BILL NUMBER: SB 122 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senators Steinberg, Kuehl, and Yee
JANUARY 22, 2007
An act to amend Sections 422.55 and 422.56 of the Penal Code,
relating to crimes.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 122, as introduced, Steinberg. Hate crimes: homelessness.
Existing law defines the term "hate crime" as a criminal act
committed, in whole or in part, because of one or more specified
actual or perceived characteristics of the victim. Existing law
prohibits a person from willfully injuring, intimidating, interfering
with, oppressing, or threatening any other person in the free
exercise or enjoyment of any legal right because the victim has, or
is perceived to have, one of those specified characteristics.
Existing law also prohibits a person from knowingly defacing,
damaging, or destroying the real or personal property of any other
person for the purpose of intimidating or interfering with the free
exercise or enjoyment of any legal right because the victim has, or
is perceived to have, one of those characteristics.
This bill would add "homeless status" to the list of actual or
perceived characteristics qualifying as a hate crime. The bill would
also define "homeless status" for purposes of those provisions.
Existing law makes a violation of the hate crime provisions
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year,
or by a fine not to exceed $5,000, or by both that fine and
imprisonment. Existing law also imposes enhanced penalties for a hate
crime with specified aggravating factors and circumstances.
Because this bill would expand the scope of an existing crime, it
would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law requires every state and local law enforcement agency
in the state to make a brochure on hate crimes available to victims
of these crimes and to the public. Existing law further requires the
Department of Fair Employment and Housing to provide existing
brochures to local law enforcement agencies upon request for
reproduction and distribution to victims of hate crimes and other
interested parties, as specified.
By imposing new duties on local law enforcement agencies with
regard to providing hate crime brochures, the bill would constitute a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 422.55 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
422.55. For purposes of this title, and for purposes of all other
state law unless an explicit provision of law or the context clearly
requires a different meaning, the following shall apply:
(a) "Hate crime" means a criminal act committed, in whole or in
part, because of one or more of the following actual or perceived
characteristics of the victim:
(1) Disability.
(2) Gender.
(3) Homeless status.
(3)
(4) Nationality.
(4)
(5) Race or ethnicity.
(5)
(6) Religion.
(6)
(7) Sexual orientation.
(7)
(8) Association with a person or group with one or more
of these actual or perceived characteristics.
(b) "Hate crime" includes, but is not limited to, a violation of
Section 422.6.
SEC. 2. Section 422.56 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
422.56. For purposes of this title, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Association with a person or group with these actual or
perceived characteristics" includes advocacy for, identification
with, or being on the ground owned or rented by, or adjacent to, any
of the following: a community center, educational facility, family,
individual, office, meeting hall, place of worship, private
institution, public agency, library, or other entity, group, or
person that has, or is identified with people who have, one or more
of those characteristics listed in the definition of "hate crime"
under paragraphs 1 to 6, inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section
422.55.
(b) "Disability" includes mental disability and physical
disability as defined in Section 12926 of the Government Code.
(c) "Gender" means sex, and includes a person's gender identity
and gender related appearance and behavior whether or not
stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex at birth.
(d) "Homeless status" means an individual's lack of a fixed,
regular, and adequate nighttime residence, or an individual's use of
a primary nighttime residence that is one of the following:
(1) A supervised shelter, either publicly or privately operated,
that is designed to provide temporary living accommodations,
including, but not limited to, welfare hotels, congregate shelters,
and transitional housing for the mentally ill.
(2) An institution that provides a temporary residence for
individuals intended to be institutionalized.
(3) A public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used
as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
The term "homeless status" does not refer to any individual
imprisoned or otherwise detained pursuant to state or federal law.
(d)
(e) "In whole or in part because of" means
that the bias motivation must be a cause in fact of the offense,
whether or not other causes also exist. When multiple concurrent
motives exist, the prohibited bias must be a substantial factor in
bringing about the particular result. There is no requirement that
the bias be a main factor, or that the crime would not have been
committed but for the actual or perceived characteristic. This
subdivision does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of,
existing law under In re M.S.(1995) 10 Cal. 4th
M.S. (1995) 10 Cal.4th 698 and People v. Superior Court
(Aishman)(1995) 10 Cal. 4th Cal.4th
735.
(e)
(f) "Nationality" includes citizenship, country of
origin, and national origin.
(f)
(g) "Race or ethnicity" includes ancestry, color, and
ethnic background.
(g)
(h) "Religion" includes all aspects of religious
belief, observance, and practice and includes agnosticism and
atheism.
(h)
(i) "Sexual orientation" means heterosexuality,
homosexuality, or bisexuality.
(i)
(j) "Victim" includes, but is not limited to, a
community center, educational facility, entity, family, group,
individual, office, meeting hall, person, place of worship, private
institution, public agency, library, or other victim or intended
victim of the offense.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of
Title 2 of the Government Code.