BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2706
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 28, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                  AB 2706 (Lowenthal) - As Amended:  April 20, 2010

          Policy Committee:                              JudiciaryVote:7-2

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill:

          1)Stipulates that the protections and remedies of the Ralph  
            Civil Rights Act include violence, or intimidation by threat  
            of violence, committed against a person or property because  
            the person is or is perceived to be "homeless," as defined.

          2)Specifies that the Department of Fair Employment and Housing  
            does not have jurisdiction regarding the protections provided  
            in (1). 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor increase in court costs and caseloads, and in the civil  
          case backlogs, due to additional filings related to a new cause  
          of action.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Background  .  The Ralph Civil Rights Act provides that all  
            persons within the jurisdiction of this state have the right  
            to be free from any violence, or intimidation by threat of  
            violence, committed against their persons or property because  
            of personal or other characteristics or statuses, such as  
            political affiliation, sex, race, color, religion, marital  
            status, sexual orientation or position in a labor dispute.

           2)Purpose  .  According to the author, there are an estimated  
            157,000 homeless people in California, many of whom suffer  
            from mental and physical illness, and are less likely to  
            receive comprehensive medical treatment.  Compounding these  








                                                                  AB 2706
                                                                  Page  2

            difficulties, homeless people are often the target of violent  
            attacks because they are perceived to be defenseless targets,  
            second-class citizens unworthy of respect or mercy, or because  
            the perpetrators know the likelihood of suffering legal  
            consequences from their actions is not as high as it would be  
            if they assaulted another member of the community.  AB 2706  
            seeks to address this problem through the proven mechanism of  
            the hate-crimes statute, adding homeless people to the list of  
            persons protected against hate-based violence.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081