S.F. No. 4548 Summary

• Expands bias crime definitions to include crimes motivated by victim's actual or perceived gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, and marital status; includes crimes motivated by victim's association with persons of protected categories.

• Enhances penalties for bias-motivated assault, property damage, and harassment by increasing statutory maximum sentences by 25 percent for felony assaults and creating new felony offenses for certain property damage and harassment cases motivated by bias.

• Requires peace officers to report all suspected bias-motivated crimes to department heads and mandates the Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training to prepare and update training courses every three years in identifying, responding to, and reporting bias crimes.

• Directs the Commissioner of Human Rights to solicit and compile reports from community organizations, school districts, and individuals regarding suspected bias crimes and to maintain data on the nature and extent of bias crimes.

• Appropriates unspecified amounts for fiscal years 2022-2023 to support victim services, community organization grants for data collection, and Commissioner of Human Rights operations related to bias crime reporting and community support.