1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Wayne Ford Racial Impact Statement Act of 2023”.
Wayne Ford Racial Impact Statement Act of 2023
A BILL
To establish a process for the creation of minority impact assessments to determine whether pending bills, if enacted, are likely to create or exacerbate disparate outcomes among racial or ethnic minority groups, and for other purposes.
2. Findings; purpose
Findings— Congress finds the following:
Minority impact assessments are a tool for lawmakers to evaluate potential disparities of proposed legislation prior to adoption and implementation.
There are 5,000 criminal penalties in Federal law and the number of Federal statutes carrying a criminal penalty has increased by 50 percent since the 1980s.
The enactment of criminal laws and penalties is a serious matter and the legislative process should reflect the gravity of this process.
The United States Sentencing Commission was created to reduce sentencing disparities, which provides a strong foundation for equity action in this branch of Government.
Criminal laws conceived and voted on in haste can lead to the enactment of unnecessary, duplicative, ineffective, or prejudicial criminal penalties.
In 2008, Iowa was the first State to enact minority impact assessment legislation, authored by former State Representative Wayne Ford, requiring that criminal justice legislation be evaluated with respect to whether it will disproportionately impact specified minority groups.
The Iowa law created a measurable decline in Black incarceration rates from 13.6 per 1 White resident to 9 to 1 White residents, demonstrating that minority impact assessments can effectively address disparities in lawmaking and sentencing.
Similar legislation has since been considered or enacted in New York, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Oregon, New Jersey, Colorado, Maine, and Virginia.
The NAACP and the National Black Caucus of State Legislators have adopted resolutions in support of Federal legislation providing for the use of minority impact assessments.
Precedent for adopting procedural measures that increase critical deliberation and require independent analysis at the Federal level of racial disparities in criminal justice already exists in the form of scores from the Congressional Budget Office.
Deeply rooted discriminatory policies and practices in our legal system fuel systemic inequalities and cycles of poverty and hardship, stigmatize and exclude people with criminal records, and impede community integration.
Requiring an independent assessment with sobering information on the impact of legislation that adds or increases criminal penalties is one way to level the inequities that disproportionately impact people of color, LGBTQ individuals, individuals with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups in sentencing.
Congress must institutionalize a more deliberate and evidence-based process prior to voting to criminalize conduct and impose harsh sentences.
Purpose— The purpose of this Act is to provide a tool for lawmakers and Federal agencies to determine whether pending bills and proposed rules, if enacted, are likely to create or exacerbate disparate outcomes among racial or ethnic minority groups.
3. Minority impact assessment requirements
Minority impact assessments on legislation— The Comptroller General of the United States, in consultation with the Sentencing Commission and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, shall prepare and submit a minority impact assessment to Congress on a covered bill or joint resolution prior to the consideration of such a bill or joint resolution on the floor of the House of Representatives or of the Senate.
Minority impact assessments on rules— The Comptroller General of the United States, in consultation with the Sentencing Commission and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, shall prepare and publish in the Federal Register along with the general notice of proposed rulemaking required under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, a minority impact assessment to Congress on a covered rule.
Minority impact assessment prepared upon request— A member of Congress may request from the Comptroller General of the United States a minority impact assessment on a covered bill or joint resolution. The Comptroller General of the United States shall prepare and submit to Congress such a minority impact assessment not later than 21 days after receiving such a request.
Minority impact assessment— A minority impact assessment shall include—
detailed projections of the impact of the covered bill or joint resolution or covered rule on pretrial, prison, probation, and post-prison supervision populations, including—
whether the covered bill or joint resolution or covered rule would have a negative impact, no impact, a positive impact, a minimal impact, or an unknown impact on such populations;
the impact of the covered bill or joint resolution or covered rule on correctional facilities and services, including any changes to the operation costs for correctional facilities, and any decrease or increase in the populations of individuals incarcerated in correctional facilities; and
a statistical analysis of how the covered bill or joint resolution or covered rule would impact pretrial, prison, probation, and post-prison supervision populations, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, disability, gender, and sexual orientation;
an estimate of the fiscal impact of the covered bill or joint resolution or covered rule on Federal expenditures, including expenditures on construction and operation of correctional facilities for the current fiscal year and 5 succeeding fiscal years;
an analysis of any other significant factor affecting the cost of the covered bill or joint resolution or covered rule and its impact on the operations of components of the criminal justice system; and
a detailed and comprehensive statement of the methodologies and assumptions utilized in preparing the minority impact assessment.
Annual assessment— The Comptroller General of the United States shall prepare and transmit to the Congress, by March 1 of each year, a minority impact assessment reflecting the cumulative effect of all relevant changes in the law taking effect during the preceding calendar year.
Public availability— Not later than 30 days after preparing a minority impact statement under subsection (a) or (c)—
the Comptroller General of the United States shall publish such minority impact statement on the website of the Government Accountability Office; and
the sponsor of such covered bill or joint resolution shall submit such minority impact statement for publication in the Congressional Record.
Definitions— In this section:
Covered bill or joint resolution—
In general— The term covered bill or joint resolution means a bill or joint resolution that is referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives or the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and that—
establishes a new crime or offense;
could increase or decrease the number of persons incarcerated in Federal penal institutions;
modifies a crime or offense or the penalties associated with a crime or offense established under current law; or
modifies procedures under current law for pretrial detention, sentencing, probation, and post-prison supervision.
Treatment of certain bills considered under rule— A bill or joint resolution which, upon introduction in the House of Representatives, is not referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security of the Committee on the Judiciary shall be treated as a covered bill or joint resolution under this Act if—
the bill or joint resolution is considered in the House of Representatives pursuant to a rule reported by the Committee on Rules; and
the bill or joint resolution would have been referred to such subcommittee upon introduction if the text of the bill or joint resolution as introduced in the House were identical to the text of the bill or joint resolution as considered in the House pursuant to the rule.
Covered rule— The term covered rule means a rule (as such term is defined in section 551 of title 5, United States Code) that—
could increase or decrease the number of persons incarcerated in Federal penal institutions;
modifies a crime or offense or the penalties associated with a crime or offense established under current law; or
modifies procedures under current law for pretrial detention, sentencing, probation, and post-prison supervision.