BILL ANALYSIS �
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 559|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 559
Author: Padilla (D)
Amended: 8/15/11
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 3-2, 4/26/11
AYES: Evans, Corbett, Leno
NOES: Harman, Blakeslee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 25-13, 5/19/11
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De
Le�n, DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Kehoe, Leno, Lieu, Liu,
Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio,
Simitian, Steinberg, Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Dutton, Fuller,
Gaines, Harman, Huff, La Malfa, Runner, Strickland,
Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson, Hernandez
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 53-22, 08/18/11 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Discrimination: genetic information
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill expands the prohibited bases of
discrimination under the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the
CONTINUED
SB 559
Page
2
California Fair Employment and Housing Act to include
genetic information.
Assembly Amendments (1) make clarifying changes and add a
cross-reference to Section 23438 of the business and
Professions Code; and (2) add double-jointing language.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act
(Unruh), generally prohibits business establishments from
discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color, religion,
ancestry, national origin, disability, or medical
condition, marital status, or sexual orientation and
provides civil remedies for violations of its provisions.
(Civil Code Section 51 et seq.)
Existing law, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA),
prohibits discrimination in housing and employment on the
basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin,
ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical
condition, marital status, sex, age, or sexual orientation.
(Government Code Section 12920 et seq.)
This bill prohibits discrimination under Unruh and FEHA on
the basis of genetic information.
This bill defines genetic information under Unruh and FEHA
to mean "with respect to any individual, information about
any of the following: (a) the individual's genetic tests;
(b) the genetic tests of family members of the individual;
and (c) the manifestation of a disease or disorder in
family members of the individual." This bill includes in
the meaning of genetic information "any request for, or
receipt of, genetic services, or participation in clinical
research that includes genetic services, by an individual
or any family member of the individual." This bill
excludes from the meaning any "information about the sex or
age of any individual."
Existing law prohibits health facilities from denying
emergency services based upon any characteristic listed or
defined in Unruh. (Health & Safety Code Section 1317.)
This bill, by adding genetic information to Unruh, also
prohibits health facilities from denying emergency services
CONTINUED
SB 559
Page
3
based upon a person's genetic information.
Existing law provides that the legal owner of a property
who believes that they are subject to a restrictive
covenant that unlawfully discriminates because of race,
color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, familial status,
marital status, disability, national origin, source of
income, or ancestry, may record a document entitled
"Restrictive Covenant Modification," following a specified
process. (Government Code Sections. 12955, 12956.2.)
This bill allows a property owner to seek the removal of
any unlawful restrictive covenant that discriminates on the
basis of genetic information following the same specified
process.
This bill is double-jointed with AB 887 (Atkins).
Background
Genetic testing is a sophisticated technique used to test
for genetic disorders. The technology can lead to earlier
detection of illnesses, sometimes even before symptoms have
begun, which allows individuals to take steps early on to
reduce the likelihood that they will contract a particular
disease. These rapid advances provide new opportunities
for medical progress, but may also give rise to the
potential for discrimination based on misuse of the genetic
information. Unfortunately, history shows this to be the
case.
Based on the early science of genetics, state laws were
enacted providing for the sterilization of persons deemed
to have genetic "defects." California passed a
nonconsensual sterilization law in 1909 and sterilized
nearly 22,000 people from the time it was enacted to when
it was finally repealed in 1979. Individuals subjected to
sterilization had been diagnosed with, among other things,
mental retardation, mental disease, epilepsy, blindness,
and hearing loss. Most of these people were young, poor
women.
Misuse of genetic information was again used as a basis for
discrimination in the 1970's when programs were implemented
CONTINUED
SB 559
Page
4
to screen and identify carriers of sickle cell anemia, a
disease which predominately affects African Americans.
State legislatures began enacting laws requiring all
African Americans to be screened for sickle cell anemia
even though other ethnic backgrounds are potential carriers
of the disease. As a result, people carrying the sickle
cell anemia trait had difficulty finding employment and
health insurance even if they did not ultimately develop
the disease.
