A bill to change how HIV transmission is treated under the law faces some opposition in the California Senate.

If SB 239 passes, someone who had unprotected sex knowing they were HIV positive but who did not inform their partner about the infection could no longer be charged with a felony.

"Leave what's well enough alone," said Sen. Jeff Stone (R- San Diego). "Don't make it easier for someone to spread a risky, dangerous, potentially fatal disease." Stone said the bill would not provide a sufficient deterrent.

Sen. Scott Wiener (D- San Francisco) said intentionally infecting someone with HIV could still be prosecuted as a misdemeanor if his bill becomes law.

"The stereotype of the predatory man who's having sex with people and recklessly exposing them is not [who's] being prosecuted," said Wiener. "These laws very disproportionately target women, particularly women of color." Weiner said that HIV has been singled out in a way that other diseases have not.

Stone said he would rather support increasing the number of diseases for which intentional transmission is punishable as a felony.

AssemblymanTodd Gloria (D-San Diego), who co-authored the bill, said existing law actually makes it harder to prevent the spread of HIV. "The truth is that our current laws create a perverse incentive for folks to not be tested and not to come into care, thereby making them more likely to spread the disease," he said.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, while HIV-specific laws "may be viewed as initially well-intentioned and necessary law enforcement tools, the vast majority do not reflect the current state of the science of HIV and, as a result, place unique and additional burdens on individuals living with HIV."

The Department recommends eliminating HIV-specific criminal laws, with two possible exceptions: when a person who knows he is HIV-positive commits "a non-HIV specific sex crime where there is a risk of transmission," and when it can be clearly demonstrated that the intent was to transmit the virus.

The State Senate Public Safety Committee is scheduled to take up the bill on Tuesday.