Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0524 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2025 -- S 0524
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7	7	LC001627
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9	9	S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- RESIDENCE OF INDIVIDUALS IN GOVERNMENT
16	16	CUSTODY ACT
17	17	Introduced By: Senators Quezada, LaMountain, Euer, Acosta, Vargas, McKenney,
18	18	Lauria, Burke, and Urso
19	19	Date Introduced: February 26, 2025
20	20	Referred To: Senate Judiciary
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23	23	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
24	24	SECTION 1. Title 17 of the General Laws entitled "ELECTIONS" is hereby amended by 1
25	25	adding thereto the following chapter: 2
26	26	CHAPTER 30 3
27	27	RESIDENCE OF INDIVIDUALS IN GOVERNMENT CUSTODY ACT 4
28	28	17-30-1. Short title. 5
29	29	This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Residence of Individuals in 6
30	30	Government Custody Act." 7
31	31	17-30-2. Legislative purpose, declaration and findings. 8
32	32	The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that persons in government custody within the state 9
33	33	are counted at their actual residence for redistricting purposes. The general assembly notes that § 10
34	34	17-1-3.1 provides: "A person's residence for voting purposes is his or her fixed and established 11
35	35	domicile… A person can have only one domicile, and the domicile shall not be considered lost 12
36	36	solely by reason of absence for any of the following reasons:…Confinement in a correctional 13
37	37	facility…". Investigation has shown that, despite these provisions, the census continues to classify 14
38	38	incarcerated persons as residents of their places of incarceration, rather than of their home 15
39	39	addresses. The provisions of this chapter are necessary to provide procedures and duties to correct 16
40	40	this discrepancy. 17
41	41	17-30-3. Electronic record. 18
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45	45	The department of corrections shall collect and maintain an electronic record of the legal 1
46	46	residence, presumptively outside of the facility, and other demographic data, for any person 2
47	47	entering its custody after January 1, 2026. At a minimum, this record shall contain the last known 3
48	48	complete street address prior to incarceration, the person's race, whether the person is of Hispanic 4
49	49	or Latino origin, and whether the person is over the age of eighteen (18) years. 5
50	50	17-30-4. Reports to the division of statewide planning. 6
51	51	(a) By May 1 of each year, the department of corrections shall deliver to the division of 7
52	52	statewide planning the following information for each person incarcerated in the department's 8
53	53	facilities as of April 1 that year: 9
54	54	(1) The street address of the correctional facility in which such person was incarcerated; 10
55	55	(2) The last known address of such person prior to incarceration or other legal residence (if 11
56	56	known); 12
57	57	(3) The person's race, whether the person is of Hispanic or Latino origin, and whether the 13
58	58	person is over the age of eighteen (18) years (if known); 14
59	59	(4) For any person who entered the department’s custody prior to January 1, 2026, the 15
60	60	department shall provide all information specified in subsections (a)(1) through (a)(3) of this 16
61	61	section, that exists in its records; and 17
62	62	(5) Any additional information, as the division of statewide planning may request pursuant 18
63	63	to law. 19
64	64	(b) The department shall provide the information specified in subsection (a) of this section, 20
65	65	in such form as the division of statewide planning shall specify. 21
66	66	(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of the general or public laws to the contrary, the 22
67	67	information required to be provided to the division of statewide planning pursuant to this section, 23
68	68	shall not include the name of any incarcerated person and shall not allow for the identification of 24
69	69	any such person therefrom, except to the department of corrections. The information shall be treated 25
70	70	as confidential, and shall not be disclosed by the division of statewide planning, except as 26
71	71	redistricting data aggregated by census block for purposes which they may require. 27
72	72	17-30-5. Federal facilities. 28
73	73	The division of statewide planning shall request each agency that operates a federal facility 29
74	74	in this state that incarcerates persons convicted of a criminal offense, to provide the secretary of 30
75	75	state with a report including the information listed in § 17-30-4. 31
76	76	17-30-6. Requiring use of data in redistricting. 32
77	77	The division of statewide planning shall prepare redistricting population data to reflect 33