As recently as the 1990's, the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
in California used genetic screening for over twenty-five
years under the premise of testing employees for drugs.
The employees brought suit against their employer, alleging
a violation of both federal and California privacy rights
which led to a court decision in favor of the employees.
( Norman-Bloodsaw v. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (1998) 135
F.3d 1260.)
In 2008, Congress enacted the federal Genetic Information
and Nondiscrimation Act (GINA) which prohibits
discrimination in group health plan coverage based on
genetic information. Specifically, GINA prohibits: (1)
health insurance issuers from basing premiums for an
employer or a group on genetic information; (2) plans and
issuers from requesting or requiring an individual to
undergo a genetic test; and (3) a plan from collecting
genetic information (including family medical history)
prior to enrollment or for underwriting purposes.
The FEHA and the Unruh prohibit discrimination in
employment, housing, public accommodation, and services
provided by business establishments on the basis of
specified personal characteristics such as sex, race,
color, national origin, religion, and disability. Over
time, these statutes have evolved to include other
characteristics such as medical condition, marital status
and sexual orientation to generally reflect the state's
public policy against discrimination in all forms.
This bill adds genetic discrimination to the list of the
prohibited classifications for discrimination under Unruh
and FEHA to make it more relevant to California
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
CONTINUED
SB 559
Page
5
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/18/11)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit
Union
California Conference of Machinists
California Employment Lawyers Association
California Nurses Association
California Official Court Reporters Association
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Council for Responsible Genetics
Disability Rights California
Disability Rights Legal Centers
Engineer and Scientists of California
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 21
UNITE HERE!
United Food and Commercial Workers-Western States
Conference
Utility Workers Union of America, Local 132
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office states,
genetic testing can allow individuals to take steps to
reduce the likelihood that they will contract a particular
disorder. New knowledge about genetics may also allow for
the development of better therapies that are more effective
against disease or have fewer side effects than current
treatments. While these rapid advances promise significant
medical progress, they also give rise to the potential
misuse of genetic information to discriminate. Although
genes are facially neutral markers, many genetic conditions
and disorders are associated with particular racial and
ethnic groups and gender. Because some genetic traits are
most prevalent in particular groups, members of a
particular group may be stigmatized or discriminated
against as a result of that genetic information. The State
of California has a compelling public interest in realizing
the medical promise of genomics. It also has a compelling
public interest in relieving the fear of discrimination and
in prohibiting its actual practice. While Federal law was
passed in 2008, with the GINA, its range of protections is
CONTINUED
SB 559
Page
6
incomplete for Californians.
In support of the bill, the Council for Responsible
Genetics writes "during the past several decades, our
understanding of genetics has multiplied as procedures for
identifying, analyzing and manipulating DNA have advanced.
Among the many benefits of these efforts are the ways they
may influence preventive health, reproductive planning and
eventually therapies to cure illnesses with a genetic
component. While no one can deny that this knowledge may
be a blessing in finding cures to diseases with genetic
origins, the immediate consequences of such advances have
led to a number of forms of individual discrimination.
Consider the case of Lawrence-Berkeley Laboratories, which
for almost twenty-five years gave its employees
pre-placement and annual medical examinations that included
tests for syphilis, sickle cell genetic markers and
pregnancy without the employees' knowledge or consent."
Also in support, the California Nurses Association notes
that "many genetic conditions and disorders are associated
with particular racial, ethnic groups and genders. Because
of that fact, members of those groups may be stigmatized or
discriminated against as a result of that information."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 53-22, 8/18/11
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill,
Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler,
Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro,
Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,
Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Halderman, Hall,
Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Swanson, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Conway, Cook, Donnelly, Beth Gaines,
Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen,
Norby, Olsen, Silva, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Gorell, Hill, Torres, Valadao
CONTINUED
SB 559
Page
7
RJG:do 8/18/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED