S. 728 117th Congress Senate

COVID–19 Hate Crimes Act

Official title: A bill to facilitate the expedited review of COVID-19 hate crimes, and for other purposes.

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

Crime and Law Enforcement Cardiovascular and respiratory healthCrime preventionCrime victimsCriminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation

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Criminal justice information and recordsDepartment of JusticeDisability and health-based discriminationEmergency medical services and trauma careExecutive agency funding and structureFederal officialsForeign language and bilingual programsHate crimesInfectious and parasitic diseasesRacial and ethnic relationsReligionSex, gender, sexual orientation discriminationState and local government operations

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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

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Latest action March 11, 2021

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

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.

Related & companion bills 3

Bill text 1 version

Introduced in Senate Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

Committees of jurisdiction 1

Judiciary Committee
Senate

Cosponsors 13

Blumenthal, Richard

Connecticut · Mar 11, 2021

Booker, Cory A.

New Jersey · Mar 11, 2021

Cantwell, Maria

Washington · Mar 11, 2021

Duckworth, Tammy

Illinois · Mar 11, 2021

Durbin, Richard J.

Illinois · Mar 11, 2021

Kaine, Tim

Virginia · Mar 11, 2021

Klobuchar, Amy

Minnesota · Mar 11, 2021

Markey, Edward J.

Massachusetts · Mar 11, 2021

Murray, Patty

Washington · Mar 11, 2021

Padilla, Alex

California · Mar 11, 2021

Rosen, Jacky

Nevada · Mar 11, 2021

Van Hollen, Chris

Maryland · Mar 11, 2021

Warner, Mark R.

Virginia · Mar 11, 2021

Cite this page click to expand

APA

U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 728: COVID–19 Hate Crimes Act. 117th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-728/

MLA

"S. 728: COVID–19 Hate Crimes Act." 117th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-728/.

Bluebook (legal)

S. 728, 117th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-728/.

Markdown link

[S. 728: COVID–19 Hate Crimes Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-728/)