S. 909: Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act

111th Congress · introduced 2009-04-28 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2009-04-28 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Kennedy, Edward M. [D-MA] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act

Plain summary

Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act - Adopts the definition of "hate crime" as set forth in the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (i.e., a crime in which the defendant intentionally selects a victim or, in the case of a property crime, the property that is the object of the crime because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation of any person). Authorizes the Attorney General to: (1) provide state, local, or tribal law enforcement agencies with technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or other assistance in the investigation or prosecution of violent crimes and hate crimes; and (2) award grants to assist such agencies with the extraordinary expenses associated with the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes. Authorizes the Office of Justice Programs to award grants to state, local, or tribal programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Justice (DOJ), including the Community Relations Service, for FY2010-FY2012 to prevent and respond to hate crime acts. Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit willfully causing bodily injury to any person because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of such person. Amends the Hate Crimes Statistics Act to expand data collection and reporting requirements under such Act to include: (1) crimes manifesting prejudice based on gender and gender identity; and (2) hate crimes committed by and against juveniles. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the exercise of constitutionally-protected free speech.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Kennedy, Edward M. [D-MA] · 45 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Susan M. Collins (R-ME), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Patty Murray (D-WA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

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Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-111s909.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/111/s>

Record fed-us-cong111-s909 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111