From: LIFE Lobby / LIFE Institute Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 16:56:56 Subject: CA: Civil Rights Legislative Update (98-1) February 18, 1998 (98-1) LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: Civil Rights Contacts: Ellen McCormick, Legislative Advocate Eric Astacaan, Legislative Advocate Laurie McBride, Executive Director Sam Catalano, Legislative Assistant LEGISLATIVE HIGHLIGHTS - ISSUES AND ACTIONS (NEWS UPDATE) The votes are in... the primary priorities for LIFE Lobby's 1998 civil rights agenda are: (order is based on votes cast for each priority) * Transgender Hate Violence Act * LGBTQ Youth Rights and Education * Coalition Work: Employment Discrimination, Affirmative Action, Immigration Issues, Welfare Issues, and Bilingual Education * Marriage / Domestic Partners National Freedom to Marry Day a HUGE SUCCESS in Sacramento! On February 12, 1998, LIFE Lobby was joined in California's State Capitol by Assembly Members Sheila Kuehl and Carole Migden to increase public awareness of marriage as a fundamental civil right, which should be available to all, regardless of sexual orientation. During this press conference legislators and spokes-couples eloquently urged the legislature to support same sex marriage and to oppose all attempts to bar recognition of same sex marriages from other states. For more information about what you can do to fight for your civil right to marry - contact LIFE Lobby! Assembly Member Sheila Kuehl authors landmark legislation to define hate crimes based on gender identity... AB 1999 would provide that a violent crime perpetrated against a person based on their gender identity is a hate crime under California Law. As such, these crimes are subject to penalty enhancements beyond non-hate based violent crimes. AB 1999 is crucial legislation for California. See AB 1999 in the Legislative Update below for more information. What can you do to promote AB 1999? Start writing letters immediately to the Chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee and to Assembly Member Kuehl (D-Santa Monica). Spread the word - we need letters from all over California that stress that hate crimes against the transgender community are happening and that those crimes must punished as hate crimes. Personal stories of your own or of someone you know are very helpful to include. If you have a story please send it to LIFE Lobby, and please, always "cc" your letters to legislators to LIFE Lobby. Senator Hayden introduces domestic partner expansion to California's Family Care and Medical Leave Act... Under SB 1506 domestic partners will have the ability to take unpaid medical leave to care for their partner during a time of serious illness. See SB 1506 in the Legislative Update below for more details. Let's get those letters in - write to Senator Hayden, the Chair of the Senate Health Committee and "cc" LIFE Lobby. What else can you do? Write op/ed pieces for your local newspapers stressing the importance of this bill. Without it, your employer DOES NOT have to give you time off to care for your partner if they have surgery, are hospitalized for a life-threatening illness, or experience any other dire health situation. California's protections against sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace threatened... AB 1842 by Assembly Member Steve Baldwin (R-San Diego), would exempt ALL NON PROFITS from this important law and allow nonprofit employers to openly discriminate against their gay, lesbian and bisexual employees. See AB 1842 in the Legislative Update below for more details. Are you outraged? Write to Assembly Member Baldwin and let him know how important those protections are. Please send your letter to the Chair of the Assembly Labor Committee and to LIFE Lobby. Senator Pete Knight is at it again... SB 1484 will attempt to deconstruct the recent UC Regents decision to provide domestic partner health benefits for University of California Faculty and Staff. Senator Knight (R- Palmdale), the legislator who has become notorious for his unprecedented continuing attacks on same sex marriage has now widened his focus to include domestic partnership. His measure, SB 1484 would prohibit any University of California monies allocated by the Legislature to be used for domestic partner benefits. Together, we can stop SB 1484 - the UC Regents need to hear from the community and so does the State Legislature. Send letters immediately to all UC Regents, Senator Knight and to the Chair of the Senate Education Committee ("cc" LIFE Lobby, please!) and let them know that we need health benefits - just like married couples do! Want to know more? See SB 1484 in the Legislative Update below. Too good to be true? Perhaps in an effort to sleep at night, Senator Knight has also introduced legislation to allow individuals to list for their primary care physicians those people who may visit them in the event that they are hospitalized. SB 1541 seems to be the Senator's attempt to get our community to stop asking for domestic partnership. Although this legislation sounds good on the surface - it may pose more problems than it seeks to address - see SB 1541 in the Legislative Update below for more details. Third time a charm? Senator Knight has introduced his third attempt to bar California from recognizing same sex marriages from other states (currently same sex marriage is not legal anywhere in the United States). This time the measure comes in the form of a proposed ballot initiative. With less than a month to collect over 500,000 signatures to qualify for the November Ballot it does seem unlikely that the initiative will in fact appear in November. However, be on the look out for signature gatherers for this measure - you have a right to be there and express your opinion just as much as gatherers do, LIFE Lobby always encourages NONCONFRONTATIONAL interactions with these folks (you never know what they might do). Please contact LIFE Lobby immediately if you encounter signature gathering for this measure. Where can I go for LIFE's full Legislative Updates (attached below), or more information about legislation, letter writing, activist activities and other information? Contact LIFE at the address, phone, fax, web site or e-mail below; or for specific information about legislation go to http://leginfo.public.ca.gov. How do I write to a Legislator? Letters to Legislators should be addressed in the following manner: The Honorable Name Here California State Senate (or Assembly) State Capitol Sacramento, CA 95814 Who are my Legislators / How do I know who the Chair of a committee is? You can refer to the Government Pages of your phone directory to find out who your elected officials are. To find out the chair of a specific committee contact LIFE Lobby or call (916) 445-4251 (Secretary of the Senate) or (916) 445-3614 (Assembly Chief Clerk). LIFE Lobby Mission: To coordinate, develop and promote the statewide community-driven public policy agendas of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and HIV-affected Californians." LIFE: California's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and HIV/AIDS Lobby 1301 H Street Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 444-0424, fax (916) 444-3059 www.lifelobby.org life.info@lifelobby.org February 18, 1998 (98-1) LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: Civil Rights Contacts: Ellen McCormick, Legislative Advocate Eric Astacaan, Legislative Advocate Laurie McBride, Executive Director Sam Catalano, Legislative Assistant Table of Contents 1998 Priority Legislation 1998 Secondary Priority Legislation Notes Inactive Bills / Chaptered Bills / Vetoed Bills (includes all bills introduced in 1997) Possible Legislative Positions 1998 PRIORITY LEGISLATION (IN ORDER OF PRIORITY) Transgender Hate Violence Act AB 1999 (Kuehl) Intro: 02/17/98 SUPP/Sponsor This measure would provide that a violent crime perpetrated against a person based on their gender identity is a hate crime under California Law. As such, these crimes are subject to penalty enhancements beyond non-hate based violent crimes. ACTIONS 02/17/98 INTRODUCED STATUS PENDING ASSEMBLY PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE 1998 PRIORITY LEGISLATION LGBTQ Youth Rights and Education AB 424 (Baldwin) Amd: 09/02/97 OPPOSE Postsecondary education: armed forces training and recruitment. AB 424 would prohibit a California State University or Community College from removing an armed forces training unit (ROTC) or recruiter from curriculum, campus, or facility. Armed forces training units, in compliance with the U.S. Department of Defense, do not allow openly gay or lesbian students to participate in certain classes and programs. Due to this policy, some schools have attempted to remove ROTC programs from their campuses. Recently passed federal legislation has superceded the intent of AB 424 and is already forcing California's schools to reinstate ROTC. Because of this, AB 424 would have no actual impact on California's schools. AB 424 has been amended to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in an armed forces training unit (ROTC). However, Staff continues to recommend an oppose position to this bill as there is no enforcement mechanism for the nondiscrimination clause. ACTIONS: 02/20/97 INTRODUCED 04/22/97 PASSED ASSEMBLY HIGHER EDUCATION CMTE., 8 - 6 05/30/97 PASSED ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS CMTE., 12 - 3 06/03/97 PASSED ASSEMBLY FLOOR, 48 - 25 06/25/97 PASSED SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE, 10 - 0 08/29/97 PASSED SENATE APPROPRIATIONS CMTE., 7 - 0 09/03/97 PASSED SENATE FLOOR, 24 - 3 STATUS: PENDING CONCURRENCE VOTE IN ASSEMBLY This bill is currently on the Inactive File and will appear on future Legislative Updates under "Inactive Bills" if it remains on the Inactive File. AB 499 (Kuehl) Amd: 01/27/98 SUPPORT Education: diversity in education: Sex Equity in Education Act The California Education Code prohibits discrimination on the basis of ethnic group identification, religion, are, sex, color, or physical or mental disability. AB 499 would revise the Education Code with regard to its discrimination