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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 366 FILED ON: 1/13/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 432 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Rebecca L. Rausch |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act to ensure a complete, accurate, and equitable census count. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Rebecca L. RauschNorfolk, Worcester and Middlesex 1 of 9 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 366 FILED ON: 1/13/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 432 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Ms. Rausch, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 432) of Rebecca L. Rausch for |
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| 19 | 19 | | legislation relative to ensure a complete, accurate, and equitable census count. Election Laws. |
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| 20 | 20 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 21 | 21 | | _______________ |
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| 22 | 22 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | An Act to ensure a complete, accurate, and equitable census count. |
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| 26 | 26 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 27 | 27 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 28 | 28 | | 1 SECTION 1. The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after Chapter 57 the |
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| 29 | 29 | | 2following new chapter:- |
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| 30 | 30 | | 3 Chapter 57A – Census Equity and Accuracy |
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| 31 | 31 | | 4 Section 1. Definitions |
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| 32 | 32 | | 5 For purposes of this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings: |
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| 33 | 33 | | 6 (a)Census day, the day by which residents in the United States must be counted, as |
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| 34 | 34 | | 7set forth in title 13 of the United States Code. |
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| 35 | 35 | | 8 (b)Commission, the Massachusetts Census Equity Commission. |
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| 36 | 36 | | 9 (c)Persons experiencing homelessness, individuals who lack, or are perceived to |
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| 37 | 37 | | 10lack, a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. Persons experiencing homelessness |
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| 38 | 38 | | 11includes, but is not limited to, persons who: 2 of 9 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 12 (1)share the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a |
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| 40 | 40 | | 13similar reason; |
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| 41 | 41 | | 14 (2)live in motels, hotels, trailer parks or campgrounds due to the lack of fixed, |
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| 42 | 42 | | 15regular, and adequate nighttime residence; |
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| 43 | 43 | | 16 (3)live in emergency or transitional shelters; |
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| 44 | 44 | | 17 (4)are abandoned in hospitals; |
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| 45 | 45 | | 18 (5)are awaiting foster care placement; |
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| 46 | 46 | | 19 (6)have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed |
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| 47 | 47 | | 20for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; |
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| 48 | 48 | | 21 (7)live in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations or |
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| 49 | 49 | | 22similar settings; or |
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| 50 | 50 | | 23 (8)are transient and otherwise experiencing homelessness as described in this |
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| 51 | 51 | | 24subsection. |
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| 52 | 52 | | 25 (d)Undercounted communities, groups of residents of the commonwealth who are |
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| 53 | 53 | | 26traditionally undercounted in census implementations, including but not limited to: |
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| 54 | 54 | | 27 (1)communities of color; |
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| 55 | 55 | | 28 (2)immigrants, regardless of documentation; |
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| 56 | 56 | | 29 (3)individuals of all gender identities, gender presentations, and sexual orientations; |
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| 57 | 57 | | 30 (4)individuals with incomes under 200% of the federal poverty line; 3 of 9 |
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| 58 | 58 | | 31 (5)persons experiencing homeless; |
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| 59 | 59 | | 32 (6)individuals with disabilities; |
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| 60 | 60 | | 33 (7)individuals who are veterans; |
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| 61 | 61 | | 34 (8)individuals under the age of 16 years; |
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| 62 | 62 | | 35 (9)individuals for whom English is not their first language; |
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| 63 | 63 | | 36 (10)residents of rural communities; and |
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| 64 | 64 | | 37 (11)residents of subsidized housing. |
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| 65 | 65 | | 38 Section 2. Massachusetts Census Equity Commission |
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| 66 | 66 | | 39 (a)There is hereby established, within the Office of the Secretary of State, the |
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| 67 | 67 | | 40Massachusetts Census Equity Commission. The purpose of the commission shall be to ensure |
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| 68 | 68 | | 41that Massachusetts censuses accurately and completely count all residents of the Commonwealth, |
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| 69 | 69 | | 42with particular focus on undercounted communities. |
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| 70 | 70 | | 43 (b)The commission shall consist of twenty-nine members, as follows: |
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| 71 | 71 | | 44 (1)the secretary of state, or designee, who shall serve as chair; |
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| 72 | 72 | | 45 (2)the attorney general, or designee; |
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| 73 | 73 | | 46 (3)the Senate chair of the committee on election laws, or designee; |
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| 74 | 74 | | 47 (4)the House chair of the committee on redistricting, or designee; |
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| 75 | 75 | | 48 (5)the Senate minority leader, or designee; 4 of 9 |
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| 76 | 76 | | 49 (6)the House minority leader, or designee; |
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| 77 | 77 | | 50 (7)a Senate member of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus, or designee; |
