21.3110.01000
Sixty-seventh
Legislative Assembly HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 3045
of North Dakota
Introduced by
Representatives Buffalo, Sanford, Schneider, Zubke
Senator Mathern
1 A concurrent resolution directing the Legislative Management to consider studying the
2 prevalence of bias-motivated crimes committed in North Dakota on the basis of actual or
3 perceived race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, national
4 origin, or ancestry.
5 WHEREAS, North Dakota had high occurrences of bias-motivated crimes, ranking second
6 with the most per capita in 2012, 2014, and 2015; and
7 WHEREAS, North Dakota reported a five-year low of eight bias-motivated criminal offenses
8 in 2016, which had a three percent participation rate amongst North Dakota law enforcement
9 agencies in the hate crime statistics reporting program; and
10 WHEREAS, North Dakota reported seven bias-motivated criminal offenses occurring in
11 Fargo in 2017 which were uncounted in the bias-motivated crime statistics reporting program;
12 and
13 WHEREAS, North Dakota had 15 bias-motivated crimes reported in 2017, eight of which
14 were motivated by the victims' race, five by religion, and two by sexual orientation; and
15 WHEREAS, North Dakota is one of five states without a bias-motivated criminal statute;
16 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF
17 NORTH DAKOTA, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN:
18 That the Legislative Management consider studying the prevalence of bias-motivated
19 crimes committed in North Dakota on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion,
20 gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or ancestry; and
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the study must include information on the limitations of
22 existing bias-motivated crime data and the reasons for the limitations, an assessment of bias-
23 motivated crime state laws and related federal laws, and an examination of the extent law
24 enforcement officers are trained on identifying, investigating, and reporting bias-motivated
25 crimes; and
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 Sixty-seventh
Legislative Assembly
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the study must address whether law enforcement agencies
2 throughout the state are required to report bias-motivated crime data to the state and the
3 Federal Bureau of Investigation for inclusion in the annual bias-motivated crime statistics report
4 along with the protected characteristics for which the data currently is collected and transmitted;
5 and
6 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the study must include the number and percentage of law
7 enforcement agencies in the state which collect and report bias-motivated crime data; and
8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the study must assess how many accredited police
9 departments versus non-accredited police departments there are in the state and evaluate and
10 compare the required training standards between the two types of departments; and
11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the study must examine the prosecution rates for bias-
12 motivated crimes in North Dakota; and
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the study must include consultation with the Attorney
14 General, local law enforcement agencies, and nongovernmental organizations working to
15 address the issue of bias-motivated crimes in North Dakota; and
16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Legislative Management report its findings and
17 recommendations, together with any legislation required to implement the recommendations, to
18 the Sixty-eighth Legislative Assembly.
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