New gay-friendly laws take effect in Calif.

Assembly Bill 3015 requires that existing mandatory training programs for foster-care administrators, foster parents and other caregivers include training on the right of foster youth to a safe, unbiased and harassment-free school environment.

Senate Bill 1729 requires that licensed health professionals in senior care facilities and nursing homes be trained about the unique needs of GLBT seniors.

Assembly Bill 2654 amended 13 statutes that prohibit discrimination against members of protected classes. Nine of the amendments apply to insurance and four relate to a government benefit, service or requirement.

”The list of protected classes varies from statute to statute — and many did not include sexual orientation and/or gender identity prior to AB 2654,” said Equality California’s government affairs director, Alice Kessler. ”(With this bill and others,) we’ve essentially overhauled all major civil rights laws in California to include sexual orientation and gender identity. California is the only state we know of to have undergone such a process to systematically include sexual orientation and gender identity throughout all state law.”

Since its founding in December 1998, Equality California has sponsored 50 bills that have passed the California Legislature, ”taking California from a state with little to no legal protections for LGBT people to one with some of the most comprehensive protections in the nation,” the organization said.

Forty-two of the 50 bills were signed into law by a governor.

Meanwhile, gay and lesbian members of the Legislature assumed key positions in important committees in December, EQCA reported.

Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, is now chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee; Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, heads the Senate Public Safety Committee; and Assemblymember John A. Perez, D-Los Angeles, chairs the Assembly Democratic Caucus.

The Legislature’s fourth openly gay member is Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, who was elected to the post Nov. 4 after serving 14 years on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.