Commission advances 2024—2025 annual report and delegates edits after discussion on faith-based gaps

The California Commission on the State of Hate voted unanimously among those present to advance its 2024—2025 annual report and to delegate non-substantive edits to staff and commission leadership, after commissioners and public commenters urged inclusion of additional items.

Assistant Deputy Director Alec Watts summarized substantive edits made to the draft since March, including a new "patterns and trends in major cities" section, CHIS visualizations and methodological notes, additional data points on fatal violence against transgender people and Stop AAPI Hate survey results, and two new appendices. Watts told the commission staff will add an executive summary, letters and final formatting before submitting the report to the governor's office.

Commissioner (speaker 10) moved to advance the report and to delegate non-substantive changes to staff, the chair and vice chair, while asking staff to "take into consideration what's been shared in this meeting and determine where to put it in the report," including material on AB 3024 (Stop Hate Littering Act). Staff recorded the motion as seconded and conducted a roll-call vote; the chair counted six ayes and the motion passed.

Public input and requested additions: A representative of the Hindu American Foundation urged the commission to address anti-Hindu attacks and a Chino Hills vandalism incident that community members say is not fully captured in state counts. Vice Chair Jansky recommended adding a section tracking AB 3024 (Assemblymember Chris Ward) and asked staff to monitor its effects on reporting. Chair Brian Levin said the commission would endeavor to address enumeration gaps for faith communities.

What passed: The commission's motion advances the draft report to final design and submission while delegating authority to staff leadership to make non-substantive edits and to incorporate the meeting's substantive suggestions where appropriate. Alec Watts described the process used last year and noted delegation of editorial changes has been used to forward the report to the governor's office in prior cycles.

Next steps: Staff will finalize the report's executive summary, citations and graphics, incorporate any agreed-upon material (including a short summary of AB 3024 if staff and the chair decide it fits), and then transmit the finalized document to the governor's office per the commission's process.