BILL NUMBER: AJR 29 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 109
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 29, 2007
ADOPTED IN SENATE AUGUST 27, 2007
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 12, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 12, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 11, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Eng
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Caballero, Davis, Dymally, Laird,
Leno, Ruskin, Solorio, Adams, Aghazarian, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Berg, Berryhill, Brownley, Cook, Coto, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeSaulnier, Evans, Feuer, Fuentes, Galgiani, Garcia, Hancock,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Horton, Houston, Huffman, Jones, Karnette,
Krekorian, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Ma, Mendoza, Mullin, Nava, Nunez,
Parra, Plescia, Portantino, Price, Richardson, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Soto, Spitzer, Strickland, Swanson, Torrico, Tran, and Wolk)
(Coauthors: Senators Kehoe, Kuehl, and Migden)
JUNE 28, 2007
Relative to the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AJR 29, Eng. Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act:
hate crimes.
This measure would memorialize the Legislature's support for the
Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA), also
known as the Matthew Shepard Act, and urge the United States
Congress, including all members of the California delegation, to vote
in favor of passage of, and the President of the United States to
sign into law, legislation that strengthens the ability of federal,
state, and local governments to investigate and prosecute hate crimes
based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual
orientation, and disability.
WHEREAS, Hate crimes are acts of terror meant to intimidate and
cause fear in our communities and to deter the free exercise and
enjoyment of any rights or privileges secured by the United States
and California Constitutions, the laws of the United States, and the
laws of the State of California; and
WHEREAS, The California Department of Justice reported the
occurrence of 1,409 hate crimes in 2004 and 1,397 hate crimes in
2005; and
WHEREAS, The United States Federal Bureau of Investigations
reported 7,163 hate crime offenses in 2005; and
WHEREAS, The United States Department of Justice's National
Criminal Victimization Survey estimates that an annual average of
210,000 hate crime victimizations occurred nationally between July
2000 and December 2003; and
WHEREAS, The National Criminal Victimization Survey also indicates
that only 92,000, or less than 44 percent, of hate crime
victimizations during that time period were reported to the police;
and
WHEREAS, The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that the number
of hate groups in the United States increased from 52 active hate
organizations in 2005 to 63 active hate organizations in 2006; and
WHEREAS, The Southern Poverty Law Center also reports that the
number of hate groups in the United States continued to grow in 2006,
increasing 5 percent over the prior year to 844 total groups; and
WHEREAS, According to research by the Intelligence Project of the
Southern Poverty Law Center, there has been a 40 percent increase in
the number of hate groups since 2000, when 602 such groups existed in
the United States; and
WHEREAS, Much of the expansion of hate groups has been driven by
these groups' exploitation of the issue of illegal immigration; and
WHEREAS, The underreporting of hate crimes is the result of a
variety of factors that include the victim's lack of knowledge about
the criminal justice system, fear of retaliation, linguistic and
cultural barriers, immigration status, and prior negative experience
with governmental agencies; and
WHEREAS, The federal government possesses the authority to
investigate and prosecute hate crimes committed because of the victim'
s race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin; and
WHEREAS, According to the United States Federal Bureau of
Investigation, 13.8 percent of victims of hate crime offenses in 2005
were targeted because of a bias against a particular sexual
orientation; and
WHEREAS, Only 11 states and the District of Columbia have laws
addressing hate crimes motivated by bias against the victim's sexual
orientation and gender identity, among other protected categories;
and
WHEREAS, Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia include
coverage for disability-based crimes; and
WHEREAS, The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act
(LLEHCPA), also known as the Matthew Shepard Act, strengthens the
ability of federal, state, and local governments to investigate and
prosecute hate crimes based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender,
gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability; and
WHEREAS, The LLEHCPA provides grants to state and local
governments to combat violent crimes committed by juveniles and to
train law enforcement officers to assist in state and local
investigations and prosecutions of bias-motivated crimes; and
WHEREAS, The LLEHCPA protects rights of the accused as expressed
in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution by
prohibiting the introduction of evidence of association or expression
to prove that a crime has been committed, unless it specifically
relates to the offense charged; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature calls on the United States
Senate and the United States House of Representatives to support the
Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA), also
known as the Matthew Shepard Act; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature urge the President of the United
States to sign into law the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes
Prevention Act (LLEHCPA), also known as the Matthew Shepard Act; and
be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each
Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the
United States.