BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2654|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2654
Author: Laird (D)
Amended: 5/15/08 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 3-1, 6/24/08
AYES: Corbett, Kuehl, Steinberg
NOES: Harman
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ackerman
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-30, 5/27/08 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Discrimination
SOURCE : Equality California
DIGEST : This bill updates various provisions in
different codes dealing with discrimination in contracting,
insurance, workers compensation, court-appointed child
advocacy, and prepaid health plans to ensure that proper
reference is made to the classes protected under the Unruh
Civil Rights Act (Section 51 of the Civil Code), or to
Section 11135 of the Government Code which prohibits
discrimination in state-funded programs and activities
based on race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin,
disability, medical condition, sex (including gender
identity), marital status, and sexual orientation), or to
the Fair Employment and Housing Act (Section 12926.1 of the
CONTINUED
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Government Code). Thus, this bill harmonizes and makes
consistent these anti-discrimination statutes spread across
various state codes. In doing so, this bill expands the
protected classes in some statutes to encompass those
recently added to the Unruh Civil Rights Act or to Sections
11135 and 12926.1 of the Government Code.
ANALYSIS : Existing law prohibits discrimination in
state-funded programs and activities based on race, color,
religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical
condition, and sex (including gender identity). (Section
11135 of the Government Code)
Existing law authorizes cities, counties and cities and
counties to establish commissions to foster peaceful
relations in the interest of preserving the public peace
among citizens of different races, religions, and national
origins. (Section 50260 of the Government Code)
This bill changes "citizens" to "residents" and adds a
reference to other characteristics defined in Section 11135
of the Government Code, which prohibits discrimination in
state-funded programs and activities based on race, color,
religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical
condition, and sex (including gender identity).
Existing law authorizes local agencies to construct
employee rental housing funded by bonds, notes, and other
public funding sources and requires that contractors and
subcontractors engaged in this construction provide equal
opportunity for employment without discrimination based on
race, sex, marital status, color, religion, national
origin, or ancestry. (Section 54701.12 of the Government
Code)
This bill deletes references to each protected
characteristic and instead cross-references Section 12926.1
of the Government Code, which defines protected
characteristics under the Fair Employment and Housing Act.
Existing law prohibits discrimination in the application
for and issuance of insurance policies, licensing of
insurance businesses, determinations of insurability,
application for and issuance of performance bonds, and
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workers' compensation insurance contracts, based on race,
color, gender, religion, national origin, or geographical
area. (Sections 679.71, 679.72, 699.5, 10141, 11628, and
12095 of the Insurance Code and Section 4600.6 of the Labor
Code)
This bill deletes the references to each protected
characteristic (other than geographic area for Insurance
Code provisions) and replaces them with a cross-reference
to any characteristic listed or defined in specific
subdivisions of Section 51 of the Civil Code (the Unruh
Civil Rights Act).
Existing law establishes a statewide program of court
appointed special advocates (CASA), to assist the courts in
juvenile dependency proceedings and other cases involving
children, such as child abuse. Existing law establishes
the qualifications and responsibilities of a CASA, and
specifies that an adult otherwise qualified to act as a
CASA shall not be discriminated against on the basis of
sex, socioeconomic, religious, racial, ethnic, or age
factors. (Section 103 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code)
This bill replaces those factors, on which basis a
qualified adult may not be discriminated against, with
marital status, socioeconomic factors, or any
characteristic listed or defined in Section 11135 of the
Government Code.
Existing law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
sex, age, religion, creed, color, national origin, or
ancestry in the enrollment of subscribers to a prepaid
health plan. (Section 14200.1 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code)
This bill, instead, prohibits discrimination on the basis
of marital status or any characteristic listed or defined
in Section 11135 of the Government Code.
Background
Last year, AB 14 (Laird) cleaned up many provisions in
various codes to ensure that references to classes
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protected under the Unruh Civil Rights Act, the Fair
Employment and Housing Act, and other Government Code
provisions governing agencies and businesses that receive
public funds are embedded in anti-discriminatory statutes.
AB 2654 addresses some if not all of the statutes that were
left out of AB 14. The author's office states that while
these code sections prohibit discrimination against various
protected classes with respect to specific business-related
statutes and government activities, it is important that
they conform to the general statutes protecting all
classes, such as the Unruh Civil Rights Act, the Fair
Employment and Housing Act, and Section 11135 of the
Government Code.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/14/08)
Equality California (source)
AIDS Project Los Angeles
Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality
California Commission on the Status of Women
California NAACP
Capitol Family Association
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/14/08)
Capitol Resource Family Impact
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office:
"This bill addresses three separate bodies of law that
deal with discriminatory practices on the basis of a
person's characteristics. The first deals with
discrimination in the market place, where business is
conducted with people at all levels. These situations are
addressed by the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Unruh Act),
which prohibits discrimination on the basis of
characteristics that, over time, have come to reflect
positive changes in societal attitudes towards
differences among people and their cultures. Thus, the
Unruh Act has evolved over the years to include
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disability, medical condition, and, in 2005, sexual
orientation, gender identity, and marital status as
protected characteristics. It was also amended in 1992
to deem a violation of the Americans with Disabilities
Act as a violation of the Unruh Act.
