LD1351 • 2025

An Act to Require Antisemitism to Be Considered as Motivation When Determining a Violation of a Criminal or Civil Law

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: Representative Abigail Griffin
Last action: 2025-05-20
Official status: Pursuant to Joint Rule 310.3 Placed in Legislative Files (DEAD)
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act to Require Antisemitism to Be Considered as Motivation When Determining a Violation of a Criminal or Civil Law

An Act to Require Antisemitism to Be Considered as Motivation When Determining a Violation of a Criminal or Civil Law Sponsor: Representative Abigail Griffin Reference committee: Judiciary Latest committee action: Reported Out; ONTP

What This Bill Does

An Act to Require Antisemitism to Be Considered as Motivation When Determining a Violation of a Criminal or Civil Law Sponsor: Representative Abigail Griffin Reference committee: Judiciary Latest committee action: Reported Out; ONTP

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2025-05-20 Senate
Pursuant to Joint Rule 310.3 Placed in Legislative Files (DEAD)
2025-05-16 Committee
Reported Out; ONTP
2025-05-13 Committee
Work Session Held
2025-05-13 Committee
Voted; ONTP
2025-03-28 House
Received by the Clerk of the House on March 28, 2025. The Bill was REFERRED to the Committee on JUDICIARY pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
2025-03-28 Committee
Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

Official Summary Text

An Act to Require Antisemitism to Be Considered as Motivation When Determining a Violation of a Criminal or Civil Law
Sponsor:
Representative Abigail Griffin
Reference committee:
Judiciary
Latest committee action:
Reported Out; ONTP

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Printed on recycled paper
132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST SPECIAL SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 1351
H.P. 874 House of Representatives, April 1, 2025
An Act to Require Antisemitism to Be Considered as Motivation
When Determining a Violation of a Criminal or Civil Law
Received by the Clerk of the House on March 28, 2025. Referred to the Committee on
Judiciary pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative GRIFFIN of Levant.

Page 1 - 132LR1526(01)
1Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §4553, sub-§1-I is enacted to read:
31-I. Antisemitism. "Antisemitism" has the same meaning as the nonlegally binding
4 working definition of "antisemitism" adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance
5 Alliance Plenary in Bucharest, Romania on May 26, 2016.
6Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §4554, sub-§5 is enacted to read:
75. Antisemitism as motive. When determining whether a violation of this Act or any
8 criminal or civil law has occurred, an assessment of whether antisemitism was a motive, if
9 relevant, for that violation must be made.
10SUMMARY
11 This bill defines "antisemitism" as the nonlegally binding working definition of
12 "antisemitism" adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Plenary in
13 Bucharest, Romania on May 26, 2016. The bill also amends the Maine Human Rights Act
14 to require that, when determining whether a violation of the Maine Human Rights Act or
15 any criminal or civil law has occurred, an assessment of whether antisemitism was a
16 motive, if relevant, for that violation must be made.
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