Hate Crimes Commission Act of 2021
Bill: S.1235 | Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. (D-NY)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Hate Crimes Commission Act of 2021
This bill establishes the United States Commission on Hate Crimes. The commission must investigate and report on

To establish a United States Commission on Hate Crimes to study and 
   make recommendations on the prevention of the commission of hate 
                    crimes, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Hate Crimes Commission Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (referred to in 
        this section as the ``FBI'') defines a hate crime as a criminal 
        offense--such as murder, arson, or vandalism--against a person 
        or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias 
        against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, 
        ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.
            (2) Forty-five States and the District of Columbia have 
        statutes criminalizing various types of bias-motivated violence 
        or intimidation.
            (3) Congress has enacted various statutes to address hate 
        crimes since 1968, with the most recent statute enacted in 
        2009.
            (4) In 2019, hate crimes rose by 2.7 percent.
            (5) In 2019, 51 deaths from hate crimes were reported, the 
        highest number since the FBI began reporting the statistic in 
        the early 1990s.
            (6) Hate crimes not only damage the individual victim or 
        victims, but also traumatize entire communities and erode 
        public confidence in their safety.
            (7) In 2019, hate crimes directed at Latinos increased by 
        almost 9 percent from the year before.
            (8) In 2019, hate crimes based on sexual orientation 
        represented 16.7 percent of total hate crimes, and hate crimes 
        based on gender identity represented 2.7 percent of total hate 
        crimes, which was an increase from the year before.
            (9) In testimony before the Committee on Homeland Security 
        of the House of Representatives in September 2020, FBI Director 
        Christopher Wray said, ``Within the domestic terrorism bucket, 
        the category as a whole, racially motivated violent extremism 
        is, I think, the biggest bucket within that larger group. And 
        within the racially motivated violent extremist bucket, people 
        subscribing to some kind of white supremacist-type ideology is 
        certainly the biggest chunk of that.''.
            (10) The category of hate crime that increased the most in 
        2019 was anti-Semitic hate crimes, which rose by 14 percent.
            (11) In October 2018, a shooting at the Tree of Life 
        synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania left 11 people dead.
            (12) In July 2019, a Hindu priest in New York City was 
        hospitalized after a man attacked him and screamed ``this is my 
        neighborhood'' during the incident.
            (13) In August 2019, an assailant entered a Walmart in El 
        Paso, Texas to target Hispanics and left 22 people dead.
            (14) In November 2020, a woman shouted anti-Muslim slurs 
        and attacked a couple in New York City, leaving one victim 
        needing surgery for facial fractures.
            (15) In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Asian Americans 
        have suffered an increasing number of hate crimes. According to 
        Stop AAPI Hate, 2,808 ``hate incidents'' toward Asian Americans 
        and Pacific Islanders were reported between March 2020 and 
        December 2020.
            (16) Many hate crimes go unreported. In 2019, the number of 
        law enforcement agencies providing hate crimes data to the FBI 
        decreased, as only 14 percent of law enforcement agencies in 
        the United States reported 1 or more hate crimes.
            (17) There is a clear need for stronger action to 
        accurately report and effectively combat hate-based attacks.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established the United States 
Commission on Hate Crimes (in this Act referred to as the 
``Commission'').
    (b) Membership.--The Commission shall be composed of 12 members. 
Members of the Commission shall be appointed in accordance with the 
following:
            (1) Two members shall be appointed by the majority leader 
        of the Senate.
            (2) Two members shall be appointed by the minority leader 
        of the Senate.
            (3) Two members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the 
        House of Representatives.
            (4) Two members shall be appointed by the minority leader 
        of the House of Representatives.
            (5) Two members shall be jointly appointed by the 2 
        appointing officials under paragraphs (1) through (4) who are 
        members of, or caucus with, the Democratic Party.
            (6) Two members shall be jointly appointed by the 2 
        appointing officials under paragraphs (1) through (4) who are 
        members of, or caucus with, the Republican Party.
            (7) Not more than 6 members may be from the law enforcement 
        community and not more than 6 members may be from the civil 
        rights community.
            (8) Not more than 6 members may be from the same political 
        party.

SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``hate crime'' means an 
offense under section 249 of title 18, United States Code.
    (b) Investigation.--The Commission shall investigate the following:
            (1) Whether the number of hate crimes committed has 
        increased during the period beginning on January 1, 2007, and 
        ending on the date that is 60 days after the date of enactment 
        of this Act.
            (2) To the extent that the Commission determines under 
        paragraph (1) that the number of hate crimes committed has 
        increased, the factors that have contributed to the increase.
            (3) Policies or actions that law enforcement agencies might 
        adopt or engage in to reduce the commission of hate crimes.
            (4) The impact of underreporting on hate crimes statistics 
        and hate crimes prevention.
            (5) Community bias prevention responses that are successful 
        and possible through coordination with nonprofit organizations, 
        local education agencies, and government entities.

SEC. 5. REPORT.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Commission shall submit a report to Congress and the President setting 
forth the results of the investigation conducted under section 4.
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