The bill amends existing Washington state law to explicitly include "political affiliation" as a protected category in the definition of hate crimes. It modifies RCW 9A.36.078 and RCW 9A.36.080 to recognize that crimes motivated by bias against an individual's political beliefs are serious and increasing, similar to other forms of discrimination based on race, religion, gender, and other characteristics. The bill also aims to rename the offense of malicious harassment to "hate crime offense" and establishes a multidisciplinary working group to recommend best practices for identifying and responding to hate crimes.

Additionally, the bill outlines specific actions that constitute a hate crime offense, such as assault, property damage, and threats, when motivated by bias against the victim's protected characteristics, including political affiliation. It clarifies that words alone do not constitute a hate crime unless they are contextualized as threats. The legislation also specifies that the commission of a hate crime is classified as a class C felony, and it allows for separate prosecution of any other crimes committed during the hate crime. Overall, the bill seeks to enhance protections for individuals targeted due to their political beliefs and other characteristics, while also addressing the growing concern of hate crimes in Washington state.

Statutes affected:
Original bill: 9A.36.078, 9A.36.080