Crimes: hate crimes.

Existing law defines a hate crime as a criminal act committed, in whole or in part, because of the victim's disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. Existing law also defines as a hate crime a criminal act committed because of the victim's association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. Existing law defines association for these purposes as including advocacy for or identification with people who have one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics, or as being on the ground owned or rented by, or adjacent to, a community center, educational facility, office, meeting hall, place of worship, private institution, public agency, or library that is identified with people who have these actual or perceived characteristics. Existing law provides punishments for hate crimes that range from misdemeanors with specified penalties to felonies with additional terms of one to 3 years in state prison, depending on the underlying criminal act and other circumstances. Existing law requires, with conditions, the Attorney General to direct local law enforcement agencies to report specified information relative to hate crimes to the Department of Justice. Existing law requires the department to annually submit a report to the Legislature that analyzes the results of information obtained from local law enforcement pursuant to these provisions. Local law enforcement entities are required by existing law to provide a brochure on hate crimes to victims of these crimes and to the public, and the Department of Fair Employment and Housing is required by existing law to revise those brochures as needed and to provide those brochures to local law enforcement agencies upon request. This bill would revise the definition of association for these purposes and would include representation, defense, or support of a person or group that has one or more of the above specified characteristics, whether by an individual or a public or private entity. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. By expanding the information that law enforcement agencies are required to report to the Department of Justice, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.