Bill Text: CA AB1422 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Hate crimes: homeless status.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2020-02-03 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1422 Detail]
Download: California-2019-AB1422-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION
| Assembly Bill | No. 1422 |
| Introduced by Assembly Members Gipson and Chu |
February 22, 2019 |
An act to amend Sections 422.55, 422.56, and 11410 of the Penal Code, relating to hate crimes.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1422, as introduced, Gipson.
Hate crimes: homeless status.
Existing law makes an act punishable as a hate crime if it is a criminal act committed, in whole or in part, because of an actual or perceived characteristic of the victim relating to the victim’s disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or association with a person or group with one or more of those actual or perceived characteristics. Under existing law, a person who commits a crime that is a hate crime is required to receive an enhanced sentence.
This bill would make it a hate crime to commit a criminal act, in whole or in part, because of the victim’s actual or perceived homeless status, as defined. By expanding the scope of an enhancement, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would also make technical, conforming changes.
The
California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 422.55 of the Penal Code is amended to read:422.55.
For purposes of this title, and for purposes of all other state law unless an explicit provision of law or the context clearly requires a different meaning, the following shall apply:(a) “Hate crime” means a criminal act committed, in whole or in part, because of one or more of the following actual or perceived characteristics of the victim:
(1) Disability.
(2) Gender.
(3) Homeless status.
(3)
(4) Nationality.
(4)
(5) Race or ethnicity.
(5)
(6) Religion.
(6)
(7) Sexual orientation.
(7)
(8) Association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.
(b) “Hate crime” includes, but is not limited to, a violation of Section 422.6.
SEC. 2.
Section 422.56 of the Penal Code is amended to read:422.56.
For purposes of this title, the following definitions shall apply:(a) “Association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics” includes advocacy for, identification with, or being on the ground premises owned or rented by, or adjacent to, any of the following: a community center, educational facility, family, individual, office, meeting hall, place of worship, private institution, public agency, library, or other entity, group, or person that has, or
is identified with people who have, one or more of those the characteristics listed in the definition of “hate crime” under paragraphs (1) to (6),
(7), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 422.55.
(b) “Disability” includes mental disability and physical disability disability, as defined in Section 12926 of the Government Code Code, regardless of whether those disabilities are temporary, permanent, congenital, or acquired by heredity, accident, injury, advanced age, or illness. This definition is declaratory of existing law.
(c) “Gender” means sex, and includes a person’s gender identity and gender
expression. “Gender expression” means a person’s gender-related appearance and behavior
behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth.
(d) (1) “Homeless status” means an individual’s lack of a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, or an individual’s use of a primary nighttime residence that is one of the following:
(A) A supervised shelter, either publicly or privately operated, that is designed to provide temporary living accommodations, including, but not limited to, welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for persons with a mental
illness.
(B) An institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals who are intended to be institutionalized.
(C) A public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
(2) “Homeless status” does not include a person who is imprisoned or otherwise involuntarily detained pursuant to state or federal law.
(d) “In whole or in part because of” means that the bias motivation must be a cause in fact of the offense, whether or not other causes also exist. When multiple concurrent motives exist, the prohibited bias must be a substantial factor in bringing about the particular result. There is no requirement that the bias be a main factor, or that the crime would not have been committed but for the actual or perceived characteristic. This subdivision does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law under In re M.S. (1995) 10 Cal.4th 698 and People v. Superior Court (Aishman) (1995) 10 Cal.4th 735.
(e) “Nationality” includes citizenship, country of origin, and national
origin.
(f) “Race or ethnicity” includes ancestry, color, and ethnic background.
(g) “Religion” includes all aspects of religious belief, observance, and practice and includes agnosticism and atheism.
(h) “Sexual orientation” means heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality.
(i) “Victim” includes, but is not limited to, a community center, educational facility, entity, family, group, individual, office, meeting hall, person, place of worship, private institution, public agency, library, or other victim or intended victim of the offense.
SEC. 3.
Section 11410 of the Penal Code is amended to read:11410.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is the right of every person regardless of actual or perceived disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or association with a person or group with these actual or perceived characteristics, to be secure and protected from fear, intimidation, and physical harm caused by the activities of violent groups and individuals. It is not the intent of this chapter to interfere with the exercise of rights protected by the Constitution of the United States. The Legislature recognizes the constitutional right of every citizen to harbor and express beliefs on any subject whatsoever and to associate with others who share similar beliefs. The Legislature further(b) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) “Association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics” includes advocacy for, identification with, or being on the ground owned or rented by, or adjacent to, any of the following: a community center, educational facility, family, individual, office, meeting hall, place of worship, private institution, public
agency, library, or other entity, group, or person that has, or is identified with people who have, one or more of those characteristics listed in the definition of “hate crime” under paragraphs (1) to (6),
(7), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 422.55.
(2) “Disability” includes mental disability and physical disability as defined in Section 12926 of the Government Code.
(3) “Gender” means sex, and includes a person’s gender identity and gender expression. “Gender expression” means a person’s gender-related appearance and behavior behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth.
(4) “Nationality” includes citizenship, country of origin, and national origin.
(5) “Race or
ethnicity” includes ancestry, color, and ethnic background.
(6) “Religion” includes all aspects of religious belief, observance, and practice and includes agnosticism and atheism.
(7) “Sexual orientation” means heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality.