statutes. Specifically, AB 499 would consolidate and standardize the non-discrimination language (current codes are scattered); allow remedy though civil action following a 60 day administrative procedure; and remove statutory funding restrictions on the Hate Violence Prevention Act (hate violence prevention). AB 499 is the "clean up" bill for the Education Code's nondiscrimination language, it does not add sexual orientation into the Education Code. ACTIONS: 02/24/97 INTRODUCED 04/16/97 PASSED ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, 10 - 5 05/30/97 PASSED ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS CMTE., 11 - 8 06/04/97 FAILED ASSEMBLY FLOOR, 37 - 36 01/29/98 PASSED ASSEMBLY FLOOR, 41 - 37 STATUS: PENDING SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE 1998 PRIORITY LEGISLATION Coalition Work: Employment Discrimination, Affirmative Action, Immigration Issues, Welfare Issues, and Bilingual Education AB 310 (Kuehl) Amd: 09/05/97 SUPPORT Fair employment and housing. AB 310 is sponsored by the ACLU and other civil rights organizations. This measure has been amended and now includes the following changes/amendments to California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA): * permits courts to award expert witness fees to a prevailing party, bringing FEHA into conformity with Title VII, the federal law prohibiting discrimination; * aligns FEHA with Title VII regarding the exemption of religious organizations from the law: religious associations and corporations can engage in discrimination on the basis of religion only, and can discriminate against employees performing ministerial functions on all basis currently prohibited under FEHA; * provides reasonable accommodation for pregnant employees; * expands coverage to protect contract workers against sexual harassment (as currently provided under FEHA); and * prohibits genetic discrimination in employment. ACTIONS: 02/14/97 INTRODUCED 04/23/97 PASSED ASSEMBLY LABOR COMMITTEE, 7 - 4 05/28/97 PASSED ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS, 12 - 8 06/03/97 PASSED ASSEMBLY FLOOR, 41 - 37 06/25/97 PASSED SENATE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS CMTE., 4 - 3 07/21/97 PASSED SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, 5 - 3 09/04/97 PASSED SENATE APPROPRIATIONS CMTE., 7 - 5 09/09/97 FAILED SENATE FLOOR, 19 - 17 STATUS: RECONSIDERATION GRANTED, PENDING INACTIVE FILE This bill is currently on the Inactive File and will appear on future Legislative Updates under "Inactive Bills" if it remains on the Inactive File. ACA 3 (Murray) Intro: 12/02/96 SUPPORT California Civil Rights Initiative of 1998. ACA 3 is a constitutional amendment that would provide that "the state may take all actions, including the creation and implementation of any programs it deems necessary, designed to promote and enhance equal access and opportunities for public education, public employment and public contracting, commensurate with the State's diverse population, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution." ACA 3 is a legislative response to Proposition 209 (passed by California voters 11/96) which requires that the state not discriminate or grant preferential treatment on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting. Constitutional Amendments require a 2/3 vote. Due to its inactivity, ACA 3 is likely to be dropped or become another bill. ACTIONS: 12/02/97 INTRODUCED STATUS: PENDING ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE Due to inactivity, this bill will appear on future Legislative Updates under "Inactive Bills." AB 1648 (Richter) Intro: 01/07/98 OPPOSE Education: English language. AB 1648 would recreate California's system of educating non-English speaking or limited English proficiency children. Under this measure children would automatically be placed in English-only speaking classrooms and taught by a technique entitled "English immersion." Under AB 1648 in order for a child to receive bilingual education the child's parent would have to request in person and with written consent to have the child placed in a bilingual educational program. Often the parent of a non-English speaking child is also not fluent in English, the provision seems extremely problematic in that the very nature of the situation would be a difficult one for a parent to act as an advocate for their own child. Although not specified, staff is assuming that all written materials provided for the parent would also be in English. AB 1648 also encourages schools to place non-English speaking children of different native backgrounds in the same classroom. Because the bill does not mandate that the classroom teacher be fluent in a language other than English, learning may be very difficult for the pupil. It would seem that this difficulty would only be increased with the combination of languages in one classroom, as students unable to communicate with their teachers may not be able to communicate with other students. Last, AB 1648 appropriates $50 million from the general fund to subsidize community based English