COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act
Bill: S.937 | Sponsor: Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. (D-HI)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act
This bill requires a designated officer or employee of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to facilitate the expedited review of hate crimes and reports of hate crimes.
DOJ must issue guidance for state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies on establishing online hate crime reporting processes, collecting data disaggregated by protected characteristic (e.g., race or national origin), and expanding education campaigns.
Additionally, DOJ and the Department of Health and Human Services must issue guidance aimed at raising awareness of hate crimes during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.
The bill establishes grants for states to create state-run hate crimes reporting hotlines. It also authorizes grants for states and local governments to implement the National Incident-Based Reporting System and to conduct law enforcement activities or crime reduction programs to prevent, address, or respond to hate crimes.
Finally, in the case of an individual convicted of a hate crime offense and placed on supervised release, the bill allows a court to order that the individual participate in educational classes or community service as a condition of supervised release.

[117th Congress Public Law 13]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 135 STAT. 265]]

Public Law 117-13
117th Congress

                                 An Act


 
  To facilitate the expedited review of COVID-19 hate crimes, and for 
           other purposes. <<NOTE: May 20, 2021 -  [S. 937]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: COVID-19 Hate 
Crimes Act.>> 
SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 34 USC 10101 note.>>  SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act''.
SEC. 2. <<NOTE: 34 USC 30501 note.>>  FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Following the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, there has been 
        a dramatic increase in hate crimes and violence against Asian-
        Americans and Pacific Islanders.
            (2) According to a recent report, there were nearly 3,800 
        reported cases of anti-Asian discrimination and incidents 
        related to COVID-19 between March 19, 2020, and February 28, 
        2021, in all 50 States and the District of Columbia.
            (3) During this time frame, race has been cited as the 
        primary reason for discrimination, making up over 90 percent of 
        incidents, and the United States condemns and denounces any and 
        all anti-Asian and Pacific Islander sentiment in any form.
            (4) Roughly 36 percent of these incidents took place at a 
        business and more than 2,000,000 Asian-American businesses have 
        contributed to the diverse fabric of American life.
            (5) More than 1,900,000 Asian-American and Pacific Islander 
        older adults, particularly those older adults who are recent 
        immigrants or have limited English proficiency, may face even 
        greater challenges in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, 
        including discrimination, economic insecurity, and language 
        isolation.
            (6) In the midst of this alarming surge in anti-Asian hate 
        crimes and incidents, a shooter murdered the following 8 people 
        in the Atlanta, Georgia region, 7 of whom were women and 6 of 
        whom were women of Asian descent: <<NOTE: Xiaojie Tan. Daoyou 
        Feng. Delaina Ashley Yaun Gonzalez. Paul Andre Michels. Soon 
        Chung Park. Hyun Jung Grant. Suncha Kim. Yong Ae Yue.>> 
                    (A) Xiaojie Tan.
                    (B) Daoyou Feng.
                    (C) Delaina Ashley Yaun Gonzalez.
                    (D) Paul Andre Michels.
                    (E) Soon Chung Park.
                    (F) Hyun Jung Grant.
                    (G) Suncha Kim.
                    (H) Yong Ae Yue.
            (7) The people of the United States will always remember the 
        victims of these shootings and stand in solidarity with

[[Page 135 STAT. 266]]

        those affected by this senseless tragedy and incidents of hate 
        that have affected the Asian and Pacific Islander communities.
SEC. 3. <<NOTE: 34 USC 30501 note.>>  REVIEW OF HATE CRIMES.

    (a) <<NOTE: Deadline. Designation.>>  In General.--Not later than 7 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall 
designate an officer or employee of the Department of Justice whose 
responsibility during the applicable period shall be to facilitate the 
expedited review of hate crimes (as described in section 249 of title 
18, United States Code) and reports of any such crime to Federal, State, 
local, or Tribal law enforcement agencies.

    (b) Applicable Period Defined.--In this section, the term 
``applicable period'' means the period beginning on the date on which 
the officer or employee is designated under subsection (a), and ending 
on the date that is 1 year after the date on which the emergency period 
described in subparagraph (B) of section 1135(g)(1) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(g)(1)) ends, except that the Attorney 
General may extend such period as appropriate.
SEC. 4. <<NOTE: 34 USC 30501 note.>>  GUIDANCE.

