Bill introduced in NC Senate seeks to broaden hate crime protections

State Sen. Jay J. Chaudhuri has introduced a bill in the North Carolina Senate aimed at expanding hate crime protections and strengthening legal responses throughout the state, the North Carolina State Senate reports.

Filed as SB 827 on April 22 in the 2025 regular session, the legislation carries the short title: ‘Hate Crimes Prevention Act.’

Below is a summary based on the actual bill text, including analysis to clarify its main components.

The proposed legislation would expand North Carolina hate crime laws to include protections for gender, gender identity, gender expression, disability, and sexual orientation. It also increases penalties for qualifying misdemeanors and creates a new felony-level hate crime involving assault, raising felony classes if severe injury, death, kidnapping or forcible sex offenses are involved. The legislation allows victims and immediate relatives to pursue civil damages, permits courts to order restorative justice sessions at the defendant’s cost, and charges the State Bureau of Investigation with creating a statewide hate crime statistics database, supported by $1.89 million in one-time funding and $530,000 in ongoing funds. The bill mandates hate crime training for law enforcement and prosecutors. Major criminal provisions take effect Dec. 1, 2026, while database and training measures start in 2026 and 2027, respectively.

Both sponsors, Chaudhuri and Mujtaba A. Mohammed, introduced the most bills during the 2025 regular session, with 28 bills put forward.

Legislation in North Carolina undergoes a multi-step process before becoming law. Lawmakers begin by filing a bill, which is then sent to committee. To move forward, the bill must be read three times in each chamber. Should one chamber amend the bill after passage, both must approve an identical final version. After both chambers concur, the legislation moves to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 days if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto or allow the bill to become law without a signature.

Find more details on this and other proposed legislation here.

Chaudhuri earned a BA from Davidson College in 1991 and a JD from North Carolina Central University in 1999.

Chaudhuri, a Democrat, has served in the North Carolina State Senate since 2019, representing the 15th Senate district and succeeding Terry Van Duyn.