Bills -- Census (Prisoners) 2020

2020 BILLS

PASSED 2020

HB 1255 Standards and criteria for congressional and state legislative districts (2020)

Sponsored by Delegate Marcia Price [D]

This bill is identical to SB 717.

Provides criteria by which congressional and state legislative districts are to be drawn. Such criteria include equal population requirements, with a deviation of no more than five percent permitted for state legislative districts; compliance with laws and judicial decisions relating to racial and ethnic fairness; preservation of communities of interest, which are defined to mean a neighborhood or any geographically defined group of people living in an area who share similar social, cultural, and economic interests; and compactness and contiguity. The bill also includes provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, related to redistricting, prohibiting the drawing of districts in ways that improperly dilute minority populations' voting power. Maps of districts, when considered on a statewide basis, are prohibited from unduly favoring or disfavoring any political party. The bill further provides for the preparation and use of adjusted population data for redistricting and reapportionment purposes to reflect the reallocation of persons incarcerated in federal, state, and local correctional facilities. Persons incarcerated in such a facility whose address at the time of incarceration was in the Commonwealth are to be counted at that address and persons incarcerated in such a facility whose address at the time of incarceration was outside of the Commonwealth or cannot be determined are to be counted at the facility. Bill information here.

SB 717 Standards and criteria for congressional and state legislative districts (2020)

Sponsored by Senator Jennifer McClellan [D] and Senator Barbara Favola [D]

05/01/20 House: VOTE: (49-Y 44-N)

Provides criteria by which congressional and state legislative districts are to be drawn, including compactness and contiguity, racial and ethnic fairness, protection of the rights of racial and language minorities to participate and elect a preferred candidate, and consideration of existing political boundaries and communities of interest. The bill requires the most recent decennial population figures reported by the United States Bureau of the Census to be used in drawing districts, except that incarcerated persons are to be counted at their last known legal residence. The bill prohibits the use of political data when drawing districts. Bill information here.

FAILED

HB 319 Redistricting; population data (2020)

Sponsored by Delegate Mark Levine [D]

02/06/2020 Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (8-Y 0-N)

Redistricting; population data; reallocation of prison populations. Provides for the preparation of adjusted population data for redistricting and reapportionment purposes to reflect the reallocation of persons incarcerated in federal, state, and local correctional facilities. The bill provides that a person incarcerated in a correctional facility whose legal residence prior to entering custody was located within the Commonwealth will be deemed to reside at such residence, and a person incarcerated in a correctional facility whose legal residence prior to entering custody was located outside of the Commonwealth or whose legal residence prior to entering custody cannot be determined will not be included in the population count for the locality in which the facility is located; instead, such persons shall be allocated to a state unit not tied to a specific determined geographic location in the same manner as other state residents with an unknown address are allocated. Under the current residence criteria of the U.S. Bureau of the Census, incarcerated persons are counted at the facility in which they are incarcerated. Bill information here.

HJR 24 Counting of incarcerated persons by the United States Bureau of the Census for redistricting purposes (2020)

Sponsored by Senator John Edwards [D]

02/04/2020 Passed by indefinitely in Privileges and Elections (15-Y 0-N)

Provides for the preparation of adjusted population data for redistricting and reapportionment purposes to reflect the reallocation of persons incarcerated in federal, state, and local correctional facilities. The bill provides that a person incarcerated in a correctional facility whose legal residence prior to entering custody was located within the Commonwealth will be deemed to reside at such residence, and a person incarcerated in a correctional facility whose legal residence prior to entering custody was located outside of the Commonwealth or whose legal residence prior to entering custody cannot be determined will not be included in the population count for the locality in which the facility is located; instead, such persons shall be allocated to a state unit not tied to a specific determined geographic location in the same manner as other state residents with an unknown address are allocated. Under the current residence criteria of the U.S. Bureau of the Census, incarcerated persons are counted at the facility in which they are incarcerated. The bill directs the Division of Legislative Services to prepare the adjusted population data, and the General Assembly and local governing bodies are required to use this data as the basis for reapportioning and drawing new districts. The Director of the Department of Corrections and the Board of Corrections are required to provide to the Division certain information about each person incarcerated who was incarcerated in a state or local correctional facility on the day the decennial census is taken, April 1 of a year ending in zero, for these purposes. The Division is directed to request such information from each agency operating a federal correctional facility in the Commonwealth, and persons incarcerated in a federal correctional facility for whom a record is not received shall be deemed to have... Read full text here.