"The second deals with discrimination in programs and
activities where the state (thus the taxpayer) provides
funding, support, or participation in other ways besides
financial support. These different state-supported
activities or programs are subject to their own
anti-discrimination provisions which have not been
updated in the same manner that the Unruh Act and
Government Code Sec. 11135 have been modernized. For
example, Sec. 11135 was amended in 2001 to clarify that
the state is subject to the same non-discrimination
requirements that apply to programs it funds. In 2002,
it was again amended to add race and national origin to
the list of protected characteristics on which
discrimination may not be based in the conduct of
state-funded or state-operated activities. Later in 2003
and 2005 Gov. Code Sec. 11135 was amended to clarify that
non-discrimination and accessibility obligations on the
part of state entities and activities apply to the
California State University (SB 302 (Kuehl), Ch. 784,
Stats. 2003 and AB 1742 (Asm. Cmte. on Judiciary), Ch.
706, Stats. 2005). Finally, in 2006, sexual orientation
was added to the list of characteristics identified in
Gov. Code Sec. 11135 (SB 1441 (Kuehl), Ch. 182, Stats.
2006).
"The third is the Fair Employment and Housing Act, which
governs activities in public and private employment and
housing. FEHA [Fair Employment and Housing Act]
identifies the bases on which a person may not be
discriminated against in employment or housing (Gov. C.
Secs. 12926, 12926.1). It has been amended from time to
time to be consistent with case law as well as with
amendments to the Unruh Civil Rights Act and other
anti-discrimination statutes.
"By using these three provisions as a point of reference
for various statutes that prohibit discrimination on the
basis of a person's characteristics, AB 2654 hopes to
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provide further consistency in state law, and a minimum
of protections for all people in the state in the
identified situations. These statutes include the
provisions relating to enrollment in prepaid health plan
insurance and qualification to be a CASA program
employee, that contain even more protected
characteristics, such as economic status, or ability to
pay for medical services, that could be a factor in
determining whether a business or a state-funded program
discriminates against a person seeking services or
accommodations or employment."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents of this bill contend
that the main purpose of these revisions to the
anti-discrimination laws is to expressly add sexual
orientation to the list of characteristics of protected
classes. However, the express inclusion of sexual
orientation is no more than a technical clarification
because the blanket provisions of the Unruh Civil Rights
Act and Section 11135 of the Government Code already
prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,
and those statutes already regulate behavior or activity
that the specific statutes in this bill regulates.
Opponents also complain that the bill eliminates
protections against discrimination on the basis of
religion. This probably originates from the removal, in
two sections, of the word "creed" from the list of
protected classes, however, the bill inserts the word
"religion" in the place of "creed," thus making no
substantive change at all.
The Capitol Resource Family Impact (CRFI) writes in
opposition: "This bill seeks to establish special 'rights'
based solely on sexual activity. The bill also removes
'creed' as a prohibited discriminatory practice amongst
insurance agencies. Insurance companies would be allowed
to discriminate against those with religious beliefs, a
fundamentally unconstitutional provision. CRFI opposes
establishing special "rights" based on sexual behavior. AB
2654 is a government intrusion in private businesses that
espouse traditional beliefs. Especially in the case of
health insurance companies, risky sexual activity should be
considered when enrolling new customers. Placing special
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protections for homosexual behavior in the law is an attack
on those with traditional values. The removal of religious
protections from insurance discrimination is a direct
assault on the moral beliefs of millions of Americans.
Under the guise of ending discrimination, this bill will in
fact result in reverse discrimination against religious
citizens."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Arambula, Beall, Berg, Brownley, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeSaulnier, Dymally, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fuentes,
Furutani, Galgiani, Hancock, Hayashi, Hernandez, Huffman,
Jones, Karnette, Krekorian, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber,
Lieu, Ma, Mendoza, Mullin, Nava, Nunez, Parra,
Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Solorio, Swanson, Torrico, Wolk, Bass
NOES: Adams, Aghazarian, Anderson, Benoit, Berryhill,
Blakeslee, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Fuller,
Gaines, Garcia, Garrick, Horton, Huff, Jeffries, Keene,
La Malfa, Maze, Nakanishi, Niello, Plescia, Sharon
Runner, Smyth, Spitzer, Strickland, Tran, Villines,
Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Houston, Soto
RJG:mw 7/14/08 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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