2014 -- S 2286

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LC003614

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2014

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT

     Introduced By: Senators Metts, Crowley, Pichardo, and Jabour

     Date Introduced: February 04, 2014

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 42 of the General Laws entitled "STATE AFFAIRS AND

GOVERNMENT" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 155

RESIDENCE OF THOSE IN GOVERNMENT CUSTODY ACT

     42-155-1. Title. – This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Residence of

Those in Government Custody Act.”

     42-155-2. Legislative Purpose. – The purpose of this act is to ensure that persons in

government custody within the state are counted at their actual residence for redistricting

purposes.

     42-155-3. Residence of persons in government custody – Collecting addresses. – The

department of corrections shall collect and maintain an electronic record of the proper residential

address, presumptively outside of the facility, for all people entering its custody after January 1,

2014. At a minimum, this record should contain the last known complete street address prior to

incarceration, their race, whether the person is of hispanic or latino origin, and whether the person

is over the age of eighteen (18) and to the degree possible, should allow an alternative proper

residential address to be updated as appropriate.

     42-155-4. Residence of persons in government custody – Reports to the General

Assembly. – (a) In each year in which the federal decennial census is taken, but in which the

United States Bureau of the Census counts incarcerated persons as residents of correctional

facilities, each state agency that operates a facility for the incarceration of persons convicted of a

criminal offense, including mental health institutions or that places any person convicted of a

criminal offense in a private facility to be incarcerated on behalf of the state agency, shall, by

May 1 of that same year, or within seven (7) days of the date this chapter takes effect, whichever

is later, deliver to the general assembly:

     (1) A unique identifier, not including the name, for each incarcerated person subject to

the jurisdiction of the department on the date for which the decennial census reports population;

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

the time of such report;

     (3) The residential address of such person prior to incarceration or other proper

residential address (if known);

     (4) The person’s race, whether the person is of hispanic or latino origin, and whether the

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

     (5) Any additional information as the general assembly may request pursuant to law.

     (b) The department shall provide the information specified in subsection (a) of this

section in such form as the general assembly shall specify.

     (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the information required to be provided

pursuant to this subsection shall not include the name of any incarcerated person and shall not

allow for the identification of any such person therefrom. The same shall be treated as

confidential and shall not otherwise be disclosed except as aggregated by census block for

purposes specified in § 42-155-7.

     42-155-5. Residence of persons in government custody – Federal facilities. – The

general assembly shall request each agency that operates a federal facility in this state that

incarcerates persons convicted of a criminal offense to provide the general assembly with a report

including the information listed in §42-155-4(a).

     42-155-6. Residence of persons in government custody – Adjustments by the

General Assembly. – (a) For each person included in a report received under §§ 42-155-4 and

42-155-5, the general assembly shall determine the geographic units for which population counts

are reported in the federal decennial census that contain the address of the facility of incarceration

and the proper residential address as listed according to the report.

     (b) For each person included in a report received under §§ 42-155-4 and 42-155-5, if the

proper residential address is known and in this state, the general assembly shall:

     (1) Adjust all relevant population counts reported in the census as if the person resided at

that address on the day for which the census reports population.

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     (2) Ensure that the person is not represented in any applicable population counts reported

in the federal decennial census for the geographic units that include the facility at which the

person was incarcerated on the day for which the census reports population.

     (c) For each person included in a report received under §§ 42-155-4 and 42-155-5 and for

all persons reported in the census as residing in a federal correctional facility for whom a report

was not provided, if the proper residential address is unknown or not in this state, the general

assembly shall:

     (1) Adjust all relevant population counts reported in the census as if the person resided at

an unknown geographic location within the state on the day for which the census reports

population.

     (2) Ensure that the person is not represented in any applicable population counts reported

in the federal decennial census for the geographic units that include the facility at which the

person was incarcerated on the day for which the census reports population.

     42-155-7. Residence of persons in government custody – Requiring use of data in

redistricting. – The adjusted data prepared by the general assembly in § 42-155-6 shall be the

basis of state house and senate districts, and all county, municipal and other local government

districts that are based on population. Residences at unknown geographic locations within the

state under § 42-155-6(c) shall not be used to determine the average population of any set of

districts, wards, or precincts.

     42-155-8. Residence of persons in government custody – Severability. – If any

provision of this chapter or the application of any provision of this chapter to any person or

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

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

the provisions of this chapter are severable.

     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 STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT

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     This act would create the Residence of Those in Government Custody Act in order to

ensure that persons in government custody are counted at their actual residence for redistricting

purposes.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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