BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2296|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 2296
          Author:   Mullin (D)
          Amended:  7/2/08 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  5-0, 6/24/08
          AYES:  Corbett, Harman, Ackerman, Kuehl, Steinberg

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  76-0, 5/19/08 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Animal Enterprise Protection Act

           SOURCE  :     University of California


           DIGEST  :    This bill enacts the Animal Enterprise  
          Protection Act and states Legislative findings and  
          declarations.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing federal law, under the Animal Enterprise  
          Protection Act, prohibits damaging or interfering with the  
          operations of an animal enterprise; intentionally damaging  
          or causing the loss of any property (including animals or  
          records) used by an animal enterprise or a person or entity  
          having a connection to an animal enterprise; or  
          intentionally placing a person or family member of a person  
          in connection with an animal enterprise in reasonable fear  
          of death or serious bodily injury or by a course of conduct  
          involving threats, acts of vandalism, property damage,  
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          criminal trespass, harassment, or intimidation. 

          This bill arises from the reported unlawful activities of  
          animal rights groups against University of California (UC)  
          employees, as follows:  (1) on three occasions since June  
          2006, firebombs have been left near the homes of UCLA  
          faculty who conduct or oversee research involving animals.   
          The home of one UCLA researcher sustained over $20,000 in  
          damages after being flooded by animal extremists who  
          inserted a garden hose into the house and left a note  
          threatening to burn the house down in the future, (2) it is  
          also noted that faculty at UCSF have been subject to death  
          threats, and in one instance, a burning effigy was left on  
          the doorstep of a researcher's home.  And, in one recent  
          home attack, masked protesters disrupted a child's birthday  
          party at the home of a UC Santa Cruz faculty member and  
          confronted her husband at the door, striking him on the  
          hand.

          The author's office writes, "Increasingly scientists who  
          conduct research with laboratory animals have been targets  
          of a campaign of terrorism, harassment, and violent threats  
          by animal rights extremists.  While traditional targets  
          have included research and biomedical laboratories, the use  
          of the Internet has provided extremists with additional  
          ways to terrorize an increasing number of people.   
          Extremists use websites to post the personal information,  
          home address, and photographs of researchers and their  
          families - along with incitements of violence.

          "Therefore, AB 2296 enhances the ability to protect  
          individuals engaging in work with animal subjects in  
          California, by creating new civil remedies for threats and  
          other misconduct made against an animal enterprise engaged  
          in its constitutional rights pertaining to academic  
          freedom."

          This bill states that the Legislature hereby finds and  
          declares that while individuals are entitled to express  
          their views on animal use in research and to mount protests  
          that are protected under the First Amendment to the United  
          States Constitution, the use of physical threats, violence,  
          or destruction of property is unacceptable and should not  
          be tolerated.

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           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  7/11/08)

          University of California (source)
          California a Houndsmen for Conservation
          Outdoor Sportsmens Coalition of California
          Safari Club International
          The California Sportsman's Lobby, Inc.


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Aghazarian, Anderson, Arambula, Beall,  
            Benoit, Berg, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Brownley, Caballero,  
            Charles Calderon, Carter, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre,  
            De Leon, DeSaulnier, DeVore, Duvall, Dymally, Emmerson,  
            Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines,  
            Galgiani, Garcia, Hancock, Hayashi, Hernandez, Horton,  
            Houston, Huff, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Karnette, Keene,  
            Krekorian, La Malfa, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu,  
            Maze, Mendoza, Mullin, Nakanishi, Nava, Niello, Parra,  
            Plescia, Portantino, Price, Sharon Runner, Ruskin, Salas,  
            Saldana, Silva, Smyth, Solorio, Spitzer, Strickland,  
            Swanson, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Walters, Wolk, Bass
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Garrick, Ma, Nunez, Soto


          RJG:do  7/11/08   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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