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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 5611
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 3570
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E COUNTING OF INCARCER ATED
PERSONS FOR PURPOSES OF DETERMINING LEGISLATIVE
DISTRICTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) (a) (1) In each year in which 1
the federal decennial census is taken and in which the United States 2
Census Bureau counts incarcerated persons as residents of the towns 3
in which the correctional facilities are located, the Department of 4
Correction shall, not later than May first of such year, deliver to the 5
Secretary of the State in such form as the Secretary shall prescribe: 6
(A) A unique identifier for each incarcerated person subject to the 7
jurisdiction of the department on the date for which the decennial 8
census reports population; 9
(B) The street address of the correctional facility in which such 10
person was incarcerated at the time of such report; 11
(C) The residential or other address of such person prior to 12
incarceration, if known; 13
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(D) An indication of whether such person has attained the age of 14
eighteen years; 15
(E) Such person's race and whether such person is of Hispanic or 16
Latino origin, if known; and 17
(F) Any additional information the Secretary may request pursuant 18
to law. 19
(2) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, the 20
information required to be provided by this subsection shall not 21
include the name of any incarcerated person or in any other way allow 22
for the identification of any such person from such information. Such 23
information shall be confidential and not otherwise disclosed, except 24
to the Office of Legislative Research created pursuant to section 2-71c 25
of the general statutes, for the purposes of subsection (c) of this section, 26
or as aggregated by census block for the purposes of subsection (d) of 27
this section. 28
(b) In each year in which the federal decennial census is taken and 29
in which the United States Census Bureau counts incarcerated persons 30
as residents of the towns in which the correctional facilities are located, 31
the Secretary shall request each agency that operates a federal facility 32
in this state, which facility incarcerates persons convicted of a criminal 33
offense, to provide the Secretary with a report including the 34
information listed in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section. 35
(c) (1) For each person included in a report received under 36
subsection (a) or (b) of this section, the Office of Legislative Research 37
shall determine the geographic units for which population counts are 38
reported in the federal decennial census, which units contain the 39
address of the facility in which such person was incarcerated, and such 40
person's residential or other address as listed in such report. 41
(2) For each person included in a report received under subsection 42
(a) or (b) of this section, if such person's residential or other address is 43
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known and in this state, the Office of Legislative Research shall, not 44
later than ___ of such year, adjust such information to: 45
(A) Ensure that all relevant population counts reported in the 46
census are as if such person resided at such address on the date for 47
which the census reports population; and 48
(B) Ensure that such person is not represented in any applicable 49
population count reported in the federal decennial census for the 50
geographic units that include the facility in which such person was 51
incarcerated on the date for which the census reports population. 52
(3) For each person included in a report received under subsection 53
(a) or (b) of this section whose residential or other address is unknown 54
or not in this state, and for each person reported in the census as 55
residing in a federal correctional facility for whom a report was not 56
provided, the Office of Legislative Research shall, not later than ___ of 57
such year, adjust such information to: 58
(A) Ensure that such person is not represented in any applicable 59
population count reported in the federal decennial census for the 60
geographic units that include the facility in which such person was 61
incarcerated on the date for which the census reports population; and 62
(B) Ensure that such person is counted as part of a state unit not tied 63
to a specific geographical location, in the same manner that a person 64
with an unknown state of residency is counted, including, but not 65
limited to, military and federal government personnel stationed 66
abroad. 67
(d) The Secretary shall prepare and publish such information 68
adjusted pursuant to subsection (c) of this section not later than thirty 69
days after the publication of the redistricting data for this state by the 70
United States Census Bureau, and such adjusted information shall be 71
the basis for determining state assembly and senatorial districts, as 72
well as municipal voting districts. No residence at an unknown 73
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geographical location within the state under subdivision (3) of 74
subsection (c) of this section may be used to determine the average 75
population of any set of districts. The Secretary shall notify each 76
municipality that such information shall be used for the purposes of 77
determining municipal voting districts. 78
(e) The Department of Correction shall determine the residential or 79
other address of each person committed to the custody of the 80
department on or after January 1, 2020, and maintain an electronic 81
record of such address. Such record shall contain, at a minimum, the 82
last-known residential or other address of each person prior to 83
incarceration. 84
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To provide for the adjustment of population data so as to count
incarcerated persons as residents of their last town of residence rather
than as residents of the town in which the correctional facility is
located.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]
Co-Sponsors: REP. DILLON, 92nd Dist.
H.B. 5611