,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #deih ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #bj1 #bjbf,mrs4 ,gillibrand introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to establish a ,united ,states ,commission on ,hate ,crimes to study and make recommendations on the prevention of the commission of hate crimes1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,hate ,crimes ,commission ,act of #bjbf4 #b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds as follows3 7#a7 ,the ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation 7referred to in this section as the ,,fbi7 defines a hate crime as a criminal offense1 such as murder1 arson1 or vandalism1 against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race1 color1 national origin1 religion1 disability1 sexual orientation1 ethnicity1 gender1 or gender identity4 7#b7 ,forty-six ,states and the ,district of ,columbia have statutes criminalizing various types of bias-motivated violence or intimidation4 7#c7 ,congress has enacted various statutes to address hate crimes since #aifh1 with the most recent statute1 the ,,covid-#ai ,hate ,crimes ,act 7,public ,law #aag-aac2 #ace ,stat4 #bfe71 enacted in #bjba4 7#d7 ,in #bjbd1 the ,,fbi reported #aa1cbc single-bias incidents1 involving #ac1gfh victims4 7#e7 ,hate crimes not only damage the individual victim or victims but also traumatize entire communities and erode public confidence in their safety4 7#f7 ,in #bjbd-- 7,a7 #ec4b percent of victims were targeted because of the offender's race1 ethnicity1 or ancestry bias2 7,b7 #bc4e percent of victims were targeted because of the offender's religious bias2 7,c7 #ag4b percent of victims were targeted because of the offender's sexual orientation bias2 7,d7 #c4i percent of victims were targeted because of the offender's gender identity bias2 7,e7 #a4c percent of victims were targeted because of the offender's disability bias2 and 7,f7 #j4i percent of victims were targeted because of the offender's gender bias4 7#g7 ,in testimony before the ,committee on ,homeland ,security of the ,house of ,representatives in ,september #bjbj1 ,,fbi ,director ,christopher ,wray said1 ,within the domestic terrorism bucket1 the category as a whole1 racially motivated violent extremism is1 ,i think1 the biggest bucket within that larger group4 ,and within the racially motivated violent extremist bucket1 people subscribing to some kind of white supremacist-type ideology is certainly the biggest chunk of that44 7#h7 ,in ,august #bjab1 a shooting at the gurdwara in ,oak ,creek1 ,wisconsin1 left #f people dead1 and a seventh victim of the shooting succumbed to his injuries in #bjbj4 7#i7 ,in ,june #bjaf1 a shooting at ,pulse1 an ,,lgbtq nightclub in ,orlando1 ,florida1 left #di people dead and an additional #ec people wounded4 7#aj7 ,in ,october #bjah1 a shooting at the ,tree of ,life synagogue in ,pittsburgh1 ,pennsylvania1 left #aa people dead4 7#aa7 ,in ,july #bjai1 a ,hindu priest in ,new ,york ,city was hospitalized after a man attacked him and screamed this is my neighborhood during the incident4 7#ab7 ,in ,august #bjai1 an assailant entered a ,walmart in ,el ,paso1 ,texas1 to target ,hispanic immigrants and left #bb people dead4 7#ac7 ,in ,november #bjbj1 a woman shouted anti-,muslim slurs and attacked a couple in ,new ,york ,city1 leaving one victim needing surgery for facial fractures4 7#ad7 ,in ,march #bjba1 a gunman targeted #c spas across ,atlanta1 ,georgia1 killing #h people1 #f of whom were ,asian women4 7#ae7 ,in ,may #bjbb1 a gunman injured #c people after entering a ,korean-owned business in ,dallas1 ,texas1 and firing #ac rounds before fleeing4 7#af7 ,in ,may #bjbb1 a gunman targeted a ,tops supermarket located in a predominantly ,black neighborhood in ,buffalo1 ,new ,york1 killing #aj people and injuring #c others4 ,of the #ac victims1 #aa were ,black4 7#ag7 ,in ,november #bjbb1 a gunman killed #e people and wounded #be others after opening fire on an ,,lgbtq nightclub in ,colorado ,springs1 ,colorado4 7#ah7 ,in response to the ,,covid-#ai pandemic1 ,asian ,americans have suffered an increasing number of hate crimes4 ,according to ,stop ,,aapi ,hate1 nearly #aa1ejj hate incidents toward ,asian ,americans and ,pacific ,islanders were reported between ,march #bjbj and ,march #bjbb4 7#ai7 ,the ,anti-,defamation ,league 7commonly known as the ,,adl7 annually surveys and reports anti-,semitic hate incidents across the country4 ,in #bjbd1 the ,,adl reported a #cdd-percent increase in anti-,semitic incidents over the previous #e years4 7#bj7 ,in the original #bjba ,hate ,crime ,statistics published by the ,,fbi in ,december #bjbb1 the ,,fbi acknowledged the significant discrepancy in reporting from local law enforcement agencies as a result of transitioning to the ,national ,incident-,based ,reporting ,system4 ,due to the lack of reporting by local enforcement agencies1 the ,,fbi acknowledged that the #bjba ,hate ,crime ,statistics cannot be compared reliably across years4 7#ba7 ,in ,march #bjbc1 the ,,fbi released supplemental data for the #bjba ,hate ,crime ,statistics consisting of data collected through the ,summary ,reporting ,system by local law enforcement agencies4 7#bb7 ,law enforcement organizations have consistently recognized the need to modernize nationwide crime reporting and related data4 7#bc7 ,there is a clear need for stronger action to accurately report and effectively combat hate-based attacks4 #c4 ,establishment of ,commission 7a7 ,definition ,in this section1 the term civil rights community means nonprofit organizations that-- 7#a7 engage in documentation1 reporting1 or analysis of hate crimes or bias-motivated incidents2 or 7#b7 provide legal services or public education relating to civil rights or discrimination4 7b7 ,establishment ,there is established the ,united ,states ,commission on ,hate ,crimes 7in this ,act referred to as the ,commission74 7c7 ,membership 7#a7 ,size of ,commission ,the ,commission shall be composed of #aj members4 7#b7 ,appointment ,members of the ,commission shall be appointed in accordance with the following3 7,a7 ,two members shall be appointed by the majority leader of the ,senate4 7,b7 ,two members shall be appointed by the minority leader of the ,senate4 7,c7 ,two members shall be appointed by the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives4 7,d7 ,two members shall be appointed by the minority leader of the ,house of ,representatives4 7,e7 ,two members shall be appointed by the ,attorney ,general4 7#c7 ,limitations 7,a7 ,background ,not more than #e members of the ,commission may be from the law enforcement community and not more than #e members of the ,commission may be from the civil rights community4 7,b7 ,government officials ,a ,member of ,congress or any other elected ,federal1 ,state1 or local government official may not serve as a member of the ,commission4 7#d7 ,deadline ,each member of the ,commission shall be appointed not later than #fj days after the date of enactment of this ,act4 7d7 ,meetings 7#a7 ,first meeting 7,a7 ,deadline ,the ,commission shall hold its first meeting not later than #ij days after the date as of which all members of the ,commission have been appointed under subsection 7b77#b74 7,b7 ,schedule ,during its first meeting1 the ,commission shall develop a schedule for completion of the investigation and report required under section #d4 7#b7 ,subsequent meetings ,after the initial meeting of the ,commission1 the ,commission shall meet bimonthly until the ,commission terminates under section #e4 #d4 ,duties of the ,commission 7a7 ,definition ,in this section1 the term hate crime means an offense under section #bdi of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code4 7b7 ,investigation ,the ,commission shall investigate the following3 7#a7 ,the factors1 including social media and technology1 that have contributed to the consistently high rate of hate crime incidents across the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,policies or actions that law enforcement agencies might adopt or engage in to reduce the commission of hate crimes4 7#c7 ,the impact of underreporting on hate crimes statistics and hate crimes prevention4 7#d7 ,ways to improve hate crimes reporting and ensure full and complete participation in the ,national ,incident-,based ,reporting ,system by local law enforcement agencies1 including by identifying any barriers that may deter such reporting4 7#e7 ,bias prevention efforts and responses to hate crimes that are successful and possible through coordination with nonprofit organizations1 local education agencies1 and government entities4 7#f7 ,the prevalence and rise of online hate crime incidents4 7c7 ,report ,not later than #a year after the date as of which all members of the ,commission have been appointed under section #c7;c77#b71 the ,commission shall publish and submit to ,congress and the ,president a report that sets forth the results of the investigation conducted under subsection 7b7 of this section1 including recommendations for-- 7#a7 actions ,federal agencies can take to help improve hate crimes reporting by local law enforcement agencies1 as described in subsection 7b77#d72 and 7#b7 bias prevention efforts and responses to hate crimes1 as described in subsection 7b77#e74 7d7 ,information from ,federal agencies and other entities ,any department1 agency1 bureau1 board1 commission1 office1 or other instrumentality of the ,united ,states shall directly provide to the ,commission1 upon request1 any documents1 statistical data1 or other information the ,commission determines necessary to carry out its duties under this ,act4 #e4 ,sunset ,the ,commission shall terminate on the date that is #ij days after the date on which the ,commission publishes and submits to ,congress and the ,president the report under section #d7;c74 #f4 ,government ,accountability ,office audit 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,director ,the term ,director means the ,director of the ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation4 7#b7 ,zero-reporting agency ,the term zero-reporting agency means any ,state1 local1 or ,tribal law enforcement agency that reports zero hate crimes in a calendar year to the ,national ,incident-,based ,reporting ,system of the ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation4 7b7 ,audit ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall conduct an audit of the hate crime data collected by the ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation4 7c7 ,contents of audit ,in conducting the audit under subsection 7b71 the ,comptroller ,general shall-- 7#a7 assess the methodologies and procedures used by the ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation to collect and verify hate crime data2 and 7#b7 evaluate the accuracy of the data described in paragraph 7#a7 by conducting a comparative analysis with other relevant hate crime data sources1 which may include-- 7,a7 data collected by civil rights organizations serving communities frequently targeted by hate crimes2 and 7,b7 data collected by the ,bureau of ,justice ,statistics through the ,national ,crime ,victimization ,survey4 7d7 ,report ,not later than #ahj days after completing the audit under subsection 7b71 the ,comptroller ,general shall submit to ,congress a report containing-- 7#a7 the findings of the audit1 including recommendations to improve the accuracy1 completeness1 and reliability of hate crime data received through the ,national ,incident ,bias ,reporting ,system1 which may include the use of automated systems to identify anomalies in the collected hate crime data such as-- 7,a7 a ,state1 local1 or ,tribal law enforcement agency classifying as a zero-reporting agency for consecutive years2 and 7,b7 hate crime data reporting patterns from a law enforcement agency that are statistically inconsistent with hate crime data reporting patterns observed in other comparable reporting agencies2 and 7#b7 the response of the ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation to the findings of the audit detailing any actions that the ,bureau has taken or planned to take to improve the accuracy and oversight of hate crime data reporting4