The limitations of Federal criminal and civil rights statutes indicate the need for State statutes that specifically address bias-related violence. Current relevant State statutes leave too much discretion to the prosecutor, resulting in a high percentage of these crimes going unprosecuted. The proposed model statute makes it a crime when a person -- with the intent to harass, annoy, threaten, intimidate, or alarm another person -- strikes, shoves, kicks, or otherwise subjects a person to physical contact or attempts or threatens to do the same because of some immutable characteristics which the victim possesses or is perceived to possess as a member of a disfavored group. The statute requires a prosecutor to either prosecute such cases as bias crimes or provide written justification for not prosecuting the case. The statute would also establish a State Bias Reporting Agency to collect information and statistics on bias crimes, receive prosecutors' written justifications for not prosecuting bias offenses, and investigate those cases not prosecuted. 66 footnotes.