Assembly Concurrent Resolution
No. 53
CHAPTER 77
Relative to the Fair Housing Act of 1963.
[
Filed with
Secretary of State
June 27, 2003.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 53, Lowenthal.
Fair Housing Act of 1963.
This measure would commemorate the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1963 authored by Assembly Member W. Byron Rumford and the progress that has been made to afford equal housing opportunities to all Californians regardless of race.
Digest Key
WHEREAS, The history of the civil rights movement has several landmark setbacks and achievements; and
WHEREAS, The struggle to prohibit discrimination in the sale and rental of housing was an elusive goal for many years; and
WHEREAS, For many years, Assembly Member Augustus Hawkins of Los Angeles introduced unsuccessful legislation to prohibit discrimination in the sale of housing on the basis of race; and
WHEREAS, In 1963, with the support and encouragement of Governor Pat Brown and former Governor Earl Warren, Assembly Member W. Byron Rumford of Oakland introduced Assembly Bill No. 1240 to give all Californians the equal opportunity to purchase or rent housing without regard to their race; and
WHEREAS, The legislation encountered strong opposition from organizations representing business, property owners, and real estate brokers; and
WHEREAS, Assembly Bill No. 1240 received final passage in the Assembly on a vote of 47-24 and in the Senate by a vote of 22-18; and
WHEREAS, Opponents of the legislation sponsored Proposition 14, a ballot measure to amend the California Constitution to make legal discrimination in the sale or rental of housing; and
WHEREAS, Proposition 14 was approved by the electorate by a margin of almost two to one; and
WHEREAS, In 1967 on a vote of 5 to 4, the United States Supreme Court declared the constitutional amendment null and void as violative of the United States Constitution; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature commemorates the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1963 authored by Assembly Member W. Byron Rumford and the progress that has been made to afford equal housing opportunities to all Californians regardless of race; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.