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Civil Rights Department seeks one more year for California Versus Hate and staff to enforce new laws
Summary
The Civil Rights Department asked the committee for one‑year funding extension for the California Versus Hate hotline and for staff to implement recently passed laws expanding local antidiscrimination authority and shifting certain worker protections to the department.
The Civil Rights Department told the subcommittee it needs an additional year of funding for California Versus Hate and staffing to implement new statutory responsibilities.
Director Kevin Kish described California Versus Hate as a statewide care‑coordination and reporting program that helps residents who experience hate incidents access local services, legal help and victim resources. Kish said the program has received thousands of contacts and that representative survey work suggests hate incidents are substantially underreported to law enforcement.
Statutory changes and staffing requests: Kish said AB 2499 shifted certain worker protections into the department's enforcement authority and that SB 1340 lifted a prior preemption, allowing local jurisdictions to enforce certain local nondiscrimination ordinances. The department asked for three staff to handle the additional workload from AB 2499 and for continued funding for California Versus Hate.
Scope and outcomes: Kish told members that initial program volumes are steady and that roughly two‑thirds of callers request care coordination (mental health, legal or other community services). He said CalvsHate partners with community providers to follow up and help callers through services and potential law enforcement reporting if desired.
Questions and next steps: Members asked about call volumes, evidence of trends, and how CalVsHate differs from law enforcement or the Attorney General's role. Kish said the program focuses on linking survivors to civil‑rights resources and services rather than criminal prosecution. Committee members said continued funding would likely be considered with the budget but flagged the need to align the program's statutory funding horizon with the Commission on the State of Hate's work and other statewide efforts to monitor and respond to hate incidents.
Ending: The committee acknowledged the scale of demand and asked for clarified metrics of program outcomes and costs in any budget proposal for ongoing funding.
