Short title

This Act may be cited as the

Hate Crimes Commission Act of 2026

Findings

The Congress finds as follows:(1)The Federal Bureau of Investigation (referred to in this section as the FBI) defines a hate crime as a criminal offense, such as murder, arson, or vandalism, against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, color, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.(2)Forty-six States and the District of Columbia have statutes criminalizing various types of bias-motivated violence or intimidation.(3)Congress has enacted various statutes to address hate crimes since 1968, with the most recent statute, the COVID–19 Hate Crimes Act (Public Law 117–113; 135 Stat. 265), enacted in 2021.(4)In 2024, the FBI reported 11,323 single-bias incidents, involving 13,768 victims.(5)Hate crimes not only damage the individual victim or victims but also traumatize entire communities and erode public confidence in their safety.(6)In 2024—(A)53.2 percent of victims were targeted because of the offender’s race, ethnicity, or ancestry bias;(B)23.5 percent of victims were targeted because of the offender’s religious bias;(C)17.2 percent of victims were targeted because of the offender’s sexual orientation bias;(D)3.9 percent of victims were targeted because of the offender’s gender identity bias;(E)1.3 percent of victims were targeted because of the offender’s disability bias; and(F)0.9 percent of victims were targeted because of the offender’s gender bias.(7)In testimony before the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives in September 2020, FBI Director Christopher Wray said, Within the domestic terrorism bucket, the category as a whole, racially motivated violent extremism is, I think, the biggest bucket within that larger group. And within the racially motivated violent extremist bucket, people subscribing to some kind of white supremacist-type ideology is certainly the biggest chunk of that..(8)In August 2012, a shooting at the gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, left 6 people dead, and a seventh victim of the shooting succumbed to his injuries in 2020.(9)In June 2016, a shooting at Pulse, an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Orlando, Florida, left 49 people dead and an additional 53 people wounded.(10)In October 2018, a shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, left 11 people dead.(11)In July 2019, a Hindu priest in New York City was hospitalized after a man attacked him and screamed this is my neighborhood during the incident.(12)In August 2019, an assailant entered a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, to target Hispanic immigrants and left 22 people dead.(13)In November 2020, a woman shouted anti-Muslim slurs and attacked a couple in New York City, leaving one victim needing surgery for facial fractures.(14)In March 2021, a gunman targeted 3 spas across Atlanta, Georgia, killing 8 people, 6 of whom were Asian women.(15)In May 2022, a gunman injured 3 people after entering a Korean-owned business in Dallas, Texas, and firing 13 rounds before fleeing.(16)In May 2022, a gunman targeted a Tops supermarket located in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 people and injuring 3 others. Of the 13 victims, 11 were Black.(17)In November 2022, a gunman killed 5 people and wounded 25 others after opening fire on an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado.(18)In response to the COVID–19 pandemic, Asian Americans have suffered an increasing number of hate crimes. According to Stop AAPI Hate, nearly 11,500 hate incidents toward Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were reported between March 2020 and March 2022.(19)The Anti-Defamation League (commonly known as the ADL) annually surveys and reports anti-Semitic hate incidents across the country. In 2024, the ADL reported a 344-percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents over the previous 5 years.(20)In the original 2021 Hate Crime Statistics published by the FBI in December 2022, the FBI acknowledged the significant discrepancy in reporting from local law enforcement agencies as a result of transitioning to the National Incident-Based Reporting System. Due to the lack of reporting by local enforcement agencies, the FBI acknowledged that the 2021 Hate Crime Statistics cannot be compared reliably across years.(21)In March 2023, the FBI released supplemental data for the 2021 Hate Crime Statistics consisting of data collected through the Summary Reporting System by local law enforcement agencies.(22)Law enforcement organizations have consistently recognized the need to modernize nationwide crime reporting and related data.(23)There is a clear need for stronger action to accurately report and effectively combat hate-based attacks.

