2019 -- H 5513

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LC000015

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS - RESIDENCE OF THOSE IN GOVERNMENT CUSTODY

ACT

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Williams, Vella-Wilkinson, Craven, Caldwell, and
Almeida

     Date Introduced: February 14, 2019

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Title 17 of the General Laws entitled "ELECTIONS" is hereby amended by

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adding thereto the following chapter:

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CHAPTER 30

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RESIDENCE OF THOSE IN GOVERNMENT CUSTODY ACT

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     17-30-1. Title.

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     This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Residence of Those in Government

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Custody Act."

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     17-30-2. Legislative declaration and findings.

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     The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that persons in government custody within the

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state are counted at their actual residence for redistricting purposes. The general assembly notes

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that § 17-1-3.1 provides: "A person's residence for voting purposes is his or her fixed and

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established domicile… A person can have only one domicile, and the domicile shall not be

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considered lost solely by reason of absence for any of the following reasons:…Confinement in a

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correctional facility…". Investigation has shown that, despite these provisions, the census

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classifies incarcerated persons as residents of their places of incarceration rather than of their

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home addresses. The provisions of this act are necessary to provide procedures and duties to

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correct this discrepancy.

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     17-30-3. Electronic record.

 

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     The department of corrections shall collect and maintain an electronic record of the legal

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residence, presumptively outside of the facility, and other demographic data, for any person

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entering its custody after January 1, 2020. At a minimum, this record shall contain the last known

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complete street address prior to incarceration, the person's race, whether the person is of Hispanic

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or Latino origin, and whether the person is over the age of eighteen (18).

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     17-30-4. Reports to the secretary of state.

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     (a) In each year in which the federal decennial census is taken but in which the United

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States Bureau of the Census allocates incarcerated persons as residents of correctional facilities,

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the department of corrections shall, by May 1 of that same year, deliver to the secretary of state:

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     (1) The street address of the correctional facility in which such person was incarcerated at

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the time of such report;

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     (2) The last known address of such person prior to incarceration or other legal residence

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(if known);

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     (3) The person's race, whether the person is of Hispanic or Latino origin, and whether the

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person is over the age of eighteen (18) (if known); and

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     (4) Any additional information as the secretary of state may request pursuant to law.

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     (b) The department shall provide the information specified in § 17-30-4(a) in such form

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as the secretary of state shall specify.

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     (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of the general or public laws to the contrary, the

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information required to be provided to the secretary of state pursuant to this section shall not

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include the name of any incarcerated person and shall not allow for the identification of any such

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person therefrom, except to the department of corrections. The information shall be treated as

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confidential, and shall not be disclosed by the secretary of state except as redistricting data

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aggregated by census block for purposes which they may require.

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     17-30-5. Federal facilities.

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     The secretary of state shall request each agency that operates a federal facility in this state

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that incarcerates persons convicted of a criminal offense to provide the secretary of state with a

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report including the information listed in § 17-30-4.

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     17-30-6. Requiring use of data in redistricting.

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     The secretary of state shall prepare redistricting population data to reflect incarcerated

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persons at their residential address, pursuant to § 17-30-5. The data prepared by the secretary of

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state pursuant to § 17-30-5 shall be the basis of state house of representative districts, state senate

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districts, and all local government districts that are based on population. Incarcerated populations

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residing at unknown geographic locations within the state, as determined under § 17-30-5, shall

 

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not be used to determine the ideal population of any set of districts, wards, or precincts.

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     17-30-7. Determinations and data publication by the secretary of state.

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     (a) For each person included in a report received under this chapter, the secretary of state

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shall determine the geographic units for which population counts are reported in the federal

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decennial census that contain the facility of incarceration and the legal residence as listed

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according to the report.

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     (b) For each person included in a report received under this chapter, if the legal residence

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is known and in this state, the secretary of state shall:

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     (1) Ensure that the person is not represented in any population counts reported by the

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secretary of state for the geographic units that include the facility at which the person was

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incarcerated, unless that geographic unit also includes the person's legal residence; and

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     (2) Ensure that any population counts reported by the secretary of state reflect the

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person’s residential address as reported pursuant to this chapter.

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     (c) For each person included in a report received under this chapter for whom a legal

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residence is unknown or not in this state, and for all persons reported in the census as residing in a

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federal correctional facility for whom a report was not provided, the secretary of state shall:

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     (1) Ensure that the person is not represented in any population counts reported by the

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secretary of state for the geographic units that include the facility at which the person was

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incarcerated; and

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     (2) Allocate the person to a state unit not tied to a specific determined geography, as

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other state residents with unknown state addresses are allocated, including, but not limited to,

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military and federal government personnel stationed overseas.

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     (d) The data prepared by the secretary of state pursuant to this section shall be completed

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and published no later than thirty (30) days from the date that federal decennial data as provided

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for in chapter 171 of the Pub L. of 1994 is published for the state of Rhode Island or forty-five

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(45) days after passage of this act, whichever is later.

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     17-30-8. Use in aid.

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     The data prepared by the secretary of state as required by § 17-30-5 shall not be used in

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the distribution of any state or federal aid.

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     17-30-9. Severability.

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     If any provision of this act or the application of any provision of this act to any person or

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circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the

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act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and for this purpose the

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provisions of this act are severable.

 

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS - RESIDENCE OF THOSE IN GOVERNMENT CUSTODY

ACT

***

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     This act would require that the state use the actual residences of persons in government

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custody for census and redistricting purposes. Such information would be determined by the

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department of corrections and the secretary of state, and forwarded to the United States census

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bureau.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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