Bill Text: CA AB2706 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Enrolled
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-Enrolled.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2706 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 23, 2010
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2010
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, relating to civil
rights.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2706, 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 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 incorporate additional changes to Section 51.7 of
the Civil Code, proposed by AB 1680, contingent upon the prior
enactment of that bill.
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 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.
SEC. 1.5. 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 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) (1) No person shall require another person to waive any legal
right, penalty, remedy, forum, or procedure for a violation of this
section, as a condition of entering into a contract for goods or
services, including the right to file and pursue a civil action or
complaint with, or otherwise notify, the Attorney General or any
other public prosecutor, or law enforcement agency, the Department of
Fair Employment and Housing, or any court or other governmental
entity.
(2) No person shall refuse to enter into a contract with, or
refuse to provide goods or services to, another person on the basis
that the other person refuses to waive any legal right, penalty,
remedy, forum, or procedure for a violation of this section,
including the right to file and pursue a civil action or complaint
with, or otherwise notify, the Attorney General or any other public
prosecutor, or law enforcement agency, the Department of Fair
Employment and Housing, or any other governmental entity.
(3) Any waiver of any legal right, penalty, remedy, forum, or
procedure for a violation of this section, including the right to
file and pursue a civil action or complaint with, or otherwise
notify, the Attorney General or any other public prosecutor, or law
enforcement agency, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, or
any other governmental entity shall be knowing and voluntary, and in
writing, and expressly not made as a condition of entering into a
contract for goods or services or as a condition of providing or
receiving goods and services.
(4) Any waiver of any legal right, penalty, remedy, forum, or
procedure for a violation of this section that is required as a
condition of entering into a contract for goods or services shall be
deemed involuntary, unconscionable, against public policy, and
unenforceable. Nothing in this subdivision shall affect the
enforceability or validity of any other provision of the contract.
(5) Any person who seeks to enforce a waiver of any legal right,
penalty, remedy, forum, or procedure for a violation of this section
shall have the burden of proving that the waiver was knowing and
voluntary and not made as a condition of the contract or of providing
or receiving the goods or services.
(6) The exercise of a person's right to refuse to waive any legal
right, penalty, remedy, forum, or procedure for a violation of this
section, including a rejection of a contract requiring a waiver,
shall not affect any otherwise legal terms of a contract or an
agreement.
(7) This subdivision shall not apply to any agreement to waive any
legal rights, penalties, remedies, forums, or procedures for a
violation of this section after a legal claim has arisen.
(8) This subdivision shall apply to any agreement to waive any
legal right, penalty, remedy, forum, or procedure for a violation of
this section, including an agreement to accept private arbitration,
entered into, altered, modified, renewed, or extended on or after
January 1, 2011.
(d) This section does not apply to statements concerning positions
in a labor dispute which are made during otherwise lawful labor
picketing.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to negate or
otherwise abrogate the provisions of Sections 1668 and 3513.
SEC. 2. Section 1.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to
Section 51.7 of the Civil Code proposed by both this bill and
Assembly Bill 1680. It shall only become operative if (1) both bills
are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2011, (2)
each bill amends Section 51.7 of the Civil Code, and (3) this bill is
enacted after Assembly Bill 1680, in which case Section 1 of this
bill shall not become operative.
