Text of NV SB 62 (2025)

S.B. 62 - *SB62* SENATE BILL NO. 62–COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY (ON BEHALF OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL) PREFILED NOVEMBER 20, 2024 ____________ Referred to Committee on Judiciary SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to crimes. (BDR 15-507) FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: Increases or Newly Provides for Term of Imprisonment in County or City Jail or Detention Facility. Effect on the State: Contains Appropriation not included in Executive Budget. ~ EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. AN ACT relating to crimes; providing that a person who commits certain acts because of certain actual or perceived characteristics of a person is guilty of a bias crime; creating a cause of action for a person who has suffered injury as a result of a bias crime; requiring the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History to make certain data relating to bias crimes available to the public; creating the Account for Survivors of Crime and prescribing the use of money in the Account; making an appropriation to the Account; eliminating certain duplicative definitions; providing a penalty; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Section 1 of this bill provides that a person is guilty of a bias crime if the 1 person, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, 2 physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of 3 a person or group of persons, intentionally: (1) tampers or interferes with the 4 property of a person with the intent to substantially annoy or inconvenience the 5 person; (2) subjects a person to offensive physical contact; or (3) subjects a person 6 to alarm by making certain threats. Section 1 makes a bias crime punishable as a 7 misdemeanor. 8 Existing law authorizes a person who has suffered injury as the proximate 9 result of the commission of certain crimes by a perpetrator who was motivated by 10 certain characteristics of the injured person to bring a civil action to recover his or 11 – 2 – - *SB62* her actual damages and punitive damages. (NRS 41.690) Section 2 of this bill 12 additionally authorizes a person who has suffered injury as the proximate result of a 13 violation of section 1 to bring a civil action to recover his or her actual damages 14 and punitive damages. 15 Existing law requires the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal 16 History to make available to the public data regarding the prosecution of certain 17 crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice. (NRS 179A.175) Section 3 of this bill 18 additionally requires the Central Repository to make data regarding any prosecution 19 of a violation of section 1 available to the public. 20 Section 4 of this bill creates the Account for Survivors of Crime in the State 21 General Fund to be administered by the Attorney General. Section 4 requires 22 money in the Account to be used to provide support and resources to survivors of: 23 (1) hate crimes for which certain additional or enhanced penalties are imposed; (2) 24 bias crimes pursuant to section 1; and (3) any other crime prosecuted by the Office 25 of the Attorney General. Section 5 of this bill makes an appropriation to the 26 Account created by section 4 for the purposes described in section 4. 27 Existing law defines the term “gender identity or expression” and makes that 28 definition applicable to the Nevada Revised Statutes as a whole. (NRS 0.034) 29 Section 6 of this bill repeals a duplicative definition of the term “gender identity or 30 expression.” (NRS 193.0148) Sections 2 and 3 make conforming changes to 31 eliminate references to the definition repealed by section 6. 32 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Chapter 200 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1 thereto a new section to read as follows: 2 1. A person commits a bias crime if the person, because of the 3 actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, physical 4 or mental disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or 5 expression of a person or group of persons, intentionally: 6 (a) Tampers or interferes with the property of a person with 7 the intent to substantially annoy or inconvenience the person; 8 (b) Subjects a person to offensive physical contact; or 9 (c) Subjects a person to alarm by threatening to: 10 (1) Inflict a bodily injury on the person or a member of the 11 family of the person; 12 (2) Commit a felony that affects the person or a member of 13 the family of the person; or 14 (3) Cause substantial damage to the property of the person 15 or the property of a member of the family of the person. 16 2. A person who violates subsection 1 is guilty of a 17 misdemeanor. 18 3. As used in this section, “property” has the meaning 19 ascribed to it in NRS 193.0225. 20 Sec. 2. NRS 41.690 is hereby amended to read as follows: 21 41.690 1. A person who has suffered injury as the proximate 22 result of the willful violation of the provisions of NRS 200.030, 23 – 3 – - *SB62* 200.050, 200.280, 200.310, 200.366, 200.380, 200.400, 200.460, 1 200.463, 200.4631, 200.464, 200.465, 200.467, 200.468, 200.471, 2 200.481, 200.508, 200.5099, 200.571, 200.575, 202.448, 203.010, 3 203.020, 203.030, 203.060, 203.080, 203.090, 203.100, 203.110, 4 203.119, 205.010 to 205.025, inclusive, 205.060, 205.067, 205.075, 5 205.0832, 205.220, 205.226, 205.228, 205.240, 205.270, 205.2715, 6 205.274, 205.2741, 206.010, 206.040, 206.125, 206.140, 206.150, 7 206.200, 206.310, 206.330, 207.180, 207.190, 207.200, 207.210 or 8 392.915 or section 1 of this act by a perpetrator who was motivated 9 by the injured person’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, 10 national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or 11 gender identity or expression may bring an action for the recovery 12 of his or her actual damages and any punitive damages which the 13 facts may warrant. If the person who has suffered injury prevails in 14 an action brought pursuant to this subsection, the court shall award 15 the person costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. 