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| 78 | 78 | | 51 (8)a House member of the Asian Legislative Caucus, or designee; |
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| 79 | 79 | | 52 (9)the commissioner of the department of elementary and secondary education |
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| 80 | 80 | | 53(DESE), or designee; |
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| 81 | 81 | | 54 (10)the commissioner of the office of refugees and immigrants (ORI), or designee; |
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| 82 | 82 | | 55 (11)a member of the Boston city council, selected by majority vote of the council, or |
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| 83 | 83 | | 56designee; |
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| 84 | 84 | | 57 (12)a member of the Worcester city council, selected by majority vote of the council, |
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| 85 | 85 | | 58or designee; |
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| 86 | 86 | | 59 (13)a member of the Springfield city council, selected by majority vote of the council, |
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| 87 | 87 | | 60or designee; |
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| 88 | 88 | | 61 14)a member of the Lowell city council, selected by majority vote of the council, or |
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| 89 | 89 | | 62designee; |
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| 90 | 90 | | 63 (15)a member of the New Bedford city council, selected by majority vote of the |
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| 91 | 91 | | 64council, or designee; |
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| 92 | 92 | | 65 (16)a member of the Barnstable town council, selected by majority vote of the |
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| 93 | 93 | | 66council, or designee; 5 of 9 |
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| 94 | 94 | | 67 (17)a member of the Greenfield town council, selected by majority vote of the |
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| 95 | 95 | | 68council, or designee; |
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| 96 | 96 | | 69 (18)the executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy |
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| 97 | 97 | | 70Coalition (MIRA); |
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| 98 | 98 | | 71 (19)a representative of the Grove Hall Safe Neighborhood Initiative; |
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| 99 | 99 | | 72 (20)the executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless; |
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| 100 | 100 | | 73 (21)four members who shall be residents of the Commonwealth and appointed by the |
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| 101 | 101 | | 74Speaker of the House, ensuring diverse geographic, cultural, ethnic, racial, and gender |
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| 102 | 102 | | 75representation on the commission: |
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| 103 | 103 | | 76 (a)two members who represent faith communities of color in the commonwealth; |
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| 104 | 104 | | 77 (b)one member who represents minority and women-owned businesses in the |
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| 105 | 105 | | 78commonwealth; and |
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| 106 | 106 | | 79 (c)one member of the Wampanoag tribe; and |
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| 107 | 107 | | 80 (22)five members who shall be residents of the Commonwealth and appointed by the |
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| 108 | 108 | | 81Senate president, ensuring diverse geographic, cultural, ethnic, racial, and gender representation |
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| 109 | 109 | | 82on the commission: |
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| 110 | 110 | | 83 (a)one member who represents youth in the commonwealth; |
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| 111 | 111 | | 84 b) one member who represents the elderly; |
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| 112 | 112 | | 85 (c)one veteran; 6 of 9 |
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| 113 | 113 | | 86 (d)one member who represents the community of persons with disabilities; and |
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| 114 | 114 | | 87 (e)one member who represents tenants and renters. |
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| 115 | 115 | | 88 Section 3. Census outreach programs |
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| 116 | 116 | | 89 (a)The commission shall develop and implement census outreach programs to (a) |
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| 117 | 117 | | 90increase awareness of the census, focusing efforts in undercounted communities, (b) educate |
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| 118 | 118 | | 91residents of the commonwealth about the importance of an accurate census count, (c) alleviate |
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| 119 | 119 | | 92concerns about perceived repercussions for participating in the census count, and (d) engage |
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| 120 | 120 | | 93undercounted communities in the census counting process. |
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| 121 | 121 | | 94 (b)The census outreach programs shall take into account barriers to proper counting |
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| 122 | 122 | | 95of all residents of the commonwealth. |
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| 123 | 123 | | 96 (c)The census outreach programs shall include communications to residents of the |
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| 124 | 124 | | 97commonwealth through school-based programs, partnerships with non-profit and community- |
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| 125 | 125 | | 98based programs, and a multi-lingual, multi-media, multi-platform campaign. |
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| 126 | 126 | | 99 (d)For purposes of implementing the census outreach programs, the commission: |
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| 127 | 127 | | 100 (1)may create and appoint working groups as it deems appropriate; and |
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| 128 | 128 | | 101 (2)shall solicit participation from relevant experts and practitioners as necessary to |
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| 129 | 129 | | 102achieve the goals set forth in subsection (a) of this section. |
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| 130 | 130 | | 103 Section 4. Administrative support |
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| 131 | 131 | | 104 The commission shall be coordinated through the office of the secretary of state which |
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| 132 | 132 | | 105shall provide administrative support to the commission and coordinate with state agencies and 7 of 9 |
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| 133 | 133 | | 106constitutional officers, as well as units of local government, to identify effective methods of |
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| 134 | 134 | | 107outreach and to provide resources to ensure that outreach programs are successful and all |
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| 135 | 135 | | 108residents are counted. |