    (a) Guidance for Law Enforcement Agencies.--The Attorney General 
shall issue guidance for State, local, and Tribal law enforcement 
agencies, pursuant to this Act and other applicable law, on how to--
            (1) establish online reporting of hate crimes or incidents, 
        and to have online reporting that is equally effective for 
        people with disabilities as for people without disabilities 
        available in multiple languages as determined by the Attorney 
        General;
            (2) collect data disaggregated by the protected 
        characteristics described in section 249 of title 18, United 
        States Code; and
            (3) expand public education campaigns aimed at raising 
        awareness of hate crimes and reaching victims, that are equally 
        effective for people with disabilities as for people without 
        disabilities.

    (b) <<NOTE: Coordination.>>  Guidance Relating to COVID-19 
Pandemic.--The Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, in coordination with the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force and 
community-based organizations, shall issue guidance aimed at raising 
awareness of hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
SEC. 5. <<NOTE: Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer National 
                    Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to 
                    Equality Act of 2021. 34 USC 30507.>>  JABARA-
                    HEYER NO HATE ACT.

    (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Khalid Jabara 
and Heather Heyer National Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to 
Equality Act of 2021'' or the ``Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The incidence of violence known as hate crimes, or 
        crimes motivated by bias, poses a serious national problem.
            (2) According to data obtained by the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation, the incidence of such violence increased in 2019, 
        the most recent year for which data is available.
            (3) In 1990, Congress enacted the Hate Crime Statistics Act 
        (Public Law 101-275; 28 U.S.C. 534 note) to provide the Federal 
        Government, law enforcement agencies, and the public with data 
        regarding the incidence of hate crime. The Hate Crime Statistics 
        Act and the Matthew Shepard and James

[[Page 135 STAT. 267]]

        Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (division E of Public Law 
        111-84; 123 Stat. 2835) have enabled Federal authorities to 
        understand and, where appropriate, investigate and prosecute 
        hate crimes.
            (4) A more complete understanding of the national problem 
        posed by hate crime is in the public interest and supports the 
        Federal interest in eradicating bias-motivated violence 
        referenced in section 249(b)(1)(C) of title 18, United States 
        Code.
            (5) However, a complete understanding of the national 
        problem posed by hate crimes is hindered by incomplete data from 
        Federal, State, and local jurisdictions through the Uniform 
        Crime Reports program authorized under section 534 of title 28, 
        United States Code, and administered by the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation.
            (6) Multiple factors contribute to the provision of 
        inaccurate and incomplete data regarding the incidence of hate 
        crime through the Uniform Crime Reports program. A significant 
        contributing factor is the quality and quantity of training that 
        State and local law enforcement agencies receive on the 
        identification and reporting of suspected bias-motivated crimes.
            (7) The problem of crimes motivated by bias is sufficiently 
        serious, widespread, and interstate in nature as to warrant 
        Federal financial assistance to States and local jurisdictions.
            (8) Federal financial assistance with regard to certain 
        violent crimes motivated by bias enables Federal, State, and 
        local authorities to work together as partners in the 
        investigation and prosecution of such crimes.

    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Hate crime.--The term ``hate crime'' means an act 
        described in section 245, 247, or 249 of title 18, United States 
        Code, or in section 901 of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (42 
        U.S.C. 3631).
            (2) Priority agency.--The term ``priority agency'' means--
                    (A) a law enforcement agency of a unit of local 
                government that serves a population of not less than 
                100,000, as computed by the Federal Bureau of 
                Investigation; or
                    (B) a law enforcement agency of a unit of local 
                government that--
                          (i) serves a population of not less than 
                      50,000 and less than 100,000, as computed by the 
                      Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
                          (ii) has reported no hate crimes through the 
                      Uniform Crime Reports program in each of the 3 
                      most recent calendar years for which such data is 
                      available.
            (3) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 901 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
        Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10251).
            (4) Uniform crime reports.--The term ``Uniform Crime 
        Reports'' means the reports authorized under section 534 of 
        title 28, United States Code, and administered by the Federal 
        Bureau of Investigation that compile nationwide criminal 
        statistics for use--
                    (A) in law enforcement administration, operation, 
                and management; and
                    (B) to assess the nature and type of crime in the 
                United States.

