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Our package of bills to protect people with disabilities from crime and prosecute criminals who victimize them moved closer to becoming law last week.
The three bills are sponsored by the Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration. They are:
· Hate Crimes – Police almost never recognize anti-disability hate crimes when they see them. The state’s official statistics for 2016 reflect just two crimes motivated by bias against the victims’ actual or perceived disability.
AB 1985, introduced for us by Democratic Assemblymember Philip Ting, will result in law enforcement agencies adopting strong formal policies guiding officers on all hate crimes. The new polices will include specifics somehow to recognize anti-disability hate crimes and on interviewing victims with intellectual and communications disabilities.
This bill passed the Senate Public Safety Committee 7-0 and is on its way to the full Senate. It cleared the Assembly 66-0 last month, but will need to go back after Senate passage for approval of minor amendments.
We and Equality California teamed to sponsor AB 1985.
· Sexual Assault. People with developmental disabilities are victimized by sexual assault at much higher rates than the general population. Prosecutions and convictions are shockingly rare.
AB 2359, introduced for us by Republican Assemblymember Brian Maienschein, will authorize a grant program allowing local district attorneys to have specialized prosecutors to handle cases of sexual assault against people with disabilities. These often complex and difficult cases need trained specialists to convict the criminals.
This bill passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee 7-0 last month. Last week we reached agreement on amendments that should make it possible to pass the Assembly Appropriations Committee later this month.
· Abuse. The law protecting people with disabilities from abuse cover elders and what the laws misleadingly calls “dependent adults” or “dependent persons.” Police, social workers and even victims and their families too often don’t realize that these laws cover people with serious disabilities, despite the fact that they live independently.
AB 1934, introduced for us by Democratic Assemblymember Reginald Jones-Sawyer, will clarify that the terms “deponent adults” and “dependent persons” protect people with serious disabilities, regardless of the fact that they live independently. It also will repeal offensive language that compares adults with disabuses to children.
The bill passed the Senate Public Safety Committee 7-0 and will be heard next in the Senate Judiciary Committee .It passed the Assembly 66-0 last month.
Greg DeGiere, Civil Rights Coordinator, the Arc of California