16 2. The liability imposed by this section is in addition to any 17 other liability imposed by law. 18 [3. As used in this section, “gender identity or expression” has 19 the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 193.0148.] 20 Sec. 3. NRS 179A.175 is hereby amended to read as follows: 21 179A.175 1. The Director of the Department shall establish 22 within the Central Repository a program for reporting crimes that 23 manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, color, religion, 24 national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or 25 gender identity or expression. 26 2. The program must be designed to collect, compile and 27 analyze statistical data about crimes that manifest evidence of 28 prejudice based on race, color, religion, national origin, physical or 29 mental disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or 30 expression. The Director shall adopt guidelines for the collection of 31 the statistical data, including, but not limited to, the criteria to 32 establish the presence of prejudice and the manner in which the data 33 must be reported to the Central Repository. 34 3. The Central Repository shall include in any appropriate 35 report an independent section relating solely to the analysis of 36 crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, color, 37 religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual 38 orientation or gender identity or expression. 39 4. Data acquired pursuant to this section must be used only for 40 research or statistical purposes and must not contain any information 41 that may reveal the identity of an individual victim of a crime. 42 5. The Central Repository shall make all data acquired 43 pursuant to this section and data regarding any prosecution of a 44 – 4 – - *SB62* violation of NRS 207.185 or section 1 of this act and any sentence 1 imposed pursuant to NRS 193.1675 available to the public. 2 6. The Central Repository shall ensure that the data acquired 3 pursuant to this section is provided to the Federal Bureau of 4 Investigation for inclusion in the annual Hate Crime Statistics report 5 of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program. 6 [7. As used in this section, “gender identity or expression” has 7 the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 193.0148.] 8 Sec. 4. Chapter 228 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 9 thereto a new section to read as follows: 10 1. The Account for Survivors of Crime is hereby created in 11 the State General Fund. The Attorney General shall administer 12 the Account. 13 2. The money in the Account must only be used to provide 14 support and resources to survivors of hate crimes, bias crimes and 15 any other crime prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General. 16 3. The Attorney General may apply for and accept any 17 available grants, gifts, donations, bequests, devises or 18 appropriations from any public or private source to carry out the 19 purposes of this section. Any money received pursuant to this 20 section must be deposited with the State Treasurer for credit to the 21 Account. 22 4. All interest earned on the money in the Account, after 23 deducting any applicable charges, must be credited to the Account. 24 5. Money in the Account must remain in the Account and 25 does not revert to the State General Fund at the end of any fiscal 26 year. 27 6. All claims against the Account must be paid as other 28 claims against the State are paid. 29 7. As used in this section: 30 (a) “Bias crime” means a violation of section 1 of this act. 31 (b) “Hate crime” means a crime for which: 32 (1) An additional penalty is imposed pursuant to NRS 33 193.1675; or 34 (2) An enhanced penalty is imposed pursuant to 35 NRS 207.185. 36 Sec. 5. There is hereby appropriated from the State General 37 Fund to the Account for Survivors of Crime created by section 4 of 38 this act for the purposes described in section 4 of this act the 39 following sums: 40 For the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 .................................... $50,000 41 For the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 .................................... $50,000 42 Sec. 6. NRS 193.0148 is hereby repealed. 43 – 5 – - *SB62* TEXT OF REPEALED SECTION 193.0148 “Gender identity or expression” defined. “Gender identity or expression” means the gender-related identity, appearance, expression or behavior of a person, regardless of the person’s assigned sex at birth. H

- 83rd Session (2025) Senate Bill No. 62–Committee on Judiciary CHAPTER.......... AN ACT relating to crimes; expanding the definition of “victim” for the purposes of eligibility for compensation from the Fund for the Compensation of Victims of Crime to include a person targeted because of certain actual or perceived characteristics of the person; authorizing such a person to receive compensation from the Fund for the remediation of property owned by the person under certain circumstances; making appropriations; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law authorizes certain victims of crime to receive compensation from the Fund for the Compensation of Victims of Crime. (NRS 217.100, 217.260) Section 4.3 of this bill expands the definition of “victim” for the purposes of eligibility for compensation from the Fund to include a person targeted because of certain characteristics. Section 4.7 of this bill authorizes such a victim to receive an amount not to exceed $1,000 per incident from the Fund for the remediation of certain property damaged in the commission of the crime perpetrated against him or her. Section 5 of this bill makes an appropriation to the: (1) Fund for the purposes of providing aid to certain victims; and (2) Office of the Attorney General for the purposes of providing support and resources to survivors of crimes prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General. Existing law creates the Account for Victims of Human Trafficking in the State General Fund and requires a recipient of an allocation of money from the Account to use the money only for establishing or providing programs or services to victims of human trafficking. (NRS 