[[Page 135 STAT. 268]]

            (5) Unit of local government.--The term ``unit of local 
        government'' has the meaning given the term in section 901 of 
        title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
        1968 (34 U.S.C. 10251).

    (d) <<NOTE: State and local governments.>>  Reporting of Hate 
Crimes.--
            (1) Implementation grants.--
                    (A) In general.--The Attorney General may make 
                grants to States and units of local government to assist 
                the State or unit of local government in implementing 
                the National Incident-Based Reporting System, including 
                to train employees in identifying and classifying hate 
                crimes in the National Incident-Based Reporting System.
                    (B) Priority.--In making grants under subparagraph 
                (A), the Attorney General shall give priority to States 
                and units of local government that develop and implement 
                the programs and activities described in subsection 
                (f)(2)(A).
            (2) Reporting.--
                    (A) Compliance.--
                          (i) <<NOTE: Time period. Effective date.>>  In 
                      general.--Except as provided in clause (ii), in 
                      each fiscal year beginning after the date that is 
                      3 years after the date on which a State or unit of 
                      local government first receives a grant under 
                      paragraph (1), the State or unit of local 
                      government shall provide to the Attorney General, 
                      through the Uniform Crime Reporting system, 
                      information pertaining to hate crimes committed in 
                      that jurisdiction during the preceding fiscal 
                      year.
                          (ii) Extensions; waiver.--The Attorney 
                      General--
                                    (I) may provide a 120-day extension 
                                to a State or unit of local government 
                                that is making good faith efforts to 
                                comply with clause (i); and
                                    (II) shall waive the requirements of 
                                clause (i) if compliance with that 
                                subparagraph by a State or unit of local 
                                government would be unconstitutional 
                                under the constitution of the State or 
                                of the State in which the unit of local 
                                government is located, respectively.
                    (B) Failure to comply.--If a State or unit of local 
                government that receives a grant under paragraph (1) 
                fails to substantially comply with subparagraph (A) of 
                this paragraph, the State or unit of local government 
                shall repay the grant in full, plus reasonable interest 
                and penalty charges allowable by law or established by 
                the Attorney General.

    (e) Grants for State-run Hate Crime Hotlines.--
            (1) Grants authorized.--
                    (A) In general.--The Attorney General shall make 
                grants to States to create State-run hate crime 
                reporting hotlines.
                    (B) Grant period.--A grant made under subparagraph 
                (A) shall be for a period of not more than 5 years.
            (2) Hotline requirements.--A State shall ensure, with 
        respect to a hotline funded by a grant under paragraph (1), 
        that--
                    (A) the hotline directs individuals to--
                          (i) law enforcement if appropriate; and
                          (ii) local support services;

[[Page 135 STAT. 269]]

                    (B) any personally identifiable information that an 
                individual provides to an agency of the State through 
                the hotline is not directly or indirectly disclosed, 
                without the consent of the individual, to--
                          (i) any other agency of that State;
                          (ii) any other State;
                          (iii) the Federal Government; or
                          (iv) any other person or entity;
                    (C) the staff members who operate the hotline are 
                trained to be knowledgeable about--
                          (i) applicable Federal, State, and local hate 
                      crime laws; and
                          (ii) local law enforcement resources and 
                      applicable local support services; and
                    (D) the hotline is accessible to--
                          (i) individuals with limited English 
                      proficiency, where appropriate; and
                          (ii) individuals with disabilities.
            (3) Best practices.--The Attorney General shall issue 
        guidance to States on best practices for implementing the 
        requirements of paragraph (2).

