| Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash
HARTFORD, CT — Governor Ned Lamont has proposed a legislative package to consolidate and strengthen the state’s hate crime statutes. The proposal seeks to simplify the existing laws, which have become scattered and inconsistent over the years, making it easier for law enforcement and prosecutors to charge and prosecute hate crimes.
The proposed legislation will be presented during the 2025 regular session. The proposal also aims to remove the requirement that a defendant must have acted “maliciously,” aligning Connecticut’s laws more closely with those of other states.
Lamont emphasized that hate crimes are intended to induce fear and terrorize entire groups of people, and therefore, the prosecution of such crimes must include enhanced penalties. The proposal is based on the work of the Connecticut Hate Crimes Advisory Council, which has been researching the prevalence and reporting of hate crimes in the state.
“Connecticut has led the nation in the adoption of hate crimes laws, and that is a good thing, but in order for them to be effective and for police and prosecutors to be able to use them, these laws need to be streamlined within our statutes,” the governor said. “Hate crimes are intended to induce fear and terrorize entire groups of people, and that is why the prosecution of crimes involving acts of hate must include enhanced penalties.”
The Connecticut Hate Crimes Advisory Council is an advisory body consisting of volunteers appointed by the governor who represent a wide range of community and civic groups. Recently, the group has been researching data related to the reporting of hate crimes and working with professors from UConn Law School to develop procedures and techniques for supporting the prosecution of hate crimes.
Connecticut’s hate crimes statutes date back to 1990 when the legislature established a single crime of intimidation based on bigotry or bias. Since then, the legislature has modified that law several times and created numerous other statutes addressing the prosecution of hate crimes and expanding the list of protected classes.
The Connecticut General Statutes contain about 21 existing crime laws that Lamont seeks to consolidate into one new chapter.
The governor is scheduled to deliver his annual budget address to a joint session of the General Assembly on Wednesday, February 5, 2025. On that date, documents containing the full details of his biennial budget proposal and other legislative proposals, including this bill on hate crimes, will be filed.
–With Jay Domingo/PDM
