100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB5194

 

Introduced , by Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Racial and Ethnic Impact Note Act. Provides that every criminal justice bill which affects pre-trial detention, sentencing, probation, mandatory supervised release, or parole policies in this State shall have prepared for it prior to second reading in the house of introduction, a brief explanatory statement or note, prepared by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority which shall include, but not be limited to, a statistical analysis of how the proposed change in policy would affect racial and ethnic minorities and any additional information which indicates the impact of the proposed measure on racial and ethnic minorities. Provides that the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority shall work in conjunction with the Department of Corrections, Department of Juvenile Justice, pre-trial service agencies of counties of this State, and the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council to prepare this statement. Provides that the statement prepared by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority for a bill designated by a Racial and Ethnic Impact Note shall be delivered to the sponsor within 10 calendar days after its submission, except that when, because of the complexity of the bill, additional time is required for the preparation of the note, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority may notify the sponsor and request an extension of time not to exceed 5 additional days within which the note is to be completed. Provides that if the sponsor of any measure is of the opinion that a Racial and Ethnic Impact Note is not necessary, any member of either house may request that a note be obtained, and in that case the matter shall be decided by a majority vote of those present and voting in the house of which he or she is a member. Makes other changes.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Racial
5and Ethnic Impact Note Act.
 
6    Section 5. Legislative findings.
7    The General Assembly finds that:
8        (1) Public policymakers are increasingly concerned
9    with the disparity between the number of minorities in the
10    population and the number incarcerated in prisons in this
11    State.
12        (2) Racial and ethnic disparities in our nation's
13    criminal justice system result in devastating consequences
14    to society: offenders face daunting employment challenges,
15    reduced lifetime employment earnings, and lack access to
16    public benefits; offenders' families face the shame and
17    stigma associated with incarceration, as well as the loss
18    of financial and emotional support of a loved one; and high
19    rates of recidivism and burgeoning prison system costs
20    which affect all communities.
21        (3) Nationally, one of every 9 black males between 20
22    and 34 years of age are incarcerated; 38% of prisoners
23    under federal and state jurisdiction at the end of 2010

 

 

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1    were black, 32% were white, and 22% were Hispanic;
2    according to 2010 United States Census data, 12.6% of the
3    United States is black.
4        (4) In this State in 2016, 56.7% of the prison
5    population were black, 30.1% were white, and 12.6% were
6    Hispanic; whereas blacks make up 14.7% of the general
7    population.
8        (5) Criminal justice policies, while neutral on their
9    face, often adversely affect minority communities. These
10    unintended consequences could be more adequately addressed
11    prior to adoption of a new initiative, particularly since
12    these initiatives, once adopted, are often difficult to
13    reverse.
14        (6) The racial and ethnic impact note is a tool to
15    guide policymakers in proactively assessing how proposed
16    sentencing initiatives affect racial and ethnic
17    disparities within the criminal justice system. This
18    system provides legislators and State agencies with a
19    statistical analysis of the projected impact of proposed
20    policy changes.
 
21    Section 10. Racial and ethnic impact note required. Every
22criminal justice bill which affects pre-trial detention,
23sentencing, probation, mandatory supervised release, or parole
24policies in this State shall have prepared for it prior to
25second reading in the house of introduction, a brief

 

 

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1explanatory statement or note, prepared by the Illinois
2Criminal Justice Information Authority which shall include,
3but not be limited to, a statistical analysis of how the
4proposed change in policy would affect racial and ethnic
5minorities and any additional information which indicates the
6impact of the proposed measure on racial and ethnic minorities.
7The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority shall work
8in conjunction with the Department of Corrections, Department
9of Juvenile Justice, pre-trial service agencies of counties of
10this State, and the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council
11to prepare this statement.
 
12    Section 15. Sponsor request.
13    (a) Upon the request of the sponsor of any bill described
14in Section 10 of this Act, the Illinois Criminal Justice
15Information Authority shall prepare a written statement
16setting forth the information specified in Section 10 of this
17Act.
18    (b) The statement prepared by the Illinois Criminal Justice
19Information Authority for a bill designated for a Racial and
20Ethnic Impact Note shall be delivered to the sponsor within 10
21calendar days after its submission, except that when, because
22of the complexity of the bill, additional time is required for
23the preparation of the note, the Illinois Criminal Justice
24Information Authority may notify the sponsor and request an
25extension of time not to exceed 5 additional days within which

 

 

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1the note is to be completed. The extension shall not extend
2beyond May 15 following the date of the request.
 
3    Section 20. Member request. If the sponsor of any measure
4is of the opinion that a Racial and Ethnic Impact Note is not
5necessary, any member of either house may request that a note
6be obtained, which shall be decided by a majority vote of those
7present and voting in the house of which he or she is a member.
 
8    Section 25. Note contents.
9    (a) The note shall be factual in nature, as brief and
10concise as possible, and shall provide as reliable an estimate,
11the racial and ethnic impact of the proposed measure, as is
12possible under the circumstances. The note shall include both
13the immediate effect, and if determinable or reasonably
14foreseeable, the long-range effect of the measure. If, after
15careful investigation, no racial and ethnic impact can be
16determined, the note shall contain a statement to that effect,
17setting forth the reasons why an estimate of the racial or
18ethnic impact cannot be given.
19    (b) No comment or opinion shall be included in the note
20with regard to the merits of the measure for which the note is
21prepared; however, technical or mechanical defects may be
22noted. A work sheet, prepared with the note, shall include,
23insofar as practicable, a breakdown of the statistics or other
24information upon which the note is based.

 

 

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1    (c) Five copies of the note shall be prepared and the
2original of both the note and the work sheet shall be signed by
3the Executive Director of the Illinois Criminal Justice
4Information Authority, or his or her designee.
 
5    Section 30. Legislation deliberation and amendments.
6    (a) The fact that a Racial and Ethnic Impact Note is
7prepared for any bill shall not preclude or restrict the
8appearance before any committee of the General Assembly, of any
9official or authorized employee of any State board, commission,
10department, agency or other entity who desires to be heard in
11support of or in opposition to the measure.
12    (b) When any measure is amended on the floor of either
13house in a manner as to bring it within the description of
14bills set forth in Section 10 of this Act, a majority of the
15house may propose that no action shall be taken upon the
16amendment until the sponsor of the amendment presents to the
17members a statement of the racial and ethnic impact of his or
18her amendment, as required by this Act.
 
19    Section 35. Confidentiality. The subject matter of bills
20submitted to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information
21Authority shall be kept in strict confidence and no information
22relating to it or relating to the racial or ethnic impact of
23the proposed bill shall be divulged by an official or employee
24of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, except

 

 

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1to the bill's sponsor or his designee, prior to the bill's
2introduction in the General Assembly.