California's Senate is to vote on a bill that redefines what sexual consent means when it comes to rape investigations on college campuses, the Associated Press reported.
The bill, lauded by victims advocates and passed by the Assembly on Monday, mandates that campus investigators define consent as "yes means yes," a change from the traditional "no means no" of anti-rape campaigns.
There must be "an affirmative, unambiguous and conscious decision" from each party when it comes to determining consent. Consent cannot be granted if the person is unconscious, drunk or under the influence of drugs to the point where they "could not understand the fact, nature or the extent of the sexual activity," the bill states.
The measure comes as colleges across the nation have been facing surmounting pressure to change the way rape investigations are handled. A White House task force recently found that one in five female college students are sexually assaulted.
"Sexual assaults are too common on our campuses, and the need for change is now," Democrat Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez, from Los Angeles, told the AP.
All colleges that receive state funds will be required to follow the legislation. If the Senate approves the bill, it would make California the first state to have a "yes means yes" standard for post-secondary schools investigating sexual assaults.
Some Republicans, however, fear the bill goes beyond the scope of the government.
"This bill goes so far past what is acceptable for the government to regulate," Assemblywoman Kristin Oslen, from Modesto, told the AP. "It will just become another one of the many laws in California that always lead to litigation."
Others fear the bill will open a can of worms for campus investigators. Most states define rape as when the aggressor uses force against the victim. But California's law could lead to both parties accusing each other of rape, John F. Banzhaf III, a professor at George Washington University's Law School, told the AP.
"This bill would very, very radically change the definition of rape," the professor said.
