2:01pm | An Assembly bill granting homeless people the right to invoke hate-crimes protection when suing an assailant in civil court received approval from the Assembly Judiciary Committee Tuesday morning.
AB 312 was authored by Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, as a replacement for an earlier homeless rights bill she wrote that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed.
“Tragically, California has the highest rate of violence against homeless people in the country,” Lowenthal told the committee. “AB 312 raises the stakes without adding additional strain to our law enforcement or our corrections systems.”
Should the bill become law, it would be enforced exclusively by lawsuit, according to information provided by one of Lowenthal’s staffers. It would add homelessness to a list of characteristics or circumstances that qualify for enhanced civil judgments in cases in which a person is attacked because of that characteristic.
“It forces the bullies and thugs to pay the cost of keeping themselves in check,” Lowenthal continued in her speech before the committee.
She also highlighted the fact that her bill does not require funding, a scarcity these days as the state continues to attempt to whittle away a roughly $26 billion deficit.
Community organizer John Kraintz, who used to be homeless, spoke in support of the bill.
“Homeless people are being used for target practice,” he told lawmakers.
Paula Lomazzi, director of the Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee, said the bill would “send a strong message that violence against homeless people is unacceptable in our society.”