Bill Text: CA AB2706 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Civil rights: homeless persons.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2010-09-29 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB2706 Detail]

Download: California-2009-AB2706-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 2706	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 22, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 20, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Hall)

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   An act to amend Section 51.7 of the Civil Code,   and to
amend Sections 12930, 12948, 12960, 12965, and 12970 of the
Government Code,   relating to civil rights.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2706, as amended, Bonnie Lowenthal. Civil rights: homeless
persons.
   Existing law sets forth various personal rights and provides that
all persons within California have the right to be free from
violence, or intimidation by the threat of violence, because of,
among other characteristics, their race, color, religion, ancestry,
national origin, political affiliation, or sex. Existing law further
permits an individual whose exercise or enjoyment of specified
personal rights  have   has  been
interfered with to bring a civil action for damages, including actual
damages, exemplary damages, attorney's fees, injunctive relief, and
other appropriate relief.  Existing law requires the Department
of Fair Employment and Housing   to   receive,
investigate, and conciliate complaints that an individual's personal
rights have been violated. 
   This bill would specify that homeless persons, as defined, are
entitled to the rights set forth under existing law, and would
provide that a homeless person has the right to be free from violence
or intimidation by threat of violence directed against that person
on the basis of that person's status as a homeless person. The bill
would also provide that these provisions shall not be construed to
enlarge or diminish an existing duty, if any, by an owner of
residential rental  or commercial  property to protect a
homeless person who is present on the property from violence or
intimidation by threats of violence. 
   This bill would provide that the Department of Fair Employment and
Housing does not have jurisdiction or enforcement powers over the
protections specified in this bill. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 51.7 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
   51.7.  (a) 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
political affiliation, or on account of any characteristic listed or
defined in subdivision (b) or (e) of Section 51, or position in a
labor dispute, or because another person perceives them to have one
or more of those characteristics. The identification in this
subdivision of particular bases of discrimination is illustrative
rather than restrictive.
   (b) (1) This section includes any violence, or intimidation by
threat of violence, committed against  a   the
 person or property of a homeless person because the person is,
or is perceived to be, a homeless person.
   (2) For purposes of this section, "homeless person" means:
   (A) A person who does not have a fixed, regular, and adequate
nighttime residence.
   (B) A person that has a nighttime residence that constitutes any
of the following:
   (i) 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.
   (ii) An institution that provides a temporary residence for
individuals intended to be institutionalized.
   (iii) A public or private building or designated area that is not
ordinarily designed for, or ordinarily used for, sleeping
accommodations for persons.
   (3) This subdivision shall not be construed to enlarge or diminish
an existing legal duty, if any, by an owner of residential rental
 or commercial  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 ownership of the
rental property.
   (c) This section does not apply to statements concerning positions
in a labor dispute which are made during otherwise lawful labor
picketing. All matter omitted in this version of the bill appears in
the bill as amended in the Assembly, April 20, 2010. (JR11)