S. 728Senate117th Congress (2021-2023)In Committee

COVID–19 Hate Crimes Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated February 8, 2026 at 12:11 AM UTC

The COVID‑19 Hate Crimes Act creates a dedicated DOJ official to speed up the review of hate crimes linked to the pandemic. It defines a COVID‑19 hate crime as violent conduct motivated by a person’s identity and perceived connection to COVID‑19 spread. The law also requires the Attorney General to issue guidance for state and local police on online reporting, multilingual resources, and public education, and to work with HHS and community groups on best practices for reducing discriminatory language. The bill mainly affects federal, state and local law‑enforcement agencies and communities targeted by such hate crimes.

Key Provisions

Within 14 days, the Attorney General must appoint a DOJ officer whose sole job is to expedite review of COVID‑19 hate crimes for a period of at least one year after the declared emergency ends.
Defines a “COVID‑19 hate crime” as a violent crime motivated by a victim’s race, ethnicity, age, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, disability, and perceived link to COVID‑19 spread.
Requires the Attorney General to issue guidance to state and local law‑enforcement agencies on setting up multilingual online hate‑crime reporting and on expanding culturally competent public‑education campaigns and data collection.
Mandates the Attorney General and HHS, together with the COVID‑19 Health Equity Task Force and community groups, to provide guidance on avoiding racially discriminatory language when describing the pandemic.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

March 11, 2021

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

March 11, 2021

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

March 11, 2021

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about S. 728 on the floor

1 Democrat

Sen. Amy KlobucharD-MN · Apr 14, 2021

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for the legislative activities report of the Committee on Rules and Administration during the 116th Congress be printed in the Congressional Record.

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued March 11, 2021

117th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 728

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

March 11, 2021

Ms. Hirono (for herself, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Markey, Mr. Menendez, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Warner) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To facilitate the expedited review of COVID–19 hate crimes, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the COVID–19 Hate Crimes Act.

Review of COVID–19 hate crimes

(a)

In general

Not later than 14 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall designate an officer or employee of the Department of Justice whose sole responsibility during the applicable period shall be to facilitate the expedited review of COVID–19 hate crimes and reports of any such crime to Federal, State, or local law enforcement agencies.

(b)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

Applicable period

The term applicable period means the period beginning on the date on which the officer or employee is designated under subsection (a), and ending on the date that is 1 year after the date on which the emergency period described in subparagraph (B) of section 1135(g)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–5(g)(1)) ends, except that the Attorney General may extend such period as appropriate.

(2)

COVID–19 hate crime

The term COVID–19 hate crime means a crime of violence (as such term is defined in section 16 of title 18, United States Code) that is motivated by—

(A)

the actual or perceived race, ethnicity, age, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability of any person; and

(B)

the actual or perceived relationship to the spread of COVID–19 of any person because of the characteristic described in subparagraph (A).

Guidance

(a)

Guidance for law enforcement agencies

The Attorney General shall issue guidance for State and local law enforcement agencies on how to—

(1)

establish online reporting of hate crimes or incidents, and to have online reporting available in multiple languages as determined by the Attorney General; and

(2)

expand culturally competent and linguistically appropriate public education campaigns, and collection of data and public reporting of hate crimes.

(b)

Guidance relating to COVID–19 pandemic

The Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the COVID–19 Health Equity Task Force and community-based organizations, shall issue guidance describing best practices to mitigate racially discriminatory language in describing the COVID–19 pandemic.