BILL NUMBER: AB 2404 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 852
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2004
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 28, 2004
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 2004
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 19, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 16, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 29, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 26, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 20, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 22, 2004
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Steinberg
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Jackson)
(Principal coauthor: Senator Romero)
FEBRUARY 19, 2004
An act to add Section 53080 to the Government Code, relating to
discrimination.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2404, Steinberg. Discrimination: athletic programs.
Existing law prohibits discrimination and harassment based on sex,
ethnic group identification, race, national origin, color, religion,
mental or physical disability, or any basis that is contained in the
prohibition of hate crimes in any program or activity conducted by
an educational institution that receives, or benefits from, state
financial assistance or enrolls pupils who receive state student
financial aid.
Existing federal law provides that no person on the basis of sex
be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be
subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity
receiving federal financial assistance.
This bill would prohibit a city, county, city and county, or
special district from discriminating against any person on the basis
of gender in the operation, conduct, or administration of community
youth athletics programs or in the allocation of parks and recreation
facilities and resources that support or enable these programs. The
bill would create an independent right to bring a civil action for
equitable and monetary relief, as specified.
The bill would declare that the Unruh Civil Rights Act has been
held to prohibit local governmental agencies from discriminating on
the bases proscribed by the act, and that a specific state law also
prohibits local governmental agencies that receive financial
assistance from the state from discriminating on the basis of gender.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) On June 23, 1972, President Richard Nixon signed into law
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to the 1964 Civil Rights
Act. This landmark legislation provides that: "No person in the
United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any education program or activity receiving
Federal financial assistance,... ."
(b) In 2003, the California Legislature, recognizing the
importance of female participation in athletics, passed Assembly Bill
833, which became effective January 1, 2004, to prohibit
discrimination on the basis of sex in California state secondary and
postsecondary educational institutions.
(c) Title IX has expanded athletic opportunities for girls and
young women in educational institutions. The dramatic increases in
participation rates at both the high school and college levels since
Title IX was passed show that when doors are opened to women and
girls, they will rush through.
(d) Athletic opportunities provide innumerable benefits to girls
and young women, including greater academic success, better physical
and psychological health, responsible social behaviors, and enhanced
interpersonal skills. Athletic scholarships make it possible for
some girls and young women to attend college.
(e) Despite advances in educational settings and efforts by some
local agencies to expand opportunities for girls and young women in
community youth athletics programs, discrimination against girls and
young women in local communities still exists that limits these
opportunities. The Legislature declares that there is a need to
expand athletic opportunities for girls in the context of community
parks and recreation.
(f) California community youth athletics have historically been
enjoyed disproportionately by male youth. It is the intent of the
Legislature to expand and support equal female participation in youth
athletics programs, to provide female youth sports programs equal
access to facilities administered by cities, counties, cities and
counties, and special districts, and to ensure compliance with the
Unruh Civil Rights Act (Section 51 of the Civil Code), and Section
11135 of the Government Code.
SEC. 2. Section 53080 is added to the Government Code, to read:
53080. (a) No city, county, city and county, or special district,
including, but not limited to, a community services district,
recreation and park district, regional park district, regional park
and open-space district, regional open-space park district, or resort
improvement district shall discriminate against any person on the
basis of sex or gender in the operation, conduct, or administration
of community youth athletics programs or in the allocation of parks
and recreation facilities and resources that support or enable these
programs.
(b) The Unruh Civil Rights Act (Section 51 of the Civil Code) has
been held to prohibit local governmental agencies from discriminating
on the bases proscribed by the act, and Section 11135 also prohibits
local governmental agencies that receive financial assistance from
the state from discriminating on the basis of gender, among other
bases.
(c) As used in this section, "community youth athletics program"
means any athletic program in which youth solely or predominantly
participate and that is organized for the purposes of training for
and engaging in athletic activity and competition and that is in any
way operated, conducted, administered, supported, or enabled by a
city, county, city and county, or special district.
(d) As used in this section, "parks and recreation facilities and
resources" include, but are not limited to, park facilities,
including, but not limited to, athletic fields, athletic courts,
gymnasiums, recreational rooms, restrooms, concession stands and
storage spaces; lands and areas accessed through permitting, leasing,
or other land use arrangements, or otherwise accessed through
cities, counties, cities and counties, or special districts; sports
and recreation equipment; devices used to promote athletics such as
scoreboards, banners, and advertising; and all moneys used in
conjunction with youth athletics.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section
that girls shall be accorded opportunities for participation in
community youth athletics programs on an equal basis, both in quality
and scope, to those accorded to boys.
(f) In civil actions brought under this section or under other
applicable antidiscrimination laws alleging discrimination in
community youth athletics programs, courts shall consider the
following factors, among others, in determining whether
discrimination exists:
(l) Whether the selection of community youth athletics programs
offered effectively accommodate the athletic interests and abilities
of members of both genders.
(2) The provision of moneys, equipment, and supplies.
(3) Scheduling of games and practice times.
(4) Opportunity to receive coaching.
(5) Assignment and compensation of coaches.
(6) Access to lands and areas accessed through permitting,
leasing, or other land use arrangements, or otherwise accessed
through a city, a county, a city and county, or a special district.
(7) Selection of the season for a sport.
(8) Location of the games and practices.
(9) Locker rooms.
(10) Practice and competitive facilities.
(11) Publicity.
(12) Officiation by umpires, referees, or judges who have met
training and certification standards.
(g) In making the determination under paragraph (1) of subdivision
(f), a court shall assess whether the city, county, city and county,
or special district has effectively accommodated the athletic
interests and abilities of both genders in any one of the following
ways:
(1) The community youth athletics program opportunities for boys
and girls are provided in numbers substantially proportionate to
their respective numbers in the community.
(2) Where the members of one gender have been, and continue to be,
underrepresented in community youth athletics programs, the city,
county, city and county, or special district can show a history and
continuing practice of program expansion and allocation of resources
that are demonstrably responsive to the developing interests and
abilities of the members of that gender.
(3) Where the members of one gender are underrepresented in
community youth athletics programs, the city, county, city and
county, or special district can demonstrate that the interests and
abilities of the members of that gender have been fully and
effectively accommodated by the present program and allocation of
resources.
(h) Effective January 1, 2015, a city, county, city and county,
and special district may no longer rely on paragraph (2) of
subdivision (g) to show that they have accommodated the athletic
interests and abilities of both genders.
(i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to invalidate any
existing consent decree or any other settlement agreement entered
into by a city, county, city and county, or special district to
address gender equity in athletic programs.
(j) This section and any ordinances, regulations, or resolutions
adopted pursuant to this section by a city, county, city and county,
or special district may be enforced against a city, county, city and
county, or special district by a civil action for injunctive relief
or damages or both, which shall be independent of any other rights
and remedies.