Compromise coming on hate-crimes bill?

Efforts to step up penalties for crimes motivated by bias or hate were put on hold late Wednesday while longtime supporters and opponents worked to hash out a compromise.

Details of the compromise proposed by Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Draper, weren't yet released late Wednesday. The bill will likely come up for debate again today.

Longtime sponsor Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake, declined to comment on the compromise until it was finalized. As proposed, HB90 would create an aggravating factor for crimes motivated by bias, taking into account the impact the crime has on the larger community.

It's a step away from hotly debated protected categories, such as race, religion and sexual orientation, that have stalled the bill in the past.

Christensen has released a public proposed substitute to tweak an existing law, which prosecutors have called unenforceable because it requires proving an attempt to bar individuals from exercising constitutional rights, such as voting.

Christensen said the bill uses "different language that achieves a common purpose." "The compromise will be something that prosecutors will be able to use," said Paul Boyden, executive director of the Statewide Association of Prosecutors. "The important thing is to get the effect this crime has on the community before a judge and allow people, community members to have their say."