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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | May 4, 2023 11:01 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Christopher M. Rabb and Rep. Donna Bullock |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Demographic Impact Statements for Legislation Amending the Crimes Code or Judicial Code |
| Black individuals are incarcerated in state prisons at more than five times the rate of White individuals. Additionally, Pennsylvania has the ninth highest Latine rate of imprisonment in the nation. The rate at which our state incarcerates Latine individuals is more than double the national average of White imprisonment. According to the NAACP, if Black and brown individuals were incarcerated at a comparable rate to White individuals in the U.S., prison and jail populations would decline by approximately 40 percent. For this reason, we will be introducing legislation that would provide legislators the ability to request the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing prepare a demographic impact statement for any legislative measure that would amend the Crimes Code or the Judicial Code prior to its final consideration by the Senate or House of Representatives. Demographic impact statements are a tool for lawmakers to evaluate potential disparities of proposed legislation, providing an opportunity for them to consider alternative, non-carceral policy approaches. Similar to fiscal impact statements, demographic impact statements assist legislators in detecting sometimes unintended policy ramifications of such legislation. Please join us in co-sponsoring this legislation, as it time we recognize that there are financial and moral costs to maintaining biased, unfair standards in our criminal legal and carceral systems. |
Introduced as HB1188