AB 2549

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health, through its Office of Health Equity, to perform strategic planning relating to gaps in health status and access to care among the state's diverse racial and ethnic communities, women, persons with disabilities, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning communities. Existing law requires the office to report to the Legislature on its activities on multicultural health. Existing law makes it unlawful to, by force or threat of force, willfully injure, intimidate, interfere with, oppress, or threaten any other person in whole or in part because of one or more of certain actual or perceived characteristics of the victim, as specified. Existing law also sets forth various criminal or civil penalties for different offenses involving certain forms of harassment. This bill would require the department to conduct research and a 5-year, statewide, public campaign to raise awareness and understanding of street harassment as a public health problem in the state with the purpose of preventing its occurrence. The bill would define "street harassment" as words, gestures, or actions directed at a specific person in a public place, as defined, without the consent of that person, based on the person's actual or perceived race, color, ethnic group identification, ancestry, national origin, religion, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, age, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, that the person experiences as intimidating, alarming, terrorizing, or threatening to their safety. The bill would make related legislative findings. The bill would require the department to conduct the research through surveys and focus groups, identifying subpopulations at disproportionate risk of experiencing street harassment. The bill would require the department to prepare 2 reports, proposing strategies and policies to prevent and respond to street harassment, as specified. The bill would require the department to submit the reports to the Legislature and the Governor, and to publish them on the department's internet website, no later than January 1, 2024, for the first report, and no later than June 30, 2027, for the 2nd report. The bill would require the department to commence the public campaign on January 1, 2023, conducting it online and in physical locations. The bill would require the department to, among other things, develop culturally relevant content, annually evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign, and prepare and publish on its internet website an annual report describing the campaign's activities, effectiveness, and gaps, as specified.