BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Senator Ellen M. Corbett, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
AB 2706 (Lowenthal)
As Amended April 20, 2010
Hearing Date: June 15, 2010
Fiscal: No
Urgency: No
KB:jd
SUBJECT
Civil Rights: Homeless Persons
DESCRIPTION
This bill would specifically add homeless persons, as defined,
to the list of individuals protected from violence and
intimidation under the Ralph Civil Rights Act, thereby providing
civil remedies to homeless person who are injured as a result of
such violence.
BACKGROUND
Due to the growing concerns about the increase in violence
toward homeless people, SR 18 (Burton) was adopted by the
California State Senate in 2001, which requested the Attorney
General to assess the extent of crimes committed against
homeless persons and to develop a plan to improve prevention,
reporting, apprehension, and prosecution of these crimes. The
report was presented to the Legislature in October 2002.
("Crimes Committed Against Homeless Persons" (available at
http://ag.ca.gov/cjsc/publications/misc/SR18net/preface.pdf.)
Data from the report demonstrated that violence against homeless
persons occurs at alarming rates. Sixty-six percent of the
homeless participants in the report's survey said they were
victims of crime during the year, 31 percent said they were
victimized more than five times. Seventy-five percent of the
victims said they were assaulted, including 23 percent who said
they were raped. Of assault victims, 76 percent said it
happened more than once.
In response to this and other reports documenting the rise in
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violence towards homeless individuals, there have been
legislative attempts to expand the existing scope of hate crimes
to also include those committed against the victim because they
were or perceived to be homeless. (See SB 122 (Steinberg) of
the 2007-2008 Legislative Session.) However, these attempts
have been unsuccessful to date due in large part to the state's
severe prison and jail overcrowding crisis.
This bill would specify that homeless persons are protected
under the Ralph Civil Rights Act protection against violence,
intimidation or threats of violence thereby enabling these
individuals to enforce violations of these rights through civil
remedies.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing law , 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. (Civ. Code Sec.
51.7.)
Existing law provides that a person who violates the Ralph Civil
Rights Act or aids, incites, or conspires in that act, is liable
for actual damages suffered by any person denied that right, as
well as a civil penalty and attorney's fees. (Civ. Code Sec.
52(b).)
Existing law provides that whenever there is reasonable cause to
believe that any person or group of persons is engaged in
conduct of resistance to the full enjoyment of any of the
foregoing rights the Attorney General, any district attorney or
city attorney, or any person aggrieved by the conduct may bring
a civil action. (Civ. Code Sec. 52(c).)
Existing law provides that a person whose enjoyment of legal
rights has been interfered with, or attempted to be interfered
with, may bring a civil action for damages, including injunctive
relief, and other appropriate equitable relief. (Civ. Code Sec.
52.1.)
This bill would provide that the protections and remedies of the
Ralph Civil Rights Act include violence or intimidation by
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threat of violence committed against a person or property
because the person is or is perceived to be homeless.
This bill would define "homeless person" to mean: a person who
does not have a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime
residence; or a person who has a nighttime residence that
constitutes any of the following: (1) a supervised, publicly or
privately operated shelter designated to provide temporary
living accommodations, including, but not limited to, welfare
hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing; (2) an
institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals
intended to be institutionalized; or (3) a public or private
building or designated area that is not ordinarily designed for,
or ordinarily used for, sleeping accommodations for persons.
This bill would provide that the Department of Fair Employment
and Housing would not have jurisdiction or enforcement powers
over the protections specified in this bill.
This bill would provide that this bill shall not be construed to
enlarge or diminish an existing legal duty, if any, by an owner
of residential property to protect a homeless person from
violence, or intimidation by threats of violence, because the
homeless person is physically present on the owner's property or
other property controlled by the owner incidental to the
ownership of the rental property.
COMMENT
1. Stated need for the bill
The author states:
There are an estimated 157,000 homeless people in California,
perhaps the most vulnerable population in the state. They are
more likely to suffer from mental and physical illness, and
less likely to receive comprehensive medical treatment. Even
worse, they are the population most likely to be the target of
violent attacks. In the last year alone, homeless people have
been set on fire, stabbed, shot, and beaten with baseball
bats. California has the second-highest rate of violence
against the homeless in the nation.
Young adults, primarily in their teens, are the most common
perpetrators of violence against the homeless: 43% are between
the ages of 13 and 19 and nearly 3 out of 4 of the attackers
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are under 25. While the motives for these attacks are not
always clear, it is obvious that many were committed because
the victim was homeless or because the homeless are more
vulnerable.
The perpetrators may perceive the homeless as easy defenseless
targets. They may see the homeless as second-class citizens,
unworthy of respect or mercy. These criminals may prey on the
homeless because they 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.
