Hate crimes: peace officers.

Existing law defines "hate crime" as a criminal act committed, in whole or in part, because of actual or perceived characteristics of the victim, including, among other things, race, religion, disability, and sexual orientation. Under existing law, that definition applies unless an explicit provision of law or the context clearly requires a different meaning. 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. 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 add status as a peace officer to the list of actual or perceived characteristics necessary to determine whether a criminal act qualifies as a hate crime. By expanding the scope of an existing crime and by expanding the information that law enforcement agencies report to the Department of Justice and disseminate to crime victims and the public, 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.