Rhode Island HB 7070: AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- RESIDENCE OF INDIVIDUALS IN GOVERNMENT CUSTODY ACT

Bill Text

2024 -- H 7070
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LC003748
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S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024
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A N A C T
RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- RESIDENCE OF INDIVIDUALS IN GOVERNMENT
CUSTODY ACT
Introduced By: Representatives Cruz, Ajello, Morales, Stewart, Batista, Henries, Cotter,
Sanchez, Felix, and Slater
Date Introduced: January 05, 2024
Referred To: House State Government & Elections

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Title 17 of the General Laws entitled "ELECTIONS" is hereby amended by 1
adding thereto the following chapter: 2
CHAPTER 30 3
RESIDENCE OF INDIVIDUALS IN GOVERNMENT CUSTODY ACT 4
17-30-1. Short title. 5
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Residence of Individuals in 6
Government Custody Act." 7
17-30-2. Legislative purpose, declaration and findings. 8
The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that persons in government custody within the state 9
are counted at their actual residence for redistricting purposes. The general assembly notes that § 10
17-1-3.1 provides: "A person's residence for voting purposes is his or her fixed and established 11
domicile... A person can have only one domicile, and the domicile shall not be considered lost 12
solely by reason of absence for any of the following reasons:...Confinement in a correctional 13
facility...". Investigation has shown that, despite these provisions, the census classifies incarcerated 14
persons as residents of their places of incarceration rather than of their home addresses. The 15
provisions of this chapter are necessary to provide procedures and duties to correct this discrepancy. 16
17-30-3. Electronic record. 17
The department of corrections shall collect and maintain an electronic record of the legal 18

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residence, presumptively outside of the facility, and other demographic data, for any person 1
entering its custody after January 1, 2025. At a minimum, this record shall contain the last known 2
complete street address prior to incarceration, the person's race, whether the person is of Hispanic 3
or Latino origin, and whether the person is over the age of eighteen (18) years. 4
17-30-4. Reports to the secretary of state. 5
(a) By May 1 of each year, the department of corrections shall deliver to the secretary of 6
state: 7
(1) The street address of the correctional facility in which such person was incarcerated at 8
the time of such report; 9
(2) The last known address of such person prior to incarceration or other legal residence (if 10
known); 11
(3) The person's race, whether the person is of Hispanic or Latino origin, and whether the 12
person is over the age of eighteen (18) years (if known); 13
(4) For any person who entered the department’s custody prior to January 1, 2025, the 14
department shall provide all information specified in subsections (a)(1) through (a)(3) of this 15
section that exists in its records; and 16
(5) Any additional information as the secretary of state may request pursuant to law. 17
(b) The department shall provide the information specified in subsection (a) of this section 18
in such form as the secretary of state shall specify. 19
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of the general or public laws to the contrary, the 20
information required to be provided to the secretary of state pursuant to this section shall not include 21
the name of any incarcerated person and shall not allow for the identification of any such person 22
therefrom, except to the department of corrections. The information shall be treated as confidential, 23
and shall not be disclosed by the secretary of state except as redistricting data aggregated by census 24
block for purposes which they may require. 25
17-30-5. Federal facilities. 26
The secretary of state shall request each agency that operates a federal facility in this state 27
that incarcerates persons convicted of a criminal offense to provide the secretary of state with a 28
report including the information listed in § 17-30-4. 29
17-30-6. Requiring use of data in redistricting. 30
The secretary of state shall prepare redistricting population data to reflect incarcerated 31
persons at their residential address, pursuant to § 17-30-4. The data prepared by the secretary of 32
state pursuant to § 17-30-4 shall be the basis of state house of representative districts, state senate 33
districts, and all local government districts that are based on population. Incarcerated populations 34

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residing at unknown geographic locations within the state, as determined under § 17-30-4, shall not 1
be used to determine the ideal population of any set of districts, wards, or precincts. 2
17-30-7. Redistricting data publication by the secretary of state. 3
(a) For each person included in a report received under this chapter, the secretary of state 4
shall determine the geographic units for which population counts are reported in the federal 5
decennial census t