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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1294 FILED ON: 1/18/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1704
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Tram T. Nguyen and Bud L. Williams
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to reform the hate crime statutes.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Tram T. Nguyen18th Essex1/14/2023Bud L. Williams11th Hampden1/18/2023James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol1/27/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex1/31/2023 1 of 6
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1294 FILED ON: 1/18/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1704
By Representatives Nguyen of Andover and Williams of Springfield, a petition (accompanied by
bill, House, No. 1704) of Tram T. Nguyen, Bud L. Williams and others for legislation to reform
the hate crime statutes. The Judiciary.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act to reform the hate crime statutes.
Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to
reform existing statutes pertaining to hate crimes, therefore it is hereby declared to be an
emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public safety.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 222 of chapter 6 of the General Laws, as amended by chapter 30 of
2the Acts of 2021, is hereby amended by inserting, in line XX, after the words “section 39 of
3chapter 265” the words:- (vi) identify and recommend best practices for hate crime prevention,
4restorative justice programs, culturally competent outreach and reporting mechanisms, and data
5collection for both adults and juveniles, including those that can be implemented by police,
6prosecutors, judges, school officials, state agencies, community groups and others;
7 SECTION 2. Said section 222 of said chapter 6 is hereby further amended by striking, in
8line XX, the number “(vi)” and replacing it with:- (vii)
9 SECTION 3. Chapter 22C of the General Laws as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition
10is hereby amended by striking section 33 and replacing it with the following section:- 2 of 6
11 (a) The crime reporting unit shall quarterly obtain hate crime data from state, local, and
12campus police, and other law enforcement agencies as well as hate crime information and reports
13voluntarily produced by non law-enforcement entities such as community groups, advocacy
14groups, and civil rights agencies. All police departments and law enforcement agencies shall
15submit reports of hate crimes to the unit.
16 (b) The colonel shall promulgate regulations to standardize and centralize the submission
17and collection of hate crime data. Said regulations shall include, but not be limited to, the
18following: (1) establishment of a central repository for the collection and analysis of hate crime
19data and, upon the establishment of such repository, the crime reporting unit shall be responsible
20for collecting, analyzing, classifying and reporting such data, and shall maintain this information
21in the central repository; (2) procedures necessary to ensure effective data-gathering and
22preservation and protection of confidential information, and the disclosure of information in
23accordance with section thirty-five; (3) procedures for the solicitation, submission and
24acceptance of hate crime incident reports and the information to be included in such reports by
25law enforcement agencies, which shall include, but not be limited to, the demographic
26information of the alleged offender(s), the perceived protected characteristic(s) for which the
27victim(s) was targeted, and the actual protected characteristic(s) of the victim(s), if provided by
28the victim(s); (4) procedures for assessing the credibility and accuracy of reports of hate crime
29data from law enforcement agencies; and (5) procedures for the collection of hate crime
30information and reports voluntarily produced by non law-enforcement entities such as
31community groups, advocacy groups, and civil rights agencies.
32 SECTION 4. Section 34 of said chapter 22C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
33inserting after the word “shall” in line XX, the following words:- quarterly and annually. 3 of 6
34 SECTION 5. Chapter 265 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking section 37.
35 SECTION 6. Said chapter 265, as so appearing, is hereby further amended, by striking
36section 39 and replacing it with the following section:-
37 Section 39. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the
38following meanings: --
39 “Because of”, conduct would not have happened but for the actual or perceived protected
40characteristic(s), as defined in this section, of any person or group, regardless of the presence or
41absence of other motivating factors. The actual or perceived protected characteristic(s) need not
42be a substantial, predominant, or the sole reason for the conduct.
43 “Bodily injury”, substantial impairment of the physical condition, including, but not
44limited to, any burn, fracture of any bone, subdural hematoma, injury to any internal organ, or
45injury which occurs as the result of harm to any bodily function or organ, including human skin.
