Hate crimes: vertical prosecution.

Existing law defines a "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. 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 establishes the intent of the Legislature to encourage counties, cities, law enforcement agencies, and school districts to establish education and training programs to prevent hate crimes and to assist victims. This bill would require the Department of Justice to establish a grant program for the purpose of creating, supporting, or expanding vertical prosecution units for the prosecutions of hate crimes. The bill would authorize the department to provide one-time grants, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to selected prosecutorial agencies in a manner and in an amount determined by the department. The bill would require the department to administer the grant program, as specified. The bill would require grant recipients to report specified information to the department by no later than July 1, 2028, and would require the department to compile that information and report to the Legislature by no later than July 1, 2029.