Establishment of Commission

(a)

Definition

In this section, the term civil rights community means nonprofit organizations that—(1)engage in documentation, reporting, or analysis of hate crimes or bias-motivated incidents; or(2)provide legal services or public education relating to civil rights or discrimination.(b)

Establishment

There is established the United States Commission on Hate Crimes (in this Act referred to as the Commission).(c)

Membership

(1)

Size of Commission

The Commission shall be composed of 10 members.(2)

Appointment

Members of the Commission shall be appointed in accordance with the following:(A)Two members shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate.(B)Two members shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate.(C)Two members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.(D)Two members shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives.(E)Two members shall be appointed by the Attorney General.(3)

Limitations

(A)

Background

Not more than 5 members of the Commission may be from the law enforcement community and not more than 5 members of the Commission may be from the civil rights community.(B)

Government officials

A Member of Congress or any other elected Federal, State, or local government official may not serve as a member of the Commission.(4)

Deadline

Each member of the Commission shall be appointed not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act.(d)

Meetings

(1)

First meeting

(A)

Deadline

The Commission shall hold its first meeting not later than 90 days after the date as of which all members of the Commission have been appointed under subsection (b)(2).(B)

Schedule

During its first meeting, the Commission shall develop a schedule for completion of the investigation and report required under section 4.(2)

Subsequent meetings

After the initial meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall meet bimonthly until the Commission terminates under section 5.

Duties of the Commission

(a)

Definition

In this section, the term hate crime means an offense under section 249 of title 18, United States Code.(b)

Investigation

The Commission shall investigate the following:(1)The factors, including social media and technology, that have contributed to the consistently high rate of hate crime incidents across the United States.(2)Policies or actions that law enforcement agencies might adopt or engage in to reduce the commission of hate crimes.(3)The impact of underreporting on hate crimes statistics and hate crimes prevention.(4)Ways to improve hate crimes reporting and ensure full and complete participation in the National Incident-Based Reporting System by local law enforcement agencies, including by identifying any barriers that may deter such reporting.(5)Bias prevention efforts and responses to hate crimes that are successful and possible through coordination with nonprofit organizations, local education agencies, and government entities.(6)The prevalence and rise of online hate crime incidents.(c)

Report

Not later than 1 year after the date as of which all members of the Commission have been appointed under section 3(c)(2), the Commission shall publish and submit to Congress and the President a report that sets forth the results of the investigation conducted under subsection (b) of this section, including recommendations for—(1)actions Federal agencies can take to help improve hate crimes reporting by local law enforcement agencies, as described in subsection (b)(4); and(2)bias prevention efforts and responses to hate crimes, as described in subsection (b)(5).(d)

Information from Federal agencies and other entities

Any department, agency, bureau, board, commission, office, or other instrumentality of the United States shall directly provide to the Commission, upon request, any documents, statistical data, or other information the Commission determines necessary to carry out its duties under this Act.

Sunset

The Commission shall terminate on the date that is 90 days after the date on which the Commission publishes and submits to Congress and the President the report under section 4(c).

Government Accountability Office audit

(a)

Definitions

In this section:(1)

Director

The term Director means the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.(2)

Zero-reporting agency

The term zero-reporting agency means any State, local, or Tribal law enforcement agency that reports zero hate crimes in a calendar year to the National Incident-Based Reporting System of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.(b)

Audit

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an audit of the hate crime data collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.(c)

Contents of audit

In conducting the audit under subsection (b), the Comptroller General shall—(1)assess the methodologies and procedures used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to collect and verify hate crime data; and(2)evaluate the accuracy of the data described in paragraph (1) by conducting a comparative analysis with other relevant hate crime data sources, which may include—(A)data collected by civil rights organizations serving communities frequently targeted by hate crimes; and(B)data collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics through the National Crime Victimization Survey.(d)

Report

Not later than 180 days after completing the audit under subsection (b), the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report containing—(1)the findings of the audit, including recommendations to improve the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of hate crime data received through the National Incident Bias Reporting System, which may include the use of automated systems to identify anomalies in the collected hate crime data such as— (A) a State, local, or Tribal law enforcement agency classifying as a zero-reporting agency for consecutive years; and (B)hate crime data reporting patterns from a law enforcement agency that are statistically inconsistent with hate crime data reporting patterns observed in other comparable reporting agencies; and(2)the response of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to the findings of the audit detailing any actions that the Bureau has taken or planned to take to improve the accuracy and oversight of hate crime data reporting.