78	78	incarcerated persons at their residential address, pursuant to § 17-30-4. The data prepared by the 34
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82	82	division of statewide planning pursuant to § 17-30-4, shall be the basis of congressional districts, 1
83	83	state house of representative districts, state senate districts, and all local government districts that 2
84	84	are based on population. Incarcerated populations residing at unknown geographic locations within 3
85	85	the state, as determined under § 17-30-4, shall not be used to determine the ideal population of any 4
86	86	set of districts, wards, or precincts. 5
87	87	17-30-7. Redistricting data publication by the division of statewide planning. 6
88	88	(a) For each person included in a report received under this chapter, the division of 7
89	89	statewide planning shall determine the geographic units for which population counts are reported 8
90	90	in the federal decennial census, that contain the facility of incarceration and the legal residence as 9
91	91	listed according to the report. 10
92	92	(b) For each person included in a report received under this chapter, if the legal residence 11
93	93	is known and in this state, the division of statewide planning shall: 12
94	94	(1) Ensure that the person is not represented in any population counts reported by the 13
95	95	division of statewide planning, for the geographic units that include the facility at which the person 14
96	96	was incarcerated, unless that geographic unit also includes the person's legal residence; and 15
97	97	(2) Ensure that any population counts reported by the division of statewide planning, reflect 16
98	98	the person’s residential address as reported, pursuant to this chapter. 17
99	99	(c) For each person included in a report received under this chapter for whom a legal 18
100	100	residence is unknown or not in this state, and for all persons reported in the census as residing in a 19
101	101	federal correctional facility for whom a report was not provided, the division of statewide planning 20
102	102	shall: 21
103	103	(1) Ensure that the person is not represented in any population counts reported by the 22
104	104	division of statewide planning for the geographic units that include the facility at which the person 23
105	105	was incarcerated; and 24
106	106	(2) Allocate the person to a state unit not tied to a specific determined geography, as other 25
107	107	state residents with unknown state addresses are allocated, including, but not limited to, military 26
108	108	and federal government personnel stationed overseas. 27
109	109	(d) The data prepared by the division of statewide planning pursuant to this section shall 28
110	110	be completed and published no later than thirty (30) days from the date that federal decennial data 29
111	111	is published for the State of Rhode Island or forty-five (45) days after the effective date of this 30
112	112	chapter, whichever is later. 31
113	113	17-30-8. Annual reports by the secretary of state. 32
114	114	For each report received from the department or federal agency under this chapter, the 33
115	115	division of statewide planning shall analyze the data submitted for its completeness and publish its 34
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119	119	findings, including, but not limited to: 1
120	120	(1) The number of records that were missing data; 2
121	121	(2) The number of records that could not be geocoded; and 3
122	122	(3) For any records that could not be geocoded, a determination of which information was 4
123	123	missing or otherwise made the record unable to be geocoded. 5
124	124	17-30-9. Use in aid. 6
125	125	The data prepared by the division of statewide planning as required by § 17-30-4, shall not 7
126	126	be used in the distribution of any state or federal aid. 8
127	127	17-30-10. Severability. 9
128	128	If any provision of this chapter or the application of any provision of this chapter to any 10
129	129	person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications 11
130	130	of the chapter that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and for this 12
131	131	purpose the provisions of this chapter are severable. 13
132	132	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 14
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139	139	EXPLANATION
140	140	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
141	141	OF
142	142	A N A C T
143	143	RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- RESIDENCE OF INDIVIDUALS IN GOVERNM ENT
144	144	CUSTODY ACT
145	145	***
146	146	This act would require that the state use the actual residences of persons in government 1
147	147	custody for redistricting purposes. Such information would be collected by the department of 2
148	148	corrections and forwarded to the division of statewide planning, to be utilized for redistricting. 3
149	149	This act would take effect upon passage. 4
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