1.This Act may be cited as the
National Hate Crimes Hotline Act of
2009
.
2.Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)On December 7, 2008, Jose Sucuzhañay, an
Ecuadorian-born real estate agent and father of two, was beaten to death in
Brooklyn while walking with his brother, who was visiting from Ecuador. Three
men with baseball bats attacked the brothers while shouting anti-gay and
anti-Hispanic slurs.
(2)Marcelo Lucero, 37
years of age, came to the United States from Ecuador in 1993. He settled in
Patchogue, New York, a middle-class village in central Long Island. He worked
in a dry cleaning store and sent his savings home to his mother, a cancer
survivor, whom he had not seen since he left 16 years ago. On the night of
November 8, 2008, shortly before midnight, seven teenagers got out of their car
and taunted Lucero with racist slurs as he walked home. They then beat and
murdered Marcelo Lucero. According to the indictment, the boys set out that
night to find someone of Hispanic heritage to assault.
(3)The number of hate
groups in the United States has increased by 54 percent over the past 8
years.
(4)In 2008, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation reported a 6 percent rise in the number of hate
crimes against gay, lesbian, and transgender people.
(5)According to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, attacks on Hispanics grew 40 percent from 2003 to 2007, even
though the Hispanic population only grew 16 percent in the same time period and
the total number of hate crimes has remained steady.
3.National Hate
Crime Hotline and hate crime information and assistance website
(a)The Attorney General
may award one or more grants to private, nonprofit entities—
(1)to provide for the
establishment and operation of a national, toll-free telephone hotline to
provide information and assistance to victims of hate crimes (hereafter in this
section referred to as the national hate crime hotline
; and
(2)to provide for the
establishment and operation of a highly secure Internet website to provide that
information and assistance to such victims (hereafter in this section referred
to as the hate crime information and assistance website
).
(b)A
grant under this section may extend over a period of not more than 5
years.
(c)The provision of
payments under a grant awarded under this section shall be subject to annual
approval by the Attorney General and subject to the availability of
appropriations for each fiscal year to make the payments.
(d)An entity that receives a grant under this section for
activities described, in whole or in part, in subsection (a)(1) shall use funds
made available through the grant to establish and operate a national hate crime
hotline. In establishing and operating the hotline, the entity shall—
(1)contract with a
carrier for the use of a toll-free telephone line;
(2)employ, train,
(including technology training), and supervise personnel to answer incoming
calls and provide counseling and referral services to callers on a
24-hour-a-day basis;
(3)assemble and
maintain a current database of information relating to services for victims of
hate crimes to which callers throughout the United States may be referred;
(4)publicize the national hate crime hotline
to potential users throughout the United States; and
(5)be prohibited from asking hotline callers
about their citizenship status.
(e)Secure Website
Activities
(1)An entity that receives a grant under this section for
activities described, in whole or in part, in subsection (a)(2) shall use funds
made available through the grant to provide grants for startup and operational
costs associated with establishing and operating a hate crime information and
assistance website.
(2)The
hate crime information and assistance website shall be available to the entity
operating the national hate crime hotline.
(3)The
hate crime information and assistance website shall provide accurate
information that describes the services available to victims of hate crimes,
including health care and mental health services, social services,
transportation, and other relevant services.
(4)Nothing in this
section shall be construed to require any shelter or service provider, whether
public or private, to be linked to the hate crime information and assistance
website or to provide information to the recipient of the grant described in
paragraph (1) or to the website.
(f)The
Attorney General may not award a grant under this section unless the Attorney
General approves an application for such grant. To be approved by the Attorney
General under this subsection an application shall—
(1)contain such agreements, assurances, and
information, be in such form, and be submitted in such manner, as the Attorney
General shall prescribe through notice in the Federal Register;
(2)in the case of an
application for a grant to carry out activities described in subsection (a)(1),
include a complete description of the applicant’s plan for the operation of a
national hate crime hotline, including descriptions of—
(A)the training
program for hotline personnel, including technology training to ensure that all
persons affiliated with the hotline are able to effectively operate any
technological systems used by the hotline;
(B)the hiring
criteria for hotline personnel;
(C)the methods for
the creation, maintenance, and updating of a resource database;
(D)a plan for
publicizing the availability of the hotline;
(E)a plan for
providing service to non-English speaking callers, including service through
hotline personnel who speak Spanish; and
(F)a plan for facilitating access to the
hotline by persons with hearing impairments;
(3)in the case of an
application for a grant to carry out activities described in subsection
(a)(2)—
(A)include a complete
description of the applicant’s plan for the development, operation,
maintenance, and updating of information and resources of the hate crime
information and assistance website;
(B)include a
certification that the applicant will implement a high level security system to
ensure the confidentiality of the website, taking into consideration the safety
of hate crime victims; and
(C)include an
assurance that, after the third year of the website project, the recipient of
the grant will develop a plan to secure other public or private funding
resources to ensure the continued operation and maintenance of the
website;
(4)demonstrate that
the applicant has recognized expertise in the area of hate crimes and a record
of high quality service to victims of hate crimes, including a demonstration of
support from advocacy groups;
(5)demonstrate that the applicant has a
commitment to diversity, and to the provision of services to ethnic, racial,
religious, and non-English speaking minorities, in addition to older
individuals, individuals with disabilities, and individuals of various gender,
gender identity, and sexual orientation; and
(6)contain such other
information as the Attorney General may require.
(g)For purposes of this
Act, the term hate crime means a crime in which the defendant
intentionally selects a victim, or in the case of a property crime, the
property that is the object of the crime, because of the actual or perceived
race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, gender identity,
disability, or sexual orientation of any person.
(h)Authorization of
Appropriations
(1)There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $3,500,000 for each of fiscal
years 2010 through 2014.
(2)Of
the amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for a year, not less than 10
percent shall be used for purposes of carrying out subsection (a)(2).
(3)Funds
authorized to be appropriated under paragraph (1) may remain available until
expended.
4.Local law
enforcement education and training grant program
(a)The Attorney General
may award grants to eligible State and local law enforcement entities for
educational and training programs on solving hate crimes (as defined in section
1(g)) and establishing community dialogues with groups whose members are
at-risk of being victims of such hate crimes.
(b)To be eligible to receive a grant under
subsection (a), a State or local law enforcement entity must be in compliance
with reporting requirements applicable to such entity pursuant to the Hate
Crimes Statistics Act (28 U.S.C. 534 note).
(c)Authorization of
appropriationsThere is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section such sums as are necessary for fiscal year 2010 and each
succeeding fiscal year.
5.Local resources
to combat hate crimes grant program
(a)The Attorney General
shall establish a grant program within the Office for Victims of Crime in the
Office of Justice Programs, under which the Attorney General may award grants
to local community based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and
faith-based organizations to establish or expand local programs and activities
that serve targeted areas and that provide legal, health (including physical
and mental health), and other support services to victims of hate crimes (as
defined in section (1)(g)). Grant funds may be used for activities including
hiring counselors and providing training, resources, language support services,
and information to such victims.
(b)For purposes of this section, the term targeted
area means an area with a demonstrated lack of resources, as determined
by the Attorney General, for victims of hate crimes.
(c)None of the funds
from a grant made under this section may be used—
(1)by an organization
that discriminates against an individual on the basis of religion; or
(2)for purposes of
promoting religious beliefs or views.
(d)Authorization of
appropriationsThere is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section such sums as are necessary for fiscal year 2010 and each
succeeding fiscal year.