| 2 | 2 | | 2025 Page1of4 |
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| 3 | 3 | | H.118 |
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| 4 | 4 | | IntroducedbyRepresentativesArsenaultofWillistonandLaLondeofSouth |
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| 5 | 5 | | Burlington |
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| 6 | 6 | | ReferredtoCommitteeon |
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| 7 | 7 | | Date: |
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| 8 | 8 | | Subject:Crimesandcriminalprocedure;hate-motivatedcrimes |
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| 9 | 9 | | Statementofpurposeofbillasintroduced:Thisbillproposestoexpandthe |
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| 10 | 10 | | scopeofhate-motivatedcrimestoincludeunlawfulconductdirectedatagroup |
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| 11 | 11 | | ofparticularpersonsratherthanjustasingularvictim. |
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| 12 | 12 | | Anactrelatingtoexpandingthescopeofhate-motivatedcrimes |
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| 13 | 13 | | ItisherebyenactedbytheGeneralAssemblyoftheStateofVermont: |
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| 14 | 14 | | Sec.1.13V.S.A.§ 1455isamendedtoread: |
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| 15 | 15 | | §1455.HATE-MOTIVATEDCRIMES |
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| 16 | 16 | | (a)Apersonwhocommits,causestobecommitted,orattemptstocommit |
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| 17 | 17 | | anycrimeandwhoseconductismotivated,inwholeorinpart,bythevictim’s |
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| 18 | 18 | | anotherperson’soragroupofparticularpersons’actualorperceived |
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| 19 | 19 | | membershipinaprotectedcategoryshallbesubjecttothefollowingpenalties: |
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| 38 | 38 | | (1)Ifthemaximumpenaltyfortheunderlyingcrimeisoneyearorless, |
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| 39 | 39 | | thepenaltyforaviolationofthissectionshallbeimprisonmentfornotmore |
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| 40 | 40 | | thantwoyearsorafineofnotmorethan$2,000.00,orboth. |
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| 41 | 41 | | (2)Ifthemaximumpenaltyfortheunderlyingcrimeismorethanone |
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| 42 | 42 | | yearbutlessthanfiveyears,thepenaltyforaviolationofthissectionshallbe |
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| 43 | 43 | | imprisonmentfornotmorethanfiveyearsorafineofnotmorethan |
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| 44 | 44 | | $10,000.00,orboth. |
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| 45 | 45 | | (3)Ifthemaximumpenaltyfortheunderlyingcrimeisfiveyearsor |
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| 46 | 46 | | more,thepenaltyfortheunderlyingcrimeshallapply;however,thecourt |
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| 47 | 47 | | shallconsiderthemotivationofthedefendantasafactorinsentencing. |
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| 48 | 48 | | (b)Thevictim’sAperson’soragroupofparticularpersons’actualor |
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| 49 | 49 | | perceivedmembershipinaprotectedcategoryorcategoriesneednotbethe |
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| 50 | 50 | | predominantreasonorthesolereasonforthedefendant’sconduct. |
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| 51 | 51 | | (c)Asusedinthissection,“protectedcategory”includesrace,color, |
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| 52 | 52 | | religion,nationalorigin,sex,ancestry,age,serviceintheU.S.ArmedForces |
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| 53 | 53 | | ortheNationalGuard,disabilityasdefinedby21V.S.A.§495d(5),sexual |
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| 54 | 54 | | orientation,genderidentity,andperceivedmembershipinanysuchgroup. |
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| 55 | 55 | | Sec.2.EFFECTIVEDATE |
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| 56 | 56 | | ThisactshalltakeeffectonJuly1,2025. |
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| 57 | 57 | | Sec.1.13V.S.A.§ 1455isamendedtoread: |
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| 58 | 58 | | §1455.HATE-MOTIVATEDCRIMES |
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| 79 | 79 | | (a)Apersonwhocommits,causestobecommitted,orattemptstocommit |
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| 80 | 80 | | anycrimeandwhoseconductismotivated,inwholeorinpart,bythevictim’s |
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| 81 | 81 | | anotherperson’soragroupofpersons’actualorperceivedmembershipina |
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| 82 | 82 | | protectedcategoryshallbesubjecttothefollowingpenalties: |
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| 83 | 83 | | (1)Ifthemaximumpenaltyfortheunderlyingcrimeisoneyearorless, |
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| 84 | 84 | | thepenaltyforaviolationofthissectionshallbeimprisonmentfornotmore |
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| 85 | 85 | | thantwoyearsorafineofnotmorethan$2,000.00,orboth. |
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| 86 | 86 | | (2)Ifthemaximumpenaltyfortheunderlyingcrimeismorethanone |
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| 87 | 87 | | yearbutlessthanfiveyears,thepenaltyforaviolationofthissectionshallbe |
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| 88 | 88 | | imprisonmentfornotmorethanfiveyearsorafineofnotmorethan |
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| 89 | 89 | | $10,000.00,orboth. |
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| 90 | 90 | | (3)Ifthemaximumpenaltyfortheunderlyingcrimeisfiveyearsor |
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| 91 | 91 | | more,thepenaltyfortheunderlyingcrimeshallapply;however,thecourtshall |
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| 92 | 92 | | considerthemotivationofthedefendantasafactorinsentencing. |
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| 93 | 93 | | (b)Thevictim’sAperson’soragroupofpersons’actualorperceived |
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| 94 | 94 | | membershipinaprotectedcategoryorcategoriesneednotbethepredominant |
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| 95 | 95 | | reasonorthesolereasonforthedefendant’sconduct. |
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| 96 | 96 | | (c)Asusedinthissection,“protectedcategory”includesrace,color, |
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| 97 | 97 | | religion,nationalorigin,sex,ancestry,age,serviceintheU.S.ArmedForces |
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| 98 | 98 | | ortheNationalGuard,disabilityasdefinedby21V.S.A.§495d(5),sexual |
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