Bill Text: IL HB5194 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Racial and Ethnic Impact Note Act. Provides that every criminal justice bill which affects pre-trial detention, sentencing, probation, mandatory supervised release, or parole policies in this State shall have prepared for it prior to second reading in the house of introduction, a brief explanatory statement or note, prepared by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority which shall include, but not be limited to, a statistical analysis of how the proposed change in policy would affect racial and ethnic minorities and any additional information which indicates the impact of the proposed measure on racial and ethnic minorities. Provides that the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority shall work in conjunction with the Department of Corrections, Department of Juvenile Justice, pre-trial service agencies of counties of this State, and the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council to prepare this statement. Provides that the statement prepared by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority for a bill designated by a Racial and Ethnic Impact Note shall be delivered to the sponsor within 10 calendar days after its submission, except that when, because of the complexity of the bill, additional time is required for the preparation of the note, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority may notify the sponsor and request an extension of time not to exceed 5 additional days within which the note is to be completed. Provides that if the sponsor of any measure is of the opinion that a Racial and Ethnic Impact Note is not necessary, any member of either house may request that a note be obtained, and in that case the matter shall be decided by a majority vote of those present and voting in the house of which he or she is a member. Makes other changes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2019-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB5194 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HB5194-Introduced.html

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100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2017 and 2018 HB5194 Introduced , by Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
Creates the Racial and Ethnic Impact Note Act. Provides that every criminal justice bill which affects pre-trial detention, sentencing, probation, mandatory supervised release, or parole policies in this State shall have prepared for it prior to second reading in the house of introduction, a brief explanatory statement or note, prepared by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority which shall include, but not be limited to, a statistical analysis of how the proposed change in policy would affect racial and ethnic minorities and any additional information which indicates the impact of the proposed measure on racial and ethnic minorities. Provides that the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority shall work in conjunction with the Department of Corrections, Department of Juvenile Justice, pre-trial service agencies of counties of this State, and the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council to prepare this statement. Provides that the statement prepared by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority for a bill designated by a Racial and Ethnic Impact Note shall be delivered to the sponsor within 10 calendar days after its submission, except that when, because of the complexity of the bill, additional time is required for the preparation of the note, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority may notify the sponsor and request an extension of time not to exceed 5 additional days within which the note is to be completed. Provides that if the sponsor of any measure is of the opinion that a Racial and Ethnic Impact Note is not necessary, any member of either house may request that a note be obtained, and in that case the matter shall be decided by a majority vote of those present and voting in the house of which he or she is a member. Makes other changes.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning State government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Racial
and Ethnic Impact Note Act.
Section 5. Legislative findings.
The General Assembly finds that:
(1) Public policymakers are increasingly concerned
with the disparity between the number of minorities in the
population and the number incarcerated in prisons in this
State.
(2) Racial and ethnic disparities in our nation's
criminal justice system result in devastating consequences
to society: offenders face daunting employment challenges,
reduced lifetime employment earnings, and lack access to
public benefits; offenders' families face the shame and
stigma associated with incarceration, as well as the loss
of financial and emotional support of a loved one; and high
rates of recidivism and burgeoning prison system costs
which affect all communities.
(3) Nationally, one of every 9 black males between 20
and 34 years of age are incarcerated; 38% of prisoners
under federal and state jurisdiction at the end of 2010

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were black, 32% were white, and 22% were Hispanic;
according to 2010 United States Census data, 12.6% of the
United States is black.
(4) In this State in 2016, 56.7% of the prison
population were black, 30.1% were white, and 12.6% were
Hispanic; whereas blacks make up 14.7% of the general
population.
(5) Criminal justice policies, while neutral on their
face, often adversely affect minority communities. These
unintended consequences could be more adequately addressed
prior to adoption of a new initiative, particularly since
these initiatives, once adopted, are often difficult to
reverse.
(6) The racial and ethnic impact note is a tool to
guide policymakers in proactively assessing how proposed
sentencing initiatives affect racial and ethnic
disparities within the criminal justice system. This
system provides legislators and State agencies with a
statistical analysis of the projected impact of proposed
policy changes.
Section 10. Racial and ethnic impact note required. Every
criminal justice bill which affects pre-trial detention,
sentencing, probation, mandatory supervised release, or parole
policies in this State shall have prepared for it prior to
second reading in the house of introduction, a brief

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explanatory statement or note, prepared by the Illinois
Criminal Justice Information Authority which shall include,
but not be limited to, a statistical analysis of how the
proposed change in policy would affect racial and ethnic
minorities and any additional information which indicates the
impact of the proposed measure on racial and ethnic minorities.
The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority shall work
in conjunction with the Department of Corrections, Department
of Juvenile Justice, pre-trial service agencies of counties of
this State, and the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council
to prepare this statement.
Section 15. Sponsor request.
(a) Upon the request of the sponsor of any bill described
in Section 10 of this Act, the Illinois Criminal Justice
Information Authority shall prepare a written statement
setting forth the information specified in Section 10 of this
Act.
(b) The statement prepared by the Illinois Criminal Justice
Information Authority for a bill designated for a Racial and
Ethnic Impact Note shall be delivered to the sponsor within 10
calendar days after its submission, except that when, because
of the complexity of the bill, additional time is required for
the preparation of the note, the Illinois Criminal Justice
Information Authority may notify the sponsor and request an
extension of time not to exceed 5 additional days within which

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the note is to be completed. The extension shall not extend
beyond May 15 following the date of the request.
Section 20. Member request. If the sponsor of any measure
is of the opinion that a Racial and Ethnic Impact Note is not
necessary, any member of either house may request that a note
be obtained, which shall be decided by a majority vote of those
present and voting in the house of which he or she is a member.
Section 25. Note contents.
(a) The note shall be factual in nature, as brief and
concise as possible, and shall provide as reliable an estimate,
the racial and ethnic impact of the proposed measure, as is
possible under the circumstances. The note shall include both
the immediate effect, and if determinable or reasonably
foreseeable, the long-range effect of the measure. If, after
careful investigation, no racial and ethnic impact can be
determined, the note shall contain a statement to that effect,
setting forth the reasons why an estimate of the racial or
ethnic impact cannot be given.
(b) No comment or opinion shall be included in the note
with regard to the merits of the measure for which the note is
prepared; however, technical or mechanical defects may be
noted. A work sheet, prepared with the note, shall include,
insofar as practicable, a breakdown of the statistics or other
information upon which the note is based.

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(c) Five copies of the note shall be prepared and the
original of both the note and the work sheet shall be signed by
the Executive Director of the Illinois Criminal Justice
Information Authority, or his or her designee.
Section 30. Legislation deliberation and amendments.
(a) The fact that a Racial and Ethnic Impact Note is
prepared for any bill shall not preclude or restrict the
appearance before any committee of the General Assembly, of any
official or authorized employee of any State board, commission,
department, agency or other entity who desires to be heard in
support of or in opposition to the measure.
(b) When any measure is amended on the floor of either
house in a manner as to bring it within the description of
bills set forth in Section 10 of this Act, a majority of the
house may propose that no action shall be taken upon the
amendment until the sponsor of the amendment presents to the
members a statement of the racial and ethnic impact of his or
her amendment, as required by this Act.
Section 35. Confidentiality. The subject matter of bills
submitted to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information
Authority shall be kept in strict confidence and no information
relating to it or relating to the racial or ethnic impact of
the proposed bill shall be divulged by an official or employee
of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, except

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to the bill's sponsor or his designee, prior to the bill's
introduction in the General Assembly.