Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Hate Crimes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Judiciary chair seeks wording change to hate-crimes bill; committee to vote after rewrite
Summary
Committee chair said the Judiciary Committee will ask legislative counsel to remove the word "particular" from H118 and expects to vote on the revised draft tomorrow after further review; members discussed but did not agree to expand protected categories.
Chair, Judiciary Committee, said the panel will ask legislative counsel to revise H118, the hate-crimes bill, to remove the word "particular" and bring a corrected draft for a vote tomorrow.
The change is intended to clear up confusing phrasing that members said could create unintended ambiguity about who is covered. Chair said the committee had previously debated whether the term added grammatical and legal problems and that removing it would better reflect the bill’s intent.
Members discussed whether to add new protected categories to the bill. Some committee members urged against expanding the list, and one member said requests to add categories such as "immigration status" should instead be considered by other committees handling related policy. The transcript shows discussion of whether national origin could overlap with immigration-related concerns; the chair said that issue appeared to be under review in a separate committee and preferred to leave H118’s categories as currently drafted.
Ben Novogratzky, an attorney with the Office of Legislative Council, summarized the draft change: "removing the word particular from the bill." He confirmed that was the only change to be made before the committee meets again.
Members also debated whether to include service in the U.S. Armed Forces or the National Guard among protected categories. One member said that status is different from other protected characteristics and noted concerns about fitting it with the bill’s other categories; others did not press to expand the list further during this meeting.
The committee did not take a formal roll-call vote on H118 during this session. Chair said, "we will have this for a vote tomorrow," indicating the committee expects to consider the revised draft at its next meeting.
The committee posted revised language and any written correspondence online for members to review before the next session. If the committee proceeds as stated, the revision removing "particular" will be reflected in the draft brought forward for the vote.
Ending: The committee’s next action on H118 will be a vote on the revised draft expected at the following meeting; additional amendments remain possible if members submit them in time.
