BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 312
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 312 (Lowenthal) - As Amended: April 7, 2011
Policy Committee: JudiciaryVote:7-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill:
1)Stipulates that the protections and remedies of the Ralph
Civil Rights Act apply to 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)Stipulates that the above does not prohibit or restrict the
enforcement of any law and that a public agency is not subject
to civil liability for such enforcement.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Minor absorbable workload increase, from increased claims and
investigations, to the Department of Fair Employment and
Housing (DFEH), which is charged with enforcing the Ralph
Civil Rights Act.
2)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.
AB 312
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These rights may be enforced by a private action for damages
and equitable relief as well as criminal sanctions for
violations. In addition, an individual whose legal rights
have been interfered with may bring an action for injunctive
relief. The Attorney 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. Finally, the DFEH may receive and investigate
complaints and enforce the Act's provisions.
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
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 312
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.
3)Prior Legislation . This bill is virtually identical to AB 2706
(Lowenthal) of 2010, which was vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger, who cited concerns with legal challenges and
increased court costs.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081