S 728 117th Congress Senate Crime and Law Enforcement Cardiovascular and respiratory health Crime prevention Crime victims Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation Criminal justice information and records Department of Justice Disability and health-based discrimination Emergency medical services and trauma care Executive agency funding and structure Federal officials Foreign language and bilingual programs Hate crimes Infectious and parasitic diseases Racial and ethnic relations Religion Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination State and local government operations

COVID–19 Hate Crimes Act

Introduced: March 11, 2021 Introduced by: Hirono, Mazie K. Democratic · Hawaii See on congress.gov

Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Mar 11, 2021

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mar 11, 2021

Introduced in Senate

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

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 COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) hate crimes and reports of COVID-19 hate crimes.

It defines COVID-19 hate crime as a violent crime that is motivated by two things: (1) the actual or perceived characteristic (e.g., race or ethnicity) of any person, and (2) the actual or perceived relationship to the spread of COVID-19 of any person because of that characteristic.

The bill requires DOJ to issue guidance for state and local law enforcement agencies on how to establish online hate crime reporting processes in multiple languages and how to expand culturally competent education campaigns. Additionally, DOJ and the Department of Health and Human Services must issue guidance on best practices for mitigating racially discriminatory language in describing the COVID-19 pandemic.

What's happening now March 11, 2021

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Committees of jurisdiction 1