BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 559|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 559
          Author:   Padilla (D)
          Amended:  As introduced
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  3-2, 4/26/11
          AYES:  Evans, Corbett, Leno
          NOES:  Harman, Blakeslee

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8


           SUBJECT  :    Discrimination:  genetic information

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    this bill expands the prohibited bases of 
          discrimination under the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the 
          California Fair Employment and Housing Act to include 
          genetic information.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act 
          (Unruh), generally prohibits business establishments from 
          discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, 
          ancestry, national origin, disability, or medical 
          condition, marital status, or sexual orientation and 
          provides civil remedies for violations of its provisions.  
          (Civil Code Section 51 et seq.)

          Existing law, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), 
          prohibits discrimination in housing and employment on the 
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          basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, 
          ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical 
          condition, marital status, sex, age, or sexual orientation. 
           (Government Code Section 12920 et seq.)

          This bill prohibits discrimination under Unruh and FEHA on 
          the basis of genetic information. 

          This bill defines genetic information under Unruh and FEHA 
          to mean "with respect to any individual, information about 
          any of the following:  (a) the individual's genetic tests; 
          (b) the genetic tests of family members of the individual; 
          and (c) the manifestation of a disease or disorder in 
          family members of the individual." This bill includes in 
          the meaning of genetic information "any request for, or 
          receipt of, genetic services, or participation in clinical 
          research that includes genetic services, by an individual 
          or any family member of the individual."  This bill 
          excludes from the meaning any "information about the sex or 
          age of any individual."

          Existing law prohibits health facilities from denying 
          emergency services based upon any characteristic listed or 
          defined in Unruh.   (Health & Safety Code Section 1317.)

          This bill, by adding genetic information to Unruh, also 
          prohibits health facilities from denying emergency services 
          based upon a person's genetic information. 

          Existing law provides that the legal owner of a property 
          who believes that they are subject to a restrictive 
          covenant that unlawfully discriminates because of race, 
          color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, familial status, 
          marital status, disability, national origin, source of 
          income, or ancestry, may record a document entitled 
          "Restrictive Covenant Modification," following a specified 
          process.  (Government Code Sections. 12955, 12956.2.)  

          This bill allows a property owner to seek the removal of 
          any unlawful restrictive covenant that discriminates on the 
          basis of genetic information following the same specified 
          process.

           Background







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          Genetic testing is a sophisticated technique used to test 
          for genetic disorders.  The technology can lead to earlier 
          detection of illnesses, sometimes even before symptoms have 
          begun, which allows individuals to take steps early on to 
          reduce the likelihood that they will contract a particular 
          disease.  These rapid advances provide new opportunities 
          for medical progress, but may also give rise to the 
          potential for discrimination based on misuse of the genetic 
          information.  Unfortunately, history shows this to be the 
          case.   

          Based on the early science of genetics, state laws were 
          enacted providing for the sterilization of persons deemed 
          to have genetic "defects."  California passed a 
          nonconsensual sterilization law in 1909 and sterilized 
          nearly 22,000 people from the time it was enacted to when 
          it was finally repealed in 1979.  Individuals subjected to 
          sterilization had been diagnosed with, among other things, 
          mental retardation, mental disease, epilepsy, blindness, 
          and hearing loss.  Most of these people were young, poor 
          women.  

          Misuse of genetic information was again used as a basis for 
          discrimination in the 1970's when programs were implemented 
          to screen and identify carriers of sickle cell anemia, a 
          disease which predominately affects African Americans.  
          State legislatures began enacting laws requiring all 
          African Americans to be screened for sickle cell anemia 
          even though other ethnic backgrounds are potential carriers 
          of the disease.  As a result, people carrying the sickle 
          cell anemia trait had difficulty finding employment and 
          health insurance even if they did not ultimately develop 
          the disease.  

          As recently as the 1990's, the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory 
          in California used genetic screening for over twenty-five 
          years under the premise of testing employees for drugs.  
          The employees brought suit against their employer, alleging 
          a violation of both federal and California privacy rights 
          which led to a court decision in favor of the employees. 
          (  Norman-Bloodsaw v. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory  (1998) 135 
          F.3d 1260.)








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          In 2008, Congress enacted the federal Genetic Information 
          and Nondiscrimation Act (GINA) which prohibits 
          discrimination in group health plan coverage based on 
          genetic information.  Specifically, GINA prohibits: (1) 
          health insurance issuers from basing premiums for an 
          employer or a group on genetic information; (2) plans and 
          issuers from requesting or requiring an individual to 
          undergo a genetic test; and (3) a plan from collecting 
          genetic information (including family medical history) 
          prior to enrollment or for underwriting purposes.

          The FEHA and the Unruh prohibit discrimination in 
          employment, housing, public accommodation, and services 
          provided by business establishments on the basis of 
          specified personal characteristics such as sex, race, 
          color, national origin, religion, and disability.  Over 
          time, these statutes have evolved to include other 
          characteristics such as medical condition, marital status 
          and sexual orientation to generally reflect the state's 
          public policy against discrimination in all forms.  
          This bill adds genetic discrimination to the list of the 
          prohibited classifications for discrimination under Unruh 
          and FEHA to make it more relevant to California

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

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/10/11)

          American Federation of State, County and Municipal 
          Employees
          California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit 
          Union
          California Conference of Machinists
          California Employment Lawyers Association
          California Nurses Association
          California Official Court Reporters
          California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
          Council for Responsible Genetics
          Disability Rights California
          Engineer and Scientists of California
          International Longshore and Warehouse Union
          Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 21
          UNITE HERE!







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          Utility Workers Union of America, Local 132

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT :    The author's office states, 
          genetic testing can allow individuals to take steps to 
          reduce the likelihood that they will contract a particular 
          disorder.  New knowledge about genetics may also allow for 
          the development of better therapies that are more effective 
          against disease or have fewer side effects than current 
          treatments.  While these rapid advances promise significant 
          medical progress, they also give rise to the potential 
          misuse of genetic information to discriminate.  Although 
          genes are facially neutral markers, many genetic conditions 
          and disorders are associated with particular racial and 
          ethnic groups and gender. Because some genetic traits are 
          most prevalent in particular groups, members of a 
          particular group may be stigmatized or discriminated 
          against as a result of that genetic information.  The State 
          of California has a compelling public interest in realizing 
          the medical promise of genomics. It also has a compelling 
          public interest in relieving the fear of discrimination and 
          in prohibiting its actual practice. While Federal law was 
          passed in 2008, with the GINA, its range of protections is 
          incomplete for Californians.

          In support of the bill, the Council for Responsible 
          Genetics writes "during the past several decades, our 
          understanding of genetics has multiplied as procedures for 
          identifying, analyzing and manipulating DNA have advanced.  
          Among the many benefits of these efforts are the ways they 
          may influence preventive health, reproductive planning and 
          eventually therapies to cure illnesses with a genetic 
          component.  While no one can deny that this knowledge may 
          be a blessing in finding cures to diseases with genetic 
          origins, the immediate consequences of such advances have 
          led to a number of forms of individual discrimination.  
          Consider the case of Lawrence-Berkeley Laboratories, which 
          for almost twenty-five years gave its employees 
          pre-placement and annual medical examinations that included 
          tests for syphilis, sickle cell genetic markers and 
          pregnancy without the employees' knowledge or consent."

          Also in support, the California Nurses Association notes 
          that "many genetic conditions and disorders are associated 
          with particular racial, ethnic groups and genders.  Because 







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          of that fact, members of those groups may be stigmatized or 
          discriminated against as a result of that information."


          RJG:do  5/11/11   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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