Our Major Hate Crime Bill Clears Assembly, Heads to Senate

By Greg deGiere, Civil Rights Advocate, The Arc of California

The most important hate crime bill of 2023 for people with disabilities and all Californians passed the Assembly 75-0 Thursday and is headed for an uncertain fate in the Senate. The Arc & UCP California Collaboration leads the diverse coalition sponsoring the bill.

AB 449 by Assemblymember Phil Ting passed after the Assembly Appropriations Committee accepted amendments proposed by the author to further strengthen the bill. It will require every law enforcement agency to adopt a hate crime policy with specific protocols guiding officers on preventing, reporting, and responding to hate crimes. As amended, it also will require the Department of Justice to review every law enforcement agency’s policy for compliance with the law.

If passed into law, AB 449 would be a huge step forward in combatting the rise in hate crimes in California, as detailed in the recent report by the Anti-Defamation League, “Hate In The Golden State”.