BILL NUMBER: S5943A
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to reporting of hate
crimes by law enforcement departments
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To ensure that hate crime data is accurately reported to Federal law
enforcement.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one: Provides a short title.
Section two: Requires law enforcement to report hate crime data in a
manner prescribed by the department.
Section three: Provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Before we can solve a problem, we need to accurately understand its
scope. This was the rationale behind the FBI's implementation of the
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Well-intentioned, the
system centralized the scattered world of hate crime reporting into a
central Federal database, allowing Federal law enforcement to trace hate
incidents in all fifty states. Unfortunately, reporting to this system,
which comes from local police departments, has been spotty and unreli-
able.
Many police departments have not reported their data to the FBI, largely
due to administrative and technical hurdles. The older system used to
report these crimes leaves out critical data about the time, place, and
nature of the hate crime. As a result of this lack of understanding as
to where hate crimes truly occur, resources (both local and Federal) are
misappropriated.
This bill requires police departments to report to Federal law enforce-
ment, while also allowing DCJS to set the specifics of the timeline and
implementation, so as to not add undue burdens to law enforcement in
situations where their technical resources are limited.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on January 1, 2026.