In support Los Angeles County Supervisor, the Honorable Don
Knabe writes:
In the past two years, there have been a number of senseless
murders and incidents of violence committed against homeless
persons across Los Angeles County. It is clear to me that
some criminal acts against the homeless are motivated not only
by their vulnerability, but also the perpetrators' disdain and
disrespect for them simply because they are homeless. If
enacted into law, AB 2706 will affirm the right of homeless
individuals to seek justice if an act of violence was
committed against them because of their status as a homeless
individual. I believe this legislation is the right thing to
do. It will help protect a vulnerable population, and also
continue to promote a better understanding of the plight of
the homeless across our communities, and ultimately stop the
violence.
2. Civil remedies for homeless individuals under the Ralph
Civil Rights Act
The Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976 currently provides that all
persons have the right to be free from violence and intimidation
by threat of violence based on, among other things, race,
religion, ancestry, national origin, and gender. (Civ. Code
Sec. 51.7.) These rights may be enforced by a private action
for damages and equitable relief as well as criminal sanctions
for violations. (Civ. Code Sec. 52.) In addition, an
individual whose legal rights have been interfered with, or
attempted to be interfered with, may bring an action for
injunctive relief. (Civ. Code Sec. 52.1.) The Attorney
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General, or any district attorney, or city attorney may also
bring a civil action for injunctive or other equitable relief,
and recover civil penalties against the violator. (Civ. Code
Sec. 52.1.) By establishing these rights and providing access
to the courts for their vindication, the Ralph Civil Rights Act
was designed to provide important protection for the classes of
people covered by the statute, as well as meaningful enforcement
of these rights. In light of the evident increase in violence
directed at individuals because they are homeless, this bill
would explicitly provide all of these legal rights and remedies
to this vulnerable population.
AB 2706 would define "homeless person" as a person who does not
have a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence or a
person who has a nighttime residence that is any of the
following: (1) a supervised, publicly or privately operated
shelter designated to provide temporary living accommodations,
including, but not limited to, welfare hotels, congregate
shelters, and transitional housing; (2) an institution that
provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be
institutionalized; or (3) a public or private building or
designated area that is not ordinarily designed for, or
ordinarily used for, sleeping accommodations for persons. This
definition mirrors the general definition for a homeless
individual found in federal law. (See 42 U.S.C. Sec. 11302.)
This bill would further provide that the Department of Fair
Employment and Housing (DFEH) would not have jurisdiction or
enforcement powers over the protections specified. This is
intended to address the current fiscal constraints that the DFEH
is currently faced with. However, committee staff notes that
the DFEH is statutorily charged with enforcing the Ralph Civil
Rights Act, as well as the Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the
California Fair Employment and Housing Act. This bill would be
creating an anomaly in that it would create new provisions in
the Ralph Civil Rights Act, but specifically deprive the DFEH of
any enforcement powers. Although this bill would make other
civil remedies available to aggrieved homeless persons, public
policy is arguably best served by ensuring that all individuals
whose legal rights under the Ralph Civil Rights Act are violated
have access to the administrative process provided by the DFEH.
Accordingly, this committee may wish to consider whether this
bill should be amended to provide that the DFEH may investigate
complaints of and enforce this bill's provisions.
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Suggested amendment
On page 3, line 36, strike "subdivision (a) of"
On page 4, line 33, strike "subdivision (a) of"
On page 5, line 29, strike "subdivision (a) of"
On page 6, line 16, strike "subdivision (a) of"
On page 10, line 25, strike "subdivision (a) of"
3. Bill would not increase or diminish property owners'
duty to protect
This bill would provide that the increased protections for
homeless individuals under the Ralph Civil Rights Act shall not
be interpreted as enlarging or diminishing the existing legal
duties, if any, of the owner of residential rental property to
protect a homeless person physically present on their property
from violence. Thus, a residential property owner's duties with
respect to homeless individuals on their property would be no
greater or less than they are under existing law.
The bill is silent, however, with respect to the legal duties of
commercial property owners. According to the author, there is
no intent to either increase or decrease the existing legal
duties of owners of commercial rental property to protect
homeless persons physically present on their property from
violence. Accordingly, this committee may wish to consider
whether this bill should be amended to clarify that it also has
no impact on existing legal duties of commercial property
owners.
Suggested amendment
On page 3, line 6, after "residential" insert "or commericial"
Support : California Church IMPACT; California Teachers
Association; City of Long Beach; Consumer Attorneys of
California; Gramercy Housing Group; Long Beach Area Coalition
for the Homeless; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors; Los
Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe; Los Angeles Homeless
Services Authority; Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa; Mental Health
America of Los Angeles; National Association of Social Workers,
California Chapter; PATH Partners
Opposition : None Known
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HISTORY
Source : Author
Related Pending Legislation : None Known
Prior Legislation : See Background.
Prior Vote :
Assembly Judiciary Committee (Ayes 7, Noes 2)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (Ayes 10, Noes 5)
Assembly Floor (Ayes 48, Noes 24)
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