S. 3724

119 S3724 IS: Improving Reporting to Prevent Hate Act of 2026
 U.S. Senate
 2026-01-29
 text/xml
 EN
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 II  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  S. 3724  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   January 29, 2026   Ms. Hirono  (for herself and  Ms. Collins ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary    A BILL
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include certain reporting to the uniform crime reporting program.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Improving Reporting to Prevent Hate Act of 2026  .
2.
Requirement to credibly report hate crimes
Section 505 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 34 U.S.C. 10156 ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(j)
Requirement to credibly report hate crimes
(1)
Evaluation for reporting on hate crimes
Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of the  Improving Reporting to Prevent Hate Act of 2026 , using the data acquired by the Attorney General in accordance with the Hate Crimes Statistics Act ( 34 U.S.C. 41305 ), the Attorney General shall establish a method of evaluating, and thereafter shall use the method to evaluate, whether a covered jurisdiction is credibly reporting hate crimes, including whether, for each year, a covered jurisdiction—
(A)
has not reported hate crime data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation; or
(B)
has reported zero hate crime incidents to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(2)
Eligibility
(A)
In general
A covered jurisdiction that is found, through an evaluation under paragraph (1), not to have credibly reported hate crimes for a year shall not be eligible for an allocation under this section for the fiscal year beginning after that year.
(B)
Exception
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a covered jurisdiction that is found, through an evaluation under paragraph (1), not to have credibly reported hate crimes for a year if the Attorney General certifies that the covered jurisdiction has conducted significant community public education and awareness initiatives on hate crimes.
(3)
Annual report
Each year, the Attorney General shall publish on the internet website of the Department of Justice a report on the covered jurisdictions certified under paragraph (2)(B).
(4)
Definitions
For purposes of this subsection:
(A)
Covered jurisdiction
The term  covered jurisdiction  means a unit of local government that has requested a grant under this subpart and has a population of more than 100,000 people.
(B)
Has conducted significant community public education and awareness initiatives on hate crimes
The term  has conducted significant community public education and awareness initiatives on hate crimes , with respect to a covered jurisdiction, means the covered jurisdiction—
(i)
has—
(I)
made substantial progress towards comprehensive reporting of hate crimes;
(II)
adopted a policy on identifying, investigating, and reporting hate crimes; and
(III)
developed a standardized system of collecting and analyzing hate crimes and reporting hate crimes to the National Incident-Based Reporting System of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; or
(ii)
has—
(I)
established a unit or liaison specialized in identifying, investigating, and reporting hate crimes and engaging in community relations functions related to preventing hate crimes; or
(II)
conducted regular public meetings or educational forums on the impact of hate crimes, services available to victims of hate crimes, and any relevant Federal, State, or local laws related to hate crimes.
(C)
Hate crime
The term  hate crime  means—
(i)
an act described in section 1(b)(1) of the Hate Crime Statistics Act ( 34 U.S.C. 41305(b)(1) ); and
(ii)
an act in violation of section 241, 245, 247, or 249 of title 18, United States Code.
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