BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AJR 45|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AJR 45
Author: Chiu (D), et al.
Amended: 6/23/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 5-1, 8/9/16
AYES: Jackson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski
NOES: Moorlach
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 52-11, 6/23/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Civil rights: the Equality Act
SOURCE: Equality California
DIGEST: This resolution calls upon Congress to pass the
Equality Act of 2015, which amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964
to include protections on the basis of sexual orientation,
gender identity, and sex in the areas of employment, housing,
public accommodations, public education, federal funding,
credit, and the jury system.
ANALYSIS:
Existing federal law:
1)Provides, under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S.
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Page 2
Constitution, that no state shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens
of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor
deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws. (U.S. Const., 14th Amend., Sec. 1.)
2)Enforces, under the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, the
constitutional right to vote, confers jurisdiction upon the
district courts of the United States to provide injunctive
relief against discrimination in public accommodations,
authorizes the U.S. Attorney General to institute suits to
protect constitutional rights in public facilities and public
education, extends the Commission on Civil Rights, prevents
discrimination in federally assisted programs, and establishes
a Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity, among other
things. (Pub. Law 88-352, 78 Stat. 241.) For example:
Title I of the Act pertains to voting rights (barring
unequal application of voter registration requirements);
Title II to injunctive relief against discrimination in
places of public accommodation (prohibiting discrimination
based on race, color, religion, or national origin in
hotels, motels, restaurants, theaters, and all other public
accommodations engaged in interstate commerce; exempting
"private" clubs);
Title III to desegregation of public facilities
(prohibiting state and municipal governments from denying
access to public facilities on grounds of race, color,
religion, or national origin);
Title IV to desegregation of public education
(authorizing the U.S. Attorney General to file suits to
desegregate public schools);
Title VI to nondiscrimination in federally assisted
programs (preventing discrimination on the basis of race,
color, or national origin by government agencies that
receive federal funding, subject to loss of that federal
funding); and
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Title VII to equal employment opportunity (generally
prohibiting discrimination by covered employers on the
basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin).
This resolution:
1)Declares, among other things that:
While the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
guarantees all citizens equal protection under the law and
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlaws discrimination based
on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, no
federal law enumerates discrimination protections for LGBT
Americans. While the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) brought marriage equality to
all 50 states, LGBT Americans still face discrimination in
their daily lives and remain at risk of being fired or
denied services on the basis of who they are or who they
love because the majority of states still lack explicit,
comprehensive nondiscrimination protections;
The Equality Act of 2015 amends the Civil Rights Act of
1964 to include sex, sexual orientation, and gender
identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination,
effectively protecting LGBT Americans in the areas of
employment, housing, public accommodations, public
education, access to federal funding, access to credit, and
the opportunity to serve on a jury. The Equality Act's
comprehensive approach to updating the Civil Rights Act of
1964 would include protections for many Americans beyond
the LGBT community;
Despite the 1964 Civil Rights Act's prohibition against
gender discrimination in certain areas, such as employment
and housing, women still face discrimination in public
facilities and in receiving federal financial assistance.
The Equality Act would ensure that women have equal access
to public accommodations and funds, and that federal
funding could not be spent in a way that encourages
discrimination based on sex;
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While many public accommodations are considered
protected places under current law, people of color still
face discrimination in places that include stores, banks,
transportation services, and health care services. The
Equality Act updates the federal definition of public
accommodations to ensure all individuals are able to fully
access and utilize social and public places regardless of
who they are; and
In a growing number of states, Religious Freedom
Restoration Acts and similar laws are being invoked in an
attempt to justify discrimination against the LGBT
community. The Equality Act retains exemptions that
religious organizations and schools already enjoy, but
would ensure that religion could not be used as a
justification for refusing service on the basis of race,
color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation,
or gender identity.
1)Sets forth that the Legislature calls upon the U.S. Congress
to pass the Equality Act of 2015, which would amend the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 to include protections on the basis of
sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex in the areas of
employment, housing, public accommodations, public education,
federal funding, credit, and the jury system.
Background
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, a landmark piece of federal civil
rights legislation, outlawed major forms of discrimination on
the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
The Civil Rights Act sought to put an end to the unequal
application of voter registration requirements, racial
segregation in schools, and discrimination at the workplace or
by facilities that served the public (i.e., in public
accommodations). Other civil rights movements have resulted in
federal legislation which offer protections against
discrimination as well, including the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the Fair
Housing Act, among others. These federal laws represent the
minimum level of protection that state governments must provide
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for individuals within that state.
Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives as H.R. 3185 and
in the U.S. Senate as S. 1858, the Equality Act of 2015 would
enact express anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals across key areas of
life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public
spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury
service. More specifically, the Equality Act proposes to
include sexual orientation and gender identity among those
characteristics that are protected under existing federal civil
rights laws - including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair
Housing Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Jury
Selection and Services Act, and several laws regarding
employment with the federal government. The Act also seeks to
amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination in
public spaces and services and federally funded programs on the
basis of sex, as well, in specific titles of the Act where that
trait is currently not included among the protected
characteristics. Additionally, the Equality Act would update
the public spaces and services covered in current law to include
any establishment that provides a good, service, or program
(such as retail stores, shopping centers, banks, and health
care, accounting, or legal service establishments), as well as
places or establishments that provide transportation services
(such as any train, bus, car, or taxi service, or any station,
or depot). Notably, the Equality Act also clearly states that
the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 shall not
provide a claim concerning, or a defense to a claim under, the
Civil Rights Act, or provide a basis for challenging the
application or enforcement of the Civil Rights Act.
This reolutuion seeks to call upon Congress to pass the Equality
Act of 2015.
Comment
As stated by the author:
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California has a long and proud history of continually
supporting its lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
communities. The state has well codified prohibitions on
discrimination against individuals on the basis of actual or
perceived sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and
gender-related appearance and behavior. However, this is not
true across the nation as the majority of states currently
lack explicit and comprehensive nondiscrimination protections
for LGBT Americans. Notwithstanding the United States Supreme
Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) which
established marriage equality to all 50 states, no federal law
enumerates discrimination protections for LGBT people. This
lack of clear legal protections leaves many LGBT Americans to
face daily discrimination and remain at risk of being fired or
denied services because of who they love. In addition,
disadvantaged groups including women and people of color
continue to face discrimination in areas of public
accommodation.
Today, someone who identifies as gay could be rejected from
being hired at a corporation, a lesbian teacher could be fired
once her principal finds out she's planning to have a child
with her partner, a transgender individual could be turned
away from a hospital and a same-sex couple could face the
possibility of not finding service from a bakery for their
wedding cake. These stories are all too common across the
nation.
The Equality Act provides essential updates to the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 to include protections based on sexual
orientation, gender identity, and sex in the areas of
employment, housing, public accommodations, public education,
federal funding, credit, and the jury system. These updates
also address discrimination still facing women and people of
color. By adding "sex" and updating the federal definition of
public accommodations of the list of protections under the
1964 Civil Rights Act, women would have equal access to public
places and people of color would be protected in stores,
salons, or when hailing a cab. Consistent with California's
legacy as a leader in LGBT civil rights, this Assembly Joint
Resolution calls upon Congress to pass The Equality Act.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/9/16)
Equality California (source)
AIDS Project Los Angeles
American Civil Liberties Union
Anti-Defamation League
Asian Americans Advancing Justice, California
API Equality - LA
Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center
Bakersfield LGBTQ
Bienestar Human Services
California National Organization for Women
California Voices for Progress
California Young Democrats
Courage Campaign
Lambda Legal
Los Angeles LGBT Center
Los Angeles Unified School District, District 5 Board Member
LGBTQ Center of Long Beach
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Our Family Coalition
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
Sacramento LGBT Center
Transgender Law Center
The Trevor Project
The Wall Las Memorias Project
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/9/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The sponsor of this bill, Equality
California, writes:
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The majority of states currently lack explicit and
comprehensive nondiscrimination protections for lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans. Because no federal
law enumerates discrimination protections for LGBT people,
many LGBT
Americans still face daily discrimination and remain at risk
of being fired or denied services because of who they are. To
make matters worse, a growing number of states are invoking
Religious Freedom Restoration Acts or similar legislation to
justify discrimination against the LGBT community. In
addition, disadvantaged groups including women and people of
color continue to face discrimination in areas of public
accommodation. [ . . . ] The Equality Act would maintain
exemptions that religious organizations and schools currently
enjoy, but would make clear that religion cannot be used to
justify refusal of service based on a person's race, color,
religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender
identity. This resolution calls upon Congress to pass The
Equality Act, exemplifying California's dedication to strong
nondiscrimination protections for the LGBT community, and
urging Congress to take action in support of equality."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 52-11, 6/23/16
AYES: Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Levine,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian,
Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone,
Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Brough, Chávez, Dahle, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Grove,
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Harper, Lackey, Mathis, Obernolte, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow,
Gray, Hadley, Jones, Kim, Linder, Mayes, Melendez, O'Donnell,
Olsen, Patterson, Steinorth, Waldron, Wilk
Prepared by:Ronak Daylami / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
8/10/16 15:58:40
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