tutoring programs for parents and other adults who pledge to provide personal tutoring to school children with limited English proficiency. Presumably this aspect of the measure is intended to shift the burden of providing true bilingual education from the school itself to the community. AB 1648 is an urgency measure that would take effect immediately, as such it requires a 2/3 vote in each house. ACTIONS: 01/07/98 INTRODUCED STATUS: PENDING SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE AB 1842 (Baldwin) Intro: 02/12/98 OPPOSE Employment: discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Existing law, Labor Code Section 1102.1 prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation. Existing law also exempts from this provision non-profit religious associations or corporations and businesses with five employees or less. AB 1842 would also exempt from this law (and allow as an employer to engage in sexual orientation discrimination) "a corporation not organized for private profit and not primarily engaged in commercial activity." This measure would clarify the non-profit exemption language under this section to explicitly exempt "non-religious," but presumably "objecting" organizations. However, the California Corporations Code, which defines non-profits, is clear in its definition of a religious organization and it seems unlikely at first blush that this measure would be conducive with the Corporations Code. Because this new bill would not fit into any non-profit category under the Corporations other than the general definition of a Public Benefit Corporation, this measure would explicitly allow all non-profits to engage in sexual orientation discrimination. Last, the measure's reference to a non-profit that is not "primarily engaged in commercial activity" seems to also be a possible carve-out attempt for any California-based Boy Scouts of America employer. ACTIONS: 02/12/98 INTRODUCED STATUS: PENDING ASSEMBLY LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT AB 2156 (Keeley) Intro: 02/19/98 SUPP/Co-sponsor Employment Similar to AB 492 (Keeley / 1997), AB 2156 would extend the grievance filing time for complaints filed with the Labor Commissioner from 30 days to one year. This measure would apply only to all discrimination statutes under California's Labor Code, not just sexual orientation discrimination as AB 492 had previously. AB 2156 would also specify that similar to California's Fair Employment and Housing Act, the Labor Code provisions that prohibit discrimination must be posted in the workplace. ACTIONS: INTRODUCED 02/19/98 STATUS: PENDING REFERRAL 1998 PRIORITY LEGISLATION Marriage / Domestic Partners AB 1059 (Migden) Amd: 09/04/97 SUP/Co-Sponsor Health coverage: domestic partners. This bill would require that a health care service plan (an insurer, e.g.: HIPC, Kaiser, Aetna), in providing health benefit coverage to employers and their employees, must also offer domestic partner coverage if spousal coverage is offered. AB 1059 provides that this option must be available as a choice to the employer, but is not a mandate on the employer. This bill also includes a mechanism by which domestic partners may register for coverage purposes. ACTIONS: 02/27/97 INTRODUCED 04/15/97 PASSED ASSEMBLY INSURANCE COMMITTEE, 9 - 4 05/14/97 PASSED ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS CMTE., 11 - 7 06/02/97 PASSED ASSEMBLY FLOOR, 42 - 35 07/02/97 PASSED SENATE INSURANCE COMMITTEE, 6 - 3 07/21/97 PASSED SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE, 28.8D* 09/08/97 PASSED SENATE FLOOR, 21 - 17 STATUS: PENDING CONCURRENCE VOTE IN ASSEMBLY SB 1484 (Knight) Intro: 02/04/98 OPPOSE Postsecondary education: employer-funded benefits for university employees. In 1997 the University of California Regents voted to extend employee health benefits to the domestic partners of University Faculty and Staff. SB 1484 would prohibit the use of any state funds appropriated by the Legislature for the purpose of providing medical coverage and other employer-funded benefits to persons other than the employees, and the spouses, children, or other legal dependents of those employees, of the University of California and the California State University. This measure is a fairly straight forward attempt to rescind the recent action of the UC Regents and prohibit any action on behalf of the CSU campuses. It is unclear at present if the Legislature in fact has the authority to do so. ACTIONS: 02/04/98 INTRODUCED STATUS: PENDING SENATE EDUCAITON COMMITTEE SB 1506 (Hayden) Intro: 02/06/98 SUP/Sponsor Employment: family care and medical leave. Existing law, California's Family Care and Medical Leave Act and corresponding Federal Law allow an employee to take unpaid medical leave from their employment to care for a spouse or child with a serious health condition. SB 1506 would expand this statute to allow an employee to take unpaid medical leave to care for a sibling or "a person who depends on the employee for immediate care and support." This expanded definition would apply to all co-habitating registered and