    (f) Information Collection by States and Units of Local 
Government.--
            (1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    (A) Covered agency.--The term ``covered agency'' 
                means--
                          (i) a State law enforcement agency; and
                          (ii) a priority agency.
                    (B) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' 
                means--
                          (i) a State; or
                          (ii) a unit of local government that has a 
                      priority agency.
            (2) Grants.--
                    (A) In general.--The Attorney General may make 
                grants to eligible entities to assist covered agencies 
                within the jurisdiction of the eligible entity in 
                conducting law enforcement activities or crime reduction 
                programs to prevent, address, or otherwise respond to 
                hate crime, particularly as those activities or programs 
                relate to reporting hate crimes through the Uniform 
                Crime Reports program, including--
                          (i) adopting a policy on identifying, 
                      investigating, and reporting hate crimes;
                          (ii) developing a standardized system of 
                      collecting, analyzing, and reporting the incidence 
                      of hate crime;
                          (iii) establishing a unit specialized in 
                      identifying, investigating, and reporting hate 
                      crimes;
                          (iv) engaging in community relations functions 
                      related to hate crime prevention and education 
                      such as--
                                    (I) establishing a liaison with 
                                formal community-based organizations or 
                                leaders; and

[[Page 135 STAT. 270]]

                                    (II) conducting public meetings or 
                                educational forums on the impact of hate 
                                crimes, services available to hate crime 
                                victims, and the relevant Federal, 
                                State, and local laws pertaining to hate 
                                crimes; and
                          (v) providing hate crime trainings for agency 
                      personnel.
                    (B) Subgrants.--A State that receives a grant under 
                subparagraph (A) may award a subgrant to a unit of local 
                government within the State for the purposes under that 
                subparagraph, except that a unit of local government may 
                provide funding from such a subgrant to any law 
                enforcement agency of the unit of local government.
            (3) Information required of states and units of local 
        government.--
                    (A) In general.--For each fiscal year in which a 
                State or unit of local government receives a grant or 
                subgrant under paragraph (2), the State or unit of local 
                government shall--
                          (i) collect information from each law 
                      enforcement agency that receives funding from the 
                      grant or subgrant summarizing the law enforcement 
                      activities or crime reduction programs conducted 
                      by the agency to prevent, address, or otherwise 
                      respond to hate crime, particularly as those 
                      activities or programs relate to reporting hate 
                      crimes through the Uniform Crime Reports program; 
                      and
                          (ii) <<NOTE: Reports.>>  submit to the 
                      Attorney General a report containing the 
                      information collected under clause (i).
                    (B) Semiannual law enforcement agency report.--
                          (i) <<NOTE: Requirement.>>  In general.--In 
                      collecting the information required under 
                      subparagraph (A)(i), a State or unit of local 
                      government shall require each law enforcement 
                      agency that receives funding from a grant or 
                      subgrant awarded to the State or unit of local 
                      government under paragraph (2) to submit a 
                      semiannual report to the State or unit of local 
                      government that includes a summary of the law 
                      enforcement activities or crime reduction programs 
                      conducted by the agency during the reporting 
                      period to prevent, address, or otherwise respond 
                      to hate crime, particularly as those activities or 
                      programs relate to reporting hate crimes through 
                      the Uniform Crime Reports program.
                          (ii) Contents.--In a report submitted under 
                      clause (i), a law enforcement agency shall, at a 
                      minimum, disclose--
                                    (I) whether the agency has adopted a 
                                policy on identifying, investigating, 
                                and reporting hate crimes;
                                    (II) whether the agency has 
                                developed a standardized system of 
                                collecting, analyzing, and reporting the 
                                incidence of hate crime;
                                    (III) whether the agency has 
                                established a unit specialized in 
                                identifying, investigating, and 
                                reporting hate crimes;
                                    (IV) whether the agency engages in 
                                community relations functions related to 
                                hate crime, such as--

[[Page 135 STAT. 271]]

