia, Goldberg, Hancock,
Jerome Horton, Jones, Karnette, Klehs, Koretz, Laird,
Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Liu, Matthews, Montanez,
Mullin, Nation, Nava, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Parra,
Pavley, Ridley-Thomas, Ruskin, Saldana, Salinas, Umberg,
Vargas, Wolk, Yee, Nunez
NOES: Aghazarian, Benoit, Blakeslee, Bogh, Cogdill,
Daucher, DeVore, Emmerson, Harman, Haynes, Shirley
Horton, Houston, Huff, Keene, La Malfa, La Suer, Leslie,
Maze, McCarthy, Mountjoy, Nakanishi, Niello, Plescia,
Richman, Sharon Runner, Spitzer, Strickland, Tran,
Villines, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Torrico
RJG:mel 8/10/06 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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