217.530, 217.540) Section 5 makes an appropriation to the Account. EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Sections 1-4. (Deleted by amendment.) Sec. 4.3. NRS 217.070 is hereby amended to read as follows: 217.070 1. “Victim” means a person who suffers direct or threatened physical, financial or psychological harm as a result of the commission of a crime, including, without limitation: (a) A person who is injured or killed as the direct result of a criminal act; (b) A minor who was involved in the production of pornography in violation of NRS 200.710, 200.720, 200.725 or 200.730; (c) A minor who was sexually abused, as “sexual abuse” is defined in NRS 432B.100; – 2 – - 83rd Session (2025) (d) A person who is physically injured or killed as the direct result of a violation of NRS 484C.110 or any act or neglect of duty punishable pursuant to NRS 484C.430 or 484C.440; (e) A pedestrian who is physically injured or killed as the direct result of a driver of a motor vehicle who failed to stop at the scene of a crash involving the driver and the pedestrian in violation of NRS 484E.010; (f) An older person or a vulnerable person who is abused, neglected, exploited, isolated or abandoned in violation of NRS 200.5099 or 200.50995; (g) A person who is physically injured or killed as the direct result of an act of international terrorism as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2331(1); (h) A person who is trafficked in violation of subsection 2 of NRS 201.300; (i) A veteran who experienced an act of sexual assault while serving on active duty, active duty for training or inactive duty training; (j) A person who is subjected to facilitating sex trafficking in violation of subsection 1 of NRS 201.301; [or] (k) A person who is the victim of a crime for which an additional penalty is imposed pursuant to NRS 193.1675 or an enhanced penalty is imposed pursuant to NRS 207.185; or (l) A person who is an immediate family member of a victim who: (1) Is a minor; (2) Is physically or mentally incompetent; or (3) Was killed. 2. The term includes any person who was harmed by an act listed in subsection 1, regardless of whether: (a) The person is a resident of this State, a citizen of the United States or is lawfully entitled to reside in the United States; or (b) The act was committed by an adult or a minor. Sec. 4.7. NRS 217.160 is hereby amended to read as follows: 217.160 1. The compensation officer may order the payment of compensation: (a) To or for the benefit of the victim. (b) If the victim has suffered personal injury, to any person responsible for the maintenance of the victim who has suffered pecuniary loss or incurred expenses as a result of the injury. (c) If the victim dies, to or for the benefit of any one or more of the dependents of the victim. – 3 – - 83rd Session (2025) (d) To a minor who is a member of the household or immediate family of a victim of a battery which constitutes domestic violence pursuant to NRS 33.018 who needs an assessment, a psychological evaluation or psychological counseling for emotional trauma suffered by the minor as a result of the battery. (e) To a member of the victim’s household or immediate family for psychological counseling for emotional trauma suffered by the member as a result of the crime of murder as defined in NRS 200.010. (f) To a county in whose jurisdiction a sexual assault was committed for the reimbursement of costs associated with a forensic medical examination of a victim of sexual assault that are paid by the county pursuant to NRS 217.300. A county may be reimbursed pursuant to this paragraph in an amount equal to the cost of 10 forensic medical examinations or $10,000, whichever is less, each fiscal year. (g) To a victim described in paragraph (k) of subsection 1 of NRS 217.070 for the remediation of property owned by the victim that was damaged in the commission of the crime, in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for each incident. 2. As used in this section: (a) “Battery” has the meaning ascribed to it in paragraph (a) of subsection 1 of NRS 200.481. (b) “Forensic medical examination” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 217.300. (c) “Household” means an association of persons who live in the same home or dwelling and who: (1) Have significant personal ties to the victim; or (2) Are related by blood, adoption or marriage, within the first degree of consanguinity or affinity. (d) “Immediate family” means persons who are related by blood, adoption or marriage, within the first degree of consanguinity or affinity. (e) “Victim of sexual assault” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 217.280. Sec. 5. 1. There is hereby appropriated from the State General Fund to the Fund for the Compensation of Victims of Crime created by NRS 217.260 for the purposes described in subsection 2 the following sums: For the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 .................................... $30,000 For the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 .................................... $30,000 – 4 – - 83rd Session (2025) 2. The money appropriated by subsection 1 must be used to provide monetary aid to victims of hate crimes as described in chapter 217 of NRS. 3. There is hereby appropriated from the State General Fund to the Office of the Attorney General for the purposes described in subsection 4 the following sums: For the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 .................................... $20,000 For the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 .................................... $20,000 4. The money appropriated by subsection 3 must be used to provide support and resources to survivors of crimes prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General. 5. There is hereby appropriated from the State General Fund to the Account for Victims of Human Trafficking created by NRS 217.530 the sum of $200,000. 6. As used in this section, “hate crime” means a crime for which an: (a) Additional penalty is imposed pursuant to NRS 193.1675; or (b) Enhanced penalty is imposed pursuant to NRS 207.185. Sec. 6. (Deleted by amendment.) 20 ~~~~~ 25