                                            (aa) establishing a liaison 
                                        with formal community-based 
                                        organizations or leaders; and
                                            (bb) conducting public 
                                        meetings or educational forums 
                                        on the impact of hate crime, 
                                        services available to hate crime 
                                        victims, and the relevant 
                                        Federal, State, and local laws 
                                        pertaining to hate crime; and
                                    (V) the number of hate crime 
                                trainings for agency personnel, 
                                including the duration of the trainings, 
                                conducted by the agency during the 
                                reporting period.
            (4) Compliance and redirection of funds.--
                    (A) <<NOTE: Deadline.>>  In general.--Except as 
                provided in subparagraph (B), beginning not later than 1 
                year after the date of this Act, a State or unit of 
                local government receiving a grant or subgrant under 
                paragraph (2) shall comply with paragraph (3).
                    (B) Extensions; waiver.--The Attorney General--
                          (i) may provide a 120-day extension to a State 
                      or unit of local government that is making good 
                      faith efforts to collect the information required 
                      under paragraph (3); and
                          (ii) shall waive the requirements of paragraph 
                      (3) for a State or unit of local government if 
                      compliance with that subsection by the State or 
                      unit of local government would be unconstitutional 
                      under the constitution of the State or of the 
                      State in which the unit of local government is 
                      located, respectively.

    (g) Requirements of the Attorney General.--
            (1) Information collection and analysis; report.--In order 
        to improve the accuracy of data regarding the incidence of hate 
        crime provided through the Uniform Crime Reports program, and 
        promote a more complete understanding of the national problem 
        posed by hate crime, the Attorney General shall--
                    (A) collect and analyze the information provided by 
                States and units of local government under subsection 
                (f) for the purpose of developing policies related to 
                the provision of accurate data obtained under the Hate 
                Crime Statistics Act (Public Law 101-275; 28 U.S.C. 534 
                note) by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
                    (B) <<NOTE: Time period. Effective date.>>  for each 
                calendar year beginning after the date of enactment of 
                this Act, publish and submit to Congress a report based 
                on the information collected and analyzed under 
                subparagraph (A).
            (2) <<NOTE: Analysis.>>  Contents of report.--A report 
        submitted under paragraph (1) shall include--
                    (A) a qualitative analysis of the relationship 
                between--
                          (i) the number of hate crimes reported by 
                      State law enforcement agencies or other law 
                      enforcement agencies that received funding from a 
                      grant or subgrant awarded under paragraph (2) 
                      through the Uniform Crime Reports program; and
                          (ii) the nature and extent of law enforcement 
                      activities or crime reduction programs conducted 
                      by

[[Page 135 STAT. 272]]

                      those agencies to prevent, address, or otherwise 
                      respond to hate crime; and
                    (B) a quantitative analysis of the number of State 
                law enforcement agencies and other law enforcement 
                agencies that received funding from a grant or subgrant 
                awarded under paragraph (2) that have--
                          (i) adopted a policy on identifying, 
                      investigating, and reporting hate crimes;
                          (ii) developed a standardized system of 
                      collecting, analyzing, and reporting the incidence 
                      of hate crime;
                          (iii) established a unit specialized in 
                      identifying, investigating, and reporting hate 
                      crimes;
                          (iv) engaged in community relations functions 
                      related to hate crime, such as--
                                    (I) establishing a liaison with 
                                formal community-based organizations or 
                                leaders; and
                                    (II) conducting public meetings or 
                                educational forums on the impact of hate 
                                crime, services available to hate crime 
                                victims, and the relevant Federal, 
                                State, and local laws pertaining to hate 
                                crime; and
                          (v) conducted hate crime trainings for agency 
                      personnel during the reporting period, including--
                                    (I) the total number of trainings 
                                conducted by each agency; and
                                    (II) the duration of the trainings 
                                described in subclause (I).

    (h) Alternative Sentencing.--Section 249 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) <<NOTE: Courts. Requirement.>>  Supervised Release.--If a 
court includes, as a part of a sentence of imprisonment imposed for a 
violation of subsection (a), a requirement that the defendant be placed 
on a term of supervised release after imprisonment under section 3583, 
the court may order, as an explicit condition of supervised release, 
that the defendant undertake educational classes or community service 
directly related to the community harmed by the defendant's offense.''.

    Approved May 20, 2021.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 937:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 167 (2021):
            Apr. 19, 20, 22, considered and passed Senate.
            May 18, considered and passed House.
DAILY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS (2021):
            May 20, Presidential remarks.

                                  <all>