Health care bill paired with increased civil rights protection
bill submitted first day of session
Gilroy – On the first day of the new legislation session, Assemblyman John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) introduced a pair of bills that would provide universal health care to the state’s 820,000 children and strengthen civil rights protections for a wide range of Californians, especially lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people.
The first bills of a new session traditionally signal lawmakers’ latest priorities, and Laird said the health (AB 13) and anti-discrimination (AB 14) bills he submitted Monday are no exceptions.
“The health bill is a major priority for this legislative session, and the premier issue in the public policy session is going to be increasing health-care access for Californians,” said Laird, who sponsored the bill on behalf of numerous children’s advocacy groups. “Recent polls show overwhelming public support (for universal health care for children). It’s a question of whether we can absorb what is a relatively small budget cost.”
The state could carve the $300 million needed for health care out of other programs in the $110 billion budget, Laird said, or finance the spending with a scaled back version of the tobacco tax that voters defeated in November. Proposition 86 would have imposed a $2.70 tax on every pack of cigarettes, whereas SB 24, a bill introduced by Sen. Tom Torlakson (D – Antioch) on Monday, proposes a $1.90 tax.
The new health-care spending could also be offset by savings on emergency-room service that might result from improved preventive care for children, Laird said.
In addition to opening the door on a major health debate, Laird has continued trudging through the state’s code books to strengthen non-discrimination protections. The Civil Rights Act of 2007, or AB 14, clarifies 51 provisions in state law and brings them up to par with the state’s highest civil rights standards, which prohibit discrimination based on age, ancestry, disability, color, ethnic group identification, marital status, medical condition, national origin, race, religion, sex (including gender identity) and sexual orientation.
The bill would strengthen protection in a range of areas, including jury service, the issuance of credit cards, voter registration programs, delivery of emergency services, awarding of public contracts, food stamp eligibility and the use of public beaches.
“I have been on a four-year project to make California’s entire government code match the broadest possible definition of non-discrimination,” Laird said. “Many sections don’t specify gender or disability or sexual orientation, and while it may technically be covered by a broader definition, I’m making sure every code actually reflects the explicit broad definitions so all Californians get a strong message that there is no room for discrimination.”
AB 14 is the fourth law Laird has authored to eliminate discrimination from state codes. Three previous laws, dealing mainly with labor practices and fair housing, were all enacted. If passed, Laird will have updated two-thirds of the state’s code books, leaving family law as his last battle. That area of state law governs such hot button issues as adoption by gay couples.
Laird is uncertain if he will delve into a rewrite of family law, saying that current laws extend adequate protections.
That’s little consolation for Mark Zappa, a local Republican strategist and a vice president of the California Republican Assembly, a more conservative organization than the official California Republican Party.
Zappa believes universal health care will create a massive bureaucracy that offers “cookie-cutter” programs financed by taxes that will drive businesses from the state. He called attempts to strengthen anti-discrimination laws by Laird and other openly gay legislators a “red herring.”
“The particular group he associates with has a clear agenda, and that is to legitimize same-sex marriage,” Zappa said. “What they do is connect themselves to the civil rights issue, which I think does a huge disservice to blacks and other groups that have truly been discriminated against. Frankly, there’s no need for it. The last thing we need is more laws. A business can’t turn around now without breaking some obscure rule.”
Laird is confident the anti-discrimination bill will pass, though it remains unclear how his health bill or the perennially controversial same-sex marriage bill will fare in the new legislative session. Polls show roughly even public support for the latter, encapsulated in AB 43, a bill introduced by Assemblyman Mark Leno (D – San Francisco).
No seats changed hands in the November election, but the political dynamic in Sacramento has changed.
“The assembly got a little more progressive and the senate got slightly more conservative,” Laird said.
Both of his bills will be referred to various legislative committees in February. In January, Laird expects to submit 18 more laws.
Serdar Tumgoren, Senior Staff Writer, covers City Hall for The Dispatch. Reach him at 847-7109 or st*******@************ch.com.
