101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB0928

 

Introduced , by Rep. André Thapedi

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the 2020 Census Grant Program Act. Creates the 2020 Census Grant Program for the purpose of issuing matching grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations to support the accurate counting of the population of the State and its local jurisdictions, and the collection of basic demographic and housing information of the population of this State for the 2020 Census. Creates the 2020 Census Grant Program Panel and provides for its membership. Provides administrative support for the Grant Panel. Provides for the awarding of funds under the Grant Program. Requires notice to be given to units of local government and nonprofit organizations concerning the Grant Program. Provides that for fiscal year 2020, the Governor shall include in the annual State budget for the 2020 Census Grant Program an appropriation of $33,000,000. Provides legislative findings. Defines terms. Repeals the Act on January 1, 2022. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning 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 2020
5Census Grant Program Act.
 
6    Section 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly
7finds that:
8        (1) Section 2 of Article 1 of the United States
9    Constitution requires a non-biased and nonpolitical
10    enumeration of the population of the United States every 10
11    years, which is known as the federal decennial census;
12        (2) the federal decennial census is important because
13    census figures affect congressional representation, State
14    redistricting, federal formula grant allocations, State
15    funding to local governments, local programs, and planning
16    activities for the next 10 years;
17        (3) the federal decennial census not only counts
18    population, but also: (i) establishes representation
19    decisions for federal, State, and local governments; (ii)
20    is the basis upon which federal funding is allocated for
21    programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the National
22    School Lunch Program; and (iii) guides business decisions
23    regarding labor pools and investment choices;

 

 

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1        (4) Congress has underfunded the U.S. Commerce
2    Department's budget to conduct the 2020 Census, causing the
3    Census Bureau to cancel certain preparations that would
4    test the Census Bureau's new digital tools;
5        (5) the Census Bureau plans for 80% of the country to
6    receive communications that urge a response to the census
7    via the Internet;
8        (6) the Census Bureau's reliance on the Internet is
9    worrisome because 21% of rural households do not currently
10    have Internet access at home, putting rural residents at
11    risk of being undercounted;
12        (7) historically, it has been more difficult to reach
13    and enumerate certain groups as part of the federal
14    decennial census, including, but not limited to, racial and
15    ethnic minorities, persons who do not speak English
16    fluently, lower income persons, homeless persons,
17    undocumented immigrants, young mobile persons, children,
18    persons who are distrustful of the government, and LGBTQ
19    persons;
20        (8) a geographic area is considered hard-to-count if
21    the area's self-response rate in the 2010 decennial census
22    was 73% or less;
23        (9) according to the Census 2020 hard-to-count map
24    application developed by the City University of New York
25    Mapping Service, approximately 16% of Illinoisans are
26    hard-to-count and face a high likelihood of being

 

 

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1    undercounted;
2        (10) according to the George Washington University
3    Institute for Public Policy, in fiscal year 2015, Illinois
4    received $19,738,866,367, or approximately $1,535 per
5    capita, for 16 major federal assistance programs that
6    distribute funds based on federal decennial census-derived
7    statistics;
8        (11) because federal decennial census data are used in
9    political, business, and social welfare contexts, the
10    accuracy of the count is critical;
11        (12) a complete and accurate count of all Illinois
12    residents in the 2020 Census is vital to ensure fair
13    political representation and distribution of funding in
14    Illinois;
15        (13) in fiscal year 2015, the 50 states and the
16    District of Columbia received $589,700,000,000 from 16
17    large federal assistance programs that allocate funds on
18    the basis of federal decennial census–derived statistics;
19        (14) there are census tracts in jurisdictions
20    throughout the State where achieving an accurate count of
21    the population is challenging, including the counties of
22    Cook, DeKalb, Pulaski, Will DuPage, Kane, Peoria,
23    Alexander, Jackson, Coles, Champaign, St. Claire,
24    McDonough, Madison, Winnebago, and Lake;
25        (15) the U.S. Government Accountability Office added
26    the 2020 Census to the High Risk list because of concerns

 

 

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1    about funding and effective operations, increasing
2    concerns about an undercount of the population; and
3        (16) adequate funding is necessary to ensure a complete
4    and accurate count of all people in this State, and it is
5    the intent of the General Assembly that existing
6    governmental outreach and education efforts be used to
7    facilitate a complete count for the 2020 Census.
 
8    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
9    "2020 Census" means the decennial census conducted by the
10United States Census Bureau in the year 2020 to determine the
11number of people living in the United States for purposes of
12apportionment of representatives in the House of
13Representatives.
14    "Grant Panel" means the 2020 Census Grant Program Panel.
 
15    Section 15. 2020 Census Grant Program.
16    (a) There is created the 2020 Census Grant Program for the
17purpose of issuing matching grants to units of local government
18and nonprofit organizations to support the accurate counting of
19the population of the State and its local jurisdictions, and
20the collection of basic demographic and housing information of
21the population of this State for the 2020 Census.
22    (b) There is created the 2020 Census Grant Program Panel.
23The Grant Panel shall consist of the following members:
24        (i) a chair appointed jointly by the President of the

 

 

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1    Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
2        (ii) two members appointed by the Governor; and
3        (iii) two members appointed jointly by the President of
4    the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
5    (c) The Secretary of State shall provide staff and
6administrative support for the Grant Panel. A member of the
7Grant Panel shall not receive compensation for service as a
8member of the Grant Panel, but is entitled to reimbursement for
9necessary travel expenses incurred by the member.
10    (d) On or before July 1, 2019, a unit of local government
11or nonprofit organization may apply to the Grant Panel for
12matching funds to support the accurate counting of the
13population of its jurisdiction or the State and the collection
14of basic demographic and housing information of the population
15of the State for the 2020 Census.
16    (e) On or before August 1, 2019, the Grant Panel shall
17award matching funds, in an amount determined by the Grant
18Panel, to units of local government and nonprofit organizations
19for approved applications.
20    (f) The Grant Panel shall notify units of local government
21of the 2020 Census Grant Program. Units of local government
22receiving notice from the Grant Panel under this subsection (f)
23shall notify nonprofit organizations within the jurisdiction
24of the unit of local government of the 2020 Census Grant
25Program.
26    (g) For fiscal year 2020, the Governor shall include in the

 

 

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1annual State budget for the 2020 Census Grant Program an
2appropriation of $33,000,000.
 
3    Section 20. Repeal. This Act is repealed on January 1,
42022.
 
5    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
6becoming law.