non-registered domestic partners. ACTIONS: 02/06/98 INTRODUCED STATUS: PENDING SENATE BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS COMMITTEE SB 1541 (Knight) Intro: 02/11/98 WATCH Health facilities: visitors: nonrelatives. SB 1541 would allow a person to specify in writing or in person, those persons not related by consanguinity or marriage that may be allowed access to visit the person during hospitalization. One of the many concerns for non-married couples both in registered domestic partnerships and not, is the possibility of being barred from access to their partner in the instance that the partner is hospitalized. Some of the possibilities for barring the partner might be personal objections by family or by hospital staff or policy. Although this measure would seem to alleviate this concern by allowing one to give a list of secured visitor names to one's primary care physician, it may certainly pose problems for individuals in emergency situations and individuals without a primary care physician. Also, staff has concerns about this legislation possibly mandating a list of visitors, and that the absence of such a list might serve as grounds to bar the domestic partner from visitation. Last, SB 1541 does not address other serious concerns such as one's ability to make decisions for a partner's care if the patient is unable to. This measure could hinder future work in this area by splitting the issue and placing less importance on the latter concern. ACTIONS: 02/11/98 INTRODUCED STATUS: PENDING SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE 1998 SECONDARY PRIORITY LEGISLATION Women's Rights, Universal Healthcare, Hate Crimes, Adoption / Custody / Visitation Rights, Prisoners' Rights, and Lewd Conduct SB 1037 (Vasconcellos) Amd: 09/05/97 SUPPORT Custody orders: visitation rights. Existing law generally requires a court, in making a child custody order, to grant reasonable visitation rights to a noncustodial parent unless it would be detrimental to the best interests of the child. Existing law also authorizes the court to grant reasonable visitation rights to a stepparent, grandparent, and if either parent of an minor child is deceased, to the children, siblings, parents, and grandparents of the deceased parent. SB 1037 would define the term "de facto parent" and would authorize a court to conduct a proceeding to grant reasonable visitation rights to a de facto parent if the court makes required findings. SB 1037 would define "de facto parent" to mean "a person who has assumed, for a substantial period of time, the role of parent, seeking to fulfill both the child's physical and psychological needs for care and affection, and who has received the child in his or her home and has openly held out to the public that he or she is the child's parent." The bill would also require the Judicial Council to monitor the implementation of these provisions. These provisions would "sunset" (be repealed) on July 1, 2002. ACTIONS 02/27/97 INTRODUCED 05/28/97 PASSED SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, 7 - 2 06/02/97 PASSED SENATE FLOOR, 23 - 14 07/21/97 PASSED ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, 10 - 5 08/28/97 PASSED ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS CMTE, 11 - 7 09/03/97 FAILED ASSEMBLY FLOOR, 32 - 37 STATUS: FAILED ASSEMBLY FLOOR, RECONSIDERATION GRANTED - PLACED ON INACTIVE FILE * NOTES * 28.8D: Signifies that a bill has been deemed to have no fiscal impact and is passed by the Appropriations Committee with out a hearing (Joint Rule 28.8). * INACTIVE BILLS: bills removed from Legislative Update bills failed by committee or floor vote BILL (AUTHOR) POSITION LEGISLATIVE UPDATE TO REFER TO: AB 101 (Kuehl) Sponsor/PRI 1 97-4 AB 427 (Knox) SUP/PRI 2 97-7 (died on Assembly Appropriations Suspense File) AB 492 (Keeley) Sponsor/PRI 1 97-7 AB 800 (Margett) OPP/PRI 1 97-3 AB 1113 (House) OPP/PRI 2 97-7 AB 1490 (House) OPP/PRI 1 97-7 SB 841 (Hayden) Sponsor/PRI 1 97-7 SB 911 (Knight) OPP/PRI 1 97-3 bills moved to inactive file or dead due to inactivity AB 53 (Murray) Sponsor/PRI 1 97-7 AB 54 (Murray) Sponsor/PRI 1 97-7 SB 48 (Solis) Support/PRI 3 97-5 (SB 48 was removed due to significant amendments - not inactivity) SJR 15 (McPherson) SUP/PRI 3 97-7 bills failed by missed legislative deadlines SB 1235 (Watson) WATCH 97-5 * CHAPTERED BILLS AB 45 (Murray) SUPPORT 97-7 CHAPTERED: #847 OF 1997 AB 157 (Villaraigosa) SUPPORT 97-6 CHAPTERED: #59 OF 1997 * VETOED BILLS AB 257 (Villaraigosa) SUPPORT 97-7 * POSSIBLE LEGISLATIVE POSITIONS Sponsor: LIFE to participate in drafting, strategy, lobbying, and amendments to bill, in conjunction with the author's office and other sponsors. Support: Lobbying in support of bill. Support Seeking Amendment: Support stands regardless of fate of amendments. Support If Amended: Possible support if amendments accepted. Neutral Watch: Bill language is watched; staff will research bill as appropriate. Oppose Unless Amended: Author and sponsors of bill are notified of LIFE's intent to oppose unless LIFE amendments are accepted. Oppose No Position