AB 1906: California Law Revision Commission: persons with disabilities: terminology.

Existing law establishes the California Law Revision Commission to, among other things, examine the law for defects or anachronisms and recommend changes to modify or eliminate antiquated or inequitable rules of law. Existing law requires the commission to study any topic that the Legislature, by concurrent resolution or statute, refers to the commission. Existing law establishes the Committee on Revision of the Penal Code, within the commission, to study and make recommendations related to the Penal Code to achieve various objectives, including simplifying criminal law and procedure.

Existing law variously defines the terms dependent adult and dependent person, including to refer to a person, regardless of whether the person lives independently, who is between the ages of 18 and 64 and has physical or mental limitations that restrict their ability to carry out normal activities or to protect their rights, as specified. Existing law uses those terms in various provisions related to, among other topics, prohibitions on, prescribes penalties for, mandated reporting of, and settlements, protective orders, and law enforcement training related to, the commission of specified offenses committed against those persons.

Existing federal law requires the Governor to designate a private nonprofit corporation in this state for the protection and advocacy of persons with disabilities, as specified. Existing state law refers to this entity as the protection and advocacy agency.

This bill would require the California Law Revision Commission, with input from stakeholders, including the protection and advocacy agency, to complete and submit to the Legislature a study on how to remove the terms dependent adult and dependent person from existing code sections, including those that use the term dependent in conjunction with the term elder, as specified. The bill would require the commission, as part of the study, to convene a working group that includes the protection and advocacy agency, the State Department of Social Services, persons described by those terms, and groups representing those persons. The bill would require the study to include recommendations on how to replace the terms dependent adult and dependent person with new terminology that would respectfully describe those persons and would preserve the legal rights and protections of those and other persons, as specified.

The bill would make related findings and declarations.