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| 136 | 136 | | 109 Section 5. Commission service; staff |
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| 137 | 137 | | 110 (a)Members of the commission shall serve four-year terms, provided that no term |
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| 138 | 138 | | 111shall terminate within the 24-month period prior to a census day or the 6-month period |
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| 139 | 139 | | 112subsequent to a census day. |
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| 140 | 140 | | 113 (b)Members of the commission shall receive no compensation for their services but |
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| 141 | 141 | | 114may be reimbursed for expenses incurred in the course of their service on the commission. |
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| 142 | 142 | | 115 (c)The commission may employ a director and assistant director upon a simple |
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| 143 | 143 | | 116majority vote of the full membership of the commission. The director and assistant director may |
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| 144 | 144 | | 117be compensated from moneys appropriated or available for that purpose. |
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| 145 | 145 | | 118 Section 6. Vacancies |
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| 146 | 146 | | 119 Vacancies the commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment. |
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| 147 | 147 | | 120 Section 7. Commission meetings |
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| 148 | 148 | | 121 (a)During the 24-month period prior to a census day, the commission shall meet at |
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| 149 | 149 | | 122least monthly, or more frequently at the call of the chair or by majority vote of the members. |
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| 150 | 150 | | 123 (b)At all times other than the period set forth in subsection (a) of this section, the |
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| 151 | 151 | | 124commission shall meet at least quarterly, or more frequently at the call of the chair or by majority |
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| 152 | 152 | | 125vote of the members. 8 of 9 |
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| 153 | 153 | | 126 (c)To the extent practicable, the commission shall rotate meeting locations |
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| 154 | 154 | | 127throughout every region of the commonwealth. |
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| 155 | 155 | | 128 Section 8. Expenditures |
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| 156 | 156 | | 129 The secretary of the commonwealth shall use all reasonable efforts to secure federal |
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| 157 | 157 | | 130funding for implementation of the census outreach programs. At least forty percent of the funds |
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| 158 | 158 | | 131spent implementing the census outreach programs must be spent on undercounted communities. |
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| 159 | 159 | | 132 Section 9. Reports |
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| 160 | 160 | | 133 (a)By June 1 in the odd-numbered year immediately preceding a census day, the |
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| 161 | 161 | | 134commission shall file with the governor, the secretary of the commonwealth, the attorney |
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| 162 | 162 | | 135general, and the general court joint committees on election laws and redistricting, an interim |
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| 163 | 163 | | 136report containing: (1) its proposed census outreach programs to encourage full participation and |
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| 164 | 164 | | 137avoid an undercount in the upcoming decennial census; and (2) any recommendations for |
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| 165 | 165 | | 138regulatory or legislative action necessary to ensure an accurate count of all Massachusetts |
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| 166 | 166 | | 139residents in the upcoming decennial census. |
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| 167 | 167 | | 140 (b)The general court joint committees on election laws and redistricting may, |
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| 168 | 168 | | 141separately or collectively, issue to the commission suggestions for improvements to the proposed |
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| 169 | 169 | | 142census outreach programs contained in the interim report. The committees may, separately or |
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| 170 | 170 | | 143collectively, hold public hearings in advance of preparing and issuing said suggestions. Any |
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| 171 | 171 | | 144suggestions must be issued to the commission by November 1 in the odd-numbered year |
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| 172 | 172 | | 145immediately preceding a census day. 9 of 9 |
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| 173 | 173 | | 146 (c)By December 10 in the odd-numbered year immediately preceding a census day, |
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| 174 | 174 | | 147the committee shall file with the governor, the secretary of the commonwealth, the attorney |
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| 175 | 175 | | 148general, and the general court joint committees on election laws and redistricting, a final report |
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| 176 | 176 | | 149containing the census outreach programs to be implemented throughout the commonwealth. |
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| 177 | 177 | | 150 (d)By February 1 in the odd-numbered year immediately subsequent to a census day, |
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| 178 | 178 | | 151the committee shall file with the governor, the secretary of the commonwealth, the attorney |
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| 179 | 179 | | 152general, and the general court joint committees on election laws and redistricting, a post- |
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| 180 | 180 | | 153implementation report containing: (1) a detailed accounting of the census outreach programs |
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| 181 | 181 | | 154implemented for the immediately prior decennial census; (2) an assessment of the perceived |
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| 182 | 182 | | 155levels of success of the components of the census outreach programs; (3) recommendations for |
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| 183 | 183 | | 156improvements in the next census outreach programs, including in the commission’s discretion |
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| 184 | 184 | | 157appropriate recommended legislative or regulatory action; and (4) other notable outcomes of the |
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| 185 | 185 | | 158commission’s work. |
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| 186 | 186 | | 159 (e)The commission may update its post-implementation report as appropriate, in its |
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| 187 | 187 | | 160discretion, until December 31 in the second odd-numbered year subsequent to a census day. |
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