46 “Free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured by the constitution or laws
47of the Commonwealth or by the constitution or laws of the United States”, any recognized right
48protected by the Constitution or laws of Massachusetts or the United States, including those
49protected by statute, the common law, and regulations. A person need not be completely
50prevented from exercising a right for that right to have been infringed upon.
51 “Harasses”, willfully and maliciously engages in a knowing pattern of conduct or a series
52of acts over a period of time, directed at a specific person, which seriously alarms that person
53and would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress, and that conduct is
54not otherwise protected by law. Harassment includes, but is not limited to, conduct or acts 4 of 6
55conducted by mail or by use of a telephonic or telecommunication device or electronic
56communication device including, but not limited to, any device that transfers signs, signals,
57writing, images, sounds, data or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a
58wire, radio, electromagnetic, photo-electronic or photo-optical system, including, but not limited
59to, electronic mail, internet communications, instant messages or facsimile communications.
60 “Protected characteristic”, the race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, immigration
61status, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or disability, of any
62person or group.
63 “Threatens”, threatening to commit a crime against the person or property of another,
64presently or in the future, whether the threat is delivered to the purported target of the threatened
65injury or to a third party.
66 (b) No person, whether or not acting under color of law, shall by force or threat of force,
67willfully injure, intimidate, or interfere with, or attempt to injure, intimidate or interfere with, or
68oppress or threaten any other person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege
69secured to them by the constitution or laws of the commonwealth or by the constitution or laws
70of the United States. Any person convicted of violating this provision shall be fined not more
71than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year or both; and if bodily injury
72results, shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars or by imprisonment for
73not more than ten years, or both.
74 (c) Whoever willfully threatens, harasses or assaults any other person because of the
75actual or perceived protected characteristic of any person or group, shall be punished by a fine of 5 of 6
76not more than five thousand dollars or by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more
77than two and one-half years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
78 (d) Whoever violates subsection (c) during the commission of a battery shall be punished
79by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the state prison for not
80more than five years or in the house of correction for not more than two and one-half years, or by
81both such fine and imprisonment; and if bodily injury results, shall be punished by a fine of not
82more than ten thousand dollars or by imprisonment in state prison for not more than five years,
83or by both such fine and imprisonment.
84 (e) Whoever damages, converts, or takes and carries away real or personal property of
85another with the intent to intimidate, threaten or harass a person because of that person’s
86protected characteristic, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars or
87imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than two and one-half years, or by both such
88fine and imprisonment. The court may also order restitution to the victim in any amount up to
89three times the value of property damage sustained by the owners of such property; provided,
90however if restitution is ordered under the provisions of this section such restitution shall be used
91to repair the damage done to the property.
92 (f) Whoever violates subsection (c) or subsection (d) or subsection (e) while using a
93dangerous weapon shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than ten
94years or in the house of correction for not more than two and one-half years, or by both such fine
95and imprisonment. 6 of 6
96 (g) Whoever is convicted of a second or subsequent offense of violating subsection (d)
97while using a dangerous weapon and which results in bodily injury shall be punished by
98imprisonment in the state prison for no more than 20 years.
99 (h) Whoever conspires with another person to violate any provision of this section shall
100be punished by imprisonment or fine, or both; provided, however punishment shall not exceed
101the maximum punishment prescribed for the offense, the commission of which was the object of
102the conspiracy. (i) An act done with specific intent to commit an offense under this section that
103amounts to more than mere preparation, even though failing to effect its commission, shall be an
104attempt to commit that offense and shall be punished by imprisonment or fine, or both; provided
105however, punishment shall not exceed the maximum punishment prescribed for the offense.
106 (j) Where appropriate, actions arising out of subsections (c) through (i) inclusive, shall be
107eligible for community-based restorative justice program pursuant to chapter 276B, or for
108participation in a community-based restorative justice program as a term of probation or as
109otherwise ordered by the court.
110 SECTION 7. Section 3 of chapter 276B is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof
111the following:- Notwithstanding the preceding, any person charged pursuant to section 39 of
112chapter 265 shall be eligible to participate in a community-based restorative justice program.
113 SECTION 8. This act shall take effect upon passage.