BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1407
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1407 (Judiciary Committee)
As Amended March 31, 2011
Majority vote
JUDICIARY 10-0
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|Ayes:|Feuer, Wagner, Atkins, | | |
| |Dickinson, Hagman, Huber, | | |
| |Huffman, Jones, Monning, | | |
| |Wieckowski | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Clarifies the Ralph Civil Rights Act. Specifically,
this bill finds and declares that Civil Code Section 51.7 was
enacted as part of the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976, in
Chapter 1293, Statutes of 1976.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides pursuant to the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976 that
all persons within the jurisdiction of this state have the
right to be free from any violence, or intimidation by threat
of violence, on account of their sex, race, color, religion,
ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition,
marital status, or sexual orientation.
2)Provides pursuant to the Unruh Civil Rights Act that all
persons within the jurisdiction of this state are free and
equal, and no matter what their sex, race, color, religion,
ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition,
marital status, or sexual orientation are entitled to the full
and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges,
or services in all business establishments of every kind
whatsoever.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : In support of the bill the author notes that
California's primary civil rights statutes include the Unruh
Civil Rights Act and the Ralph Civil Rights Act. These laws
deal with related but distinct issues and have overlapping but
AB 1407
Page 2
unique application to various kinds of disputes. Because they
are codified next to each other - Civil Code Sections 51 and
51.7 - litigants and courts have frequently confused them, most
frequently believing mistakenly that the Ralph Act is part of
the Unruh Act. This confusion is natural because Section 51
begins by declaring that it is the Unruh Civil Rights Act. By
contrast, there is no similar identification of the Ralph Act at
Section 51.7. A reader may therefore fail to note that one act
has concluded and another begun. This bill would simply
identify the Ralph Act by name in order to prevent further
confusion, consistently with the advice of a recent appeals
court decision.
The Second District Court of Appeal has observed that
misunderstanding of the Unruh and Ralph acts has been common
among courts and parties. (Stamps v. Superior Court (2006) 136
Cal. App. 4th 1441.)
Analysis Prepared by : Kevin G. Baker / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0000570