Improving Reporting to Prevent Hate Act of 2026
Senate Bill Would Tie Federal Police Grants to Hate Crime Reporting Requirements
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- This bill requires cities with more than 100,000 people to report hate crime data to the FBI to stay eligible for certain federal law enforcement grants. The goal is to ensure the federal government has an accurate count of hate crimes happening across the country.
- Local governments that fail to report any data or claim they have 'zero' hate crimes will be reviewed by the Attorney General. If the reporting is found to be unreliable, those cities could lose their federal funding for the following year.
- Cities can keep their funding even if their reporting is questioned if they prove they are taking the issue seriously. This includes creating special police units for hate crimes, adopting new investigation policies, or holding public meetings to educate the community.
- The Attorney General would have three years to set up a system for checking whether local reports are believable. A list of cities that receive special exceptions to keep their funding would be published online every year.
- This policy addresses a long-standing problem where many local police departments do not share hate crime information with federal authorities, making it difficult to track and prevent these crimes on a national level.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
People with criminal records who are victims of hate crimes often go uncounted in official statistics due to underreporting. Improved hate crime reporting requirements could lead to more accurate tracking of all victims, including those who might otherwise be overlooked by law enforcement. This is an indirect and modest benefit.
Milestones
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
4 articles
Hirono, Collins introduce legislation to mandate credible hate crime reporting
Sens. Hirono and Collins introduced the Improving Reporting to Prevent Hate Act to strengthen hate crime reporting. The bill conditions federal funding for cities over 100,000 on credible data reporting to the FBI, requiring improvements or community initiatives for those failing to comply.
FBI says anti-Jewish hate crimes across US hit record high in 2024
Following record-high hate crime data, the ADL called on Congress to pass the bipartisan Improved Reporting to Prevent Hate Act. The legislation would require law enforcement agencies to credibly report hate crimes to the FBI to remain eligible for certain federal funding.
What Congress Should Do About Hate Crime Statistics
This analysis examines the Improving Reporting to Prevent Hate Act, which proposes amending the JAG program's grant-allocation formulas. It would require police in major cities to prioritize hate crime reporting as a condition of receiving federal grants, targeting jurisdictions over 100,000.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Improving Reporting to Prevent Hate Act of 2026
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.