BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1887| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1887 Author: Low (D), et al. Amended: 8/15/16 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/14/16 AYES: Hall, Block, Galgiani, Glazer, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Lara, McGuire NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Bates, Gaines, Vidak SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 5-2, 6/28/16 AYES: Jackson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski NOES: Moorlach, Anderson SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 54-21, 5/9/16 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: State government: discrimination: travel SOURCE: Equality California National Center for Lesbian Rights DIGEST: This bill prohibits state agencies from requiring state employees to travel to states that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, and prohibits state agencies from approving state-funded travel to such state, except as provided. Senate Floor Amendments of 8/15/16 clarify the types of travel that would be allowed by the provisions of this bill. AB 1887 Page 2 ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Provides that any state officer or employee of any state agency may confer with other persons, associations, or organizations outside of the state wherever it may be of assistance in the conduct of state business. Permits, to the extent that funds are authorized and available, reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses for travel outside of the state as authorized. 2)Provides, under the Unruh Civil Rights Act, that all persons within this state are free and equal, and no matter what their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status, are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, or services, of all business establishments of every kind whatsoever. This bill: 1)Prohibits any state agency, department, board, authority, or commission, including an agency, department, board, authority, or commission of the University of California or the California State University, from doing either of the following: a) Requiring any of its employees, officers, or members to travel to a state that, after June 26, 2015, has enacted a law that voids or repeals, or has the effect of voiding or repealing, existing state or local protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression or has enacted a law that authorizes or requires discrimination against same-sex couples or their families or on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. b) Approving a request for state-funded or state-sponsored travel to a state that, after June 26, 2015, has enacted a law that voids or repeals, or has the effect of voiding or AB 1887 Page 3 repealing, existing state or local protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, or has enacted a law that authorizes or requires discrimination against same-sex couple or their families or on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. 2)Specifies that the prohibition created by this bill does not apply to travel that is required by any of the following: a) Enforcement of California law, including auditing and revenue collection. b) Litigation. c) To meet contractual obligations incurred before January 1, 2017. d) To comply with request by the federal government to appear before committees. e) To participate in meetings or training required by a grant or required to maintain grant funding. f) To complete job-required training necessary to maintain licensure or similar standards required for holding a position, in the event that comparable training cannot be obtained in California or a different state. g) For the protection of public health, welfare, or safety, as determined by the affected agency, department, board, authority, or commission, or by the affected legislative office. 3)Requires the Attorney General to develop, maintain, and post on his or her Internet Web site a current list of states that, after June 26, 2015, have enacted a law that voids or repeals, or has the effect of voiding or repealing, an existing state AB 1887 Page 4 or local protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. 4)Specifies that it shall be the responsibility of an agency, department, board, authority, or commission to consult the list on the Internet Web site of the Attorney General in order to comply with the travel and funding restrictions imposed by this bill. 5)Makes various legislative findings pertaining to the role of California in promoting fairness and equality and combating discrimination. Background Purpose of the bill. According to the author, "California has one of the strongest civil protection laws in the country, the Fair Employment and Housing Act and the Unruh Civil Rights Act. Our laws do not allow government entities or organizations that offer services to the public to discriminate or treat people differently. AB 1887 will send a strong message to states with laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression that such laws are not acceptable to the State of California. By banning state-funded travel to such states, it sends a signal that we do not tolerate discrimination in our state and beyond our borders." Religious Freedom Restoration Act. In 1993, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in order to "ensure that interests in religious freedom were protected." Unfortunately, according to the author, "some states have used RFRA laws to allow discrimination laws to allow discrimination towards certain individuals." According to the National Conference of State Legislatures' Web site, as of late 2015, 21 states have enacted some form of RFRA. Some of these bills were in response to the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, where the Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause or the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Since then, numerous states have introduced bills that, according to the author, "are designed to allow discrimination against LGBT people in virtually all aspects of AB 1887 Page 5 their lives." For example, North Carolina recently enacted an anti-discrimination law that pre-empts any local anti-discrimination ordinance; because some of the local ordinances bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, while the state law does not, the impact of the law is to overturn local measures enacted to protect LGBT rights. Related/Prior Legislation AB 1732 (Ting, 2016) requires, commencing on March 1, 2017, businesses, places of public accommodation, or state or local government agencies that offer a single-user toilet facility to be designated as an all-gender toilet facility, as specified. (Pending in Senate Transportation and Housing Committee) FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified 8/15/16) Equality California (co-source) National Center for Lesbian Rights (co-source) California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris California Secretary of State Alex Padilla American Civil Liberties Union of California BAYMEC Berkeley City Council California Teachers Association City of West Hollywood Consumer Attorneys of California Courage Campaign Fiona Ma, State Board of Equalization Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Los Angeles LGBT Center Porterville Democratic Club Rainbow Chamber of Silicon Valley Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors AB 1887 Page 6 Secular Coalition for California Stonewall Democrats of Tulare County OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/15/16) None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Equality California states that "as states like North Carolina and Mississippi seek to target and jeopardize the lives of the LGBT citizens, others have just as forcefully opposed these efforts. Businesses, cities, and other states are taking a firm stand against this dangerous scapegoating of and backlash against LGBT people and their families. AB 1887 would ensure that California is part of that nationwide effort." ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 54-21, 5/9/16 AYES: Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Rendon NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Chávez, Dahle, Gallagher, Grove, Harper, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Mathis, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines, Eduardo Garcia, Hadley, Linder, Mayes Prepared by:Felipe Lopez / G.O. / (916) 651-1530 8/16/16 17:57:13 **** END **** AB 1887 Page 7