Bill > H1920

This bill introduces several key provisions to combat hate and improve hate crime reporting and enforcement in Massachusetts. First, it empowers the division of civil rights and liberties to issue civil investigative demands to investigate potential violations, allowing them to request documents, written answers, and oral testimony. Second, the bill enhances legal remedies for individuals who experience discriminatory actions, allowing them to seek up to $5,000 in statutory damages and potential punitive damages if a violation involves prejudice based on characteristics like race, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. Third, the bill mandates that the state's crime reporting unit collect comprehensive hate crime data quarterly from law enforcement and voluntary sources, establishing a centralized repository with standardized reporting procedures that include detailed demographic information about alleged offenders and victims. Additionally, the bill strengthens existing hate crime statutes by expanding the definition of assault or battery motivated by bias, increasing potential penalties to include fines up to $5,000 and imprisonment for up to two and a half years. These provisions aim to improve hate crime tracking, provide more robust legal protections, and create clearer mechanisms for addressing bias-motivated incidents in the Commonwealth.

Justice

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H1920