Two bills that are aimed at protecting people against harassment and hate crimes are scheduled to be heard in the Legislature this week.

SB 5850, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D–Shoreline), changes the name of malicious harassment to hate crime offense; adds gender identity and gender expression to the list of definitions of a hate crime; and creates a multidisciplinary work group to establish recommendations for best practices for identifying and responding to hate crimes.

SB 5745, sponsored by Sen. Marko Liias (D–Edmonds), adds criteria to be considered by a court prior to issuing an extreme risk protection order. The two new criteria include behaviors that present an imminent threat of harm to self or others (replacing the current criteria of a “dangerous mental health issue”), and any threat of harm to a person or people because of perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, generation, sexual orientation, or disability.

Dates to remember

SB 5850 and SB 5745 are scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Law & Justice Committee on Tuesday, February 19 at 10 am.