Assembly Bill 2296 by Assembly Member Gene Mullin (D-19, South San Francisco), which would establish the California Animal Enterprise Protection Act, was heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 24th. The UC-sponsored, and CSU-supported proposal originally gave added protection to university faculty that work in the area of animal research from public knowledge of personal identity and information.

The measure was only allowed to move out of the Committee’s possesion with amendments that stripped the measure down to intent language. The author hopes to reach an agreement between the Senate Judiciary staff and the Assembly Judciary staff during the month of July, at which point new language that is acceptable to both committtees will be placed back into the bill.

In their analysis, Senate Judiciary staff expressed concerns about some portions of the bill, noting that entities could seek relief on behalf of employees with or without the targeted employee’s consent. They also raised concerns with the definition of "animal enterprise", which they felt was too broad. The Committee analysis further raised concerns about the viability of "academic freedom" as a constitutional right. Finally, the committee suggested amending the measure to only have these protections provided to the University of California.

Prior to the hearing, some legislators and staff indicated that they were unsure that such additional protections for researchers were warranted since they didn't feel the attacks had reached the same level as that of targeted reproductive health workers (this comparison was used since the bill is predicated on an earlier bill by Noreen Evans which protected reproductive health workers targeted by the pro-life movement). In contrast, the concerns about the broadness of the definition was countered by using another of Evans' bills (one that protected elected officials from targeting) by indicating that while its intent was to protect elected officials, based on the language of that bill (now law) even the poet laureate of California is covered from harassment and attack.

The Senate Committee has set a principle that they will not expand the definition of animal enterprise to cover commercial facilities and non-profit research institutions. The CSU is in agreement with the UC as well as other universities, that whatever form the bill finally becomes, all academic institutions should remain covered by the bill.