R 44
2001-H 5422
Enacted 2/1/2001


H  O  U  S  E     R  E  S  O  L  U  T  I  O  N

CREATING A SPECIAL HOUSE TASK FORCE TO STUDY TITLE VI COMPLIANCES

Introduced By:  Representatives Abdullah-Odiase, Shavers, Benson, Fox and Almeida Date Introduced:  February 1, 2001

RESOLVED, That a special house task force commission be and the same is hereby created consisting of twenty-one (21) members: five (5) of whom shall be from the House of Representatives, not more than three (3) from the same political party, to be appointed by the Speaker: one (1) of whom shall be the director of the Department of Labor, or designee; one (1) of whom shall be the director of the Department of Administration, or designee; two (2) of whom shall be representatives of public and private economic development entities, to be appointed by the Speaker; one (1) of whom shall be the executive director of the NAACP, or designee; one (1) of whom shall be a member of the Rhode Island Civil Rights Roundtable, to be appointed by the Speaker; one (1) of whom shall be a member of the Rhode Island Commission on Human Rights, to be appointed by its chairman; one (1) of whom shall be a member of the ACLU, to be appointed by its president; one (1) of whom shall be a representative of the Urban League of Rhode Island, to be appointed by its president; one (1) of whom shall be the Attorney General, or designee; one (1) of whom shall be a representative of the Governor's office, to be appointed by the Governor; one (1) of whom shall be the Lieutenant Governor, or designee; one (1) of whom shall be the General Treasurer, or designee; two (2) of whom shall be members of the general public, to be appointed by the Governor; and one (1) of whom shall be a member of the AFL-CIO, to be appointed by its president.

In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a permanent advisory commission, a legislative study commission, or any commission created by a general assembly resolution, the appointing authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu of a legislator, provided that the majority leader or the minority leader of the political party which is entitled to the appointment consents to the appointment of the member of the general public.

The purpose of said task force shall be to examine compliance, monitoring, and enforcement of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act from a public policy planning perspective, and the past and present roles of People of Color relative to economic development objectives in the state of Rhode Island; and

Said task force shall study the following topics in addition to any other topics the task force deems relevant:

1.) federal financial assistance used as incentives to expand and attract new industry to inner city and rural areas;

2.) federal financial assistance as it relates to federal, state, and local transportation initiatives on inner city and rural economic objectives;

3.) special federal/state funded initiatives for inner city economic development;

4.) federal financial assistance used to advance or otherwise support investment and infrastructure development;

5.) federal financial assistance used to support or otherwise advance state and local government boards, commissions, authorities, and quasi-public entities;

6.) federal financial assistance to African-American, Hispanic and other racial minority consultants, contractors, and subcontractors; and

7.) the lending practices of federally insured financial institutions relative to African- Americans, Hispanics and racial minorities as well as the effectiveness of the Community Re-investment Act.

Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the task force shall meet at the call of the Speaker and organize and shall select from among the legislators a chairperson. Vacancies in said task force shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment.

The membership of said task force shall receive no compensation for their services.

All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information, documentary and otherwise, to said task force and its agents as is deemed necessary or desirable by the task force to facilitate the purposes of this resolution.

The Speaker of the house is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters for said task force; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the task force shall report its findings and recommendations to the House of Representatives on or before January 24, 2002 and said task force shall expire on

March 24, 2002.

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