AB 1535: Hate crimes: political affiliation.

This bill aims to expand the definition of hate crimes to include crimes motivated by a victim's political affiliation. The law currently defines hate crimes as acts committed because of characteristics like race, religion, disability, and sexual orientation. The new law would allow courts to consider the defendant's motivation, in whole or in part, by the victim's political affiliation as a circumstance in aggravation of the crime. This means that if a person is convicted of a felony motivated by the victim's political affiliation, the punishment could be increased. The bill would also require the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs, but would not require reimbursement for a specified reason.