Bill Text: IL SB1600 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the 2020 Census Grant Program Act. Creates the 2020 Census Grant Program for the purpose of issuing matching grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations to support the accurate counting of the population of the State and its local jurisdictions, and the collection of basic demographic and housing information of the population of this State for the 2020 Census. Creates the 2020 Census Grant Program Panel and provides for its membership. Provides administrative support for the Grant Panel. Provides for the awarding of funds under the Grant Program. Requires notice to be given to units of local government and nonprofit organizations concerning the Grant Program. Provides that for fiscal year 2020, the Governor shall include in the annual State budget for the 2020 Census Grant Program an appropriation of $33,000,000. Provides legislative findings. Defines terms. Repeals the Act on January 1, 2022. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB1600 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SB1600-Introduced.html

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101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2019 and 2020 SB1600 Introduced 2/15/2019, by Sen. Elgie R. Sims, Jr. SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
Creates the 2020 Census Grant Program Act. Creates the 2020 Census Grant Program for the purpose of issuing matching grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations to support the accurate counting of the population of the State and its local jurisdictions, and the collection of basic demographic and housing information of the population of this State for the 2020 Census. Creates the 2020 Census Grant Program Panel and provides for its membership. Provides administrative support for the Grant Panel. Provides for the awarding of funds under the Grant Program. Requires notice to be given to units of local government and nonprofit organizations concerning the Grant Program. Provides that for fiscal year 2020, the Governor shall include in the annual State budget for the 2020 Census Grant Program an appropriation of $33,000,000. Provides legislative findings. Defines terms. Repeals the Act on January 1, 2022. Effective immediately.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning 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 2020
Census Grant Program Act.
Section 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly
finds that:
(1) Section 2 of Article 1 of the United States
Constitution requires a non-biased and nonpolitical
enumeration of the population of the United States every 10
years, which is known as the federal decennial census;
(2) the federal decennial census is important because
census figures affect congressional representation, State
redistricting, federal formula grant allocations, State
funding to local governments, local programs, and planning
activities for the next 10 years;
(3) the federal decennial census not only counts
population, but also: (i) establishes representation
decisions for federal, State, and local governments; (ii)
is the basis upon which federal funding is allocated for
programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the National
School Lunch Program; and (iii) guides business decisions
regarding labor pools and investment choices;

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(4) Congress has underfunded the U.S. Commerce
Department's budget to conduct the 2020 Census, causing the
Census Bureau to cancel certain preparations that would
test the Census Bureau's new digital tools;
(5) the Census Bureau plans for 80% of the country to
receive communications that urge a response to the census
via the Internet;
(6) the Census Bureau's reliance on the Internet is
worrisome because 21% of rural households do not currently
have Internet access at home, putting rural residents at
risk of being undercounted;
(7) historically, it has been more difficult to reach
and enumerate certain groups as part of the federal
decennial census, including, but not limited to, racial and
ethnic minorities, persons who do not speak English
fluently, lower income persons, homeless persons,
undocumented immigrants, young mobile persons, children,
persons who are distrustful of the government, and LGBTQ
persons;
(8) a geographic area is considered hard-to-count if
the area's self-response rate in the 2010 decennial census
was 73% or less;
(9) according to the Census 2020 hard-to-count map
application developed by the City University of New York
Mapping Service, approximately 16% of Illinoisans are
hard-to-count and face a high likelihood of being

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undercounted;
(10) according to the George Washington University
Institute for Public Policy, in fiscal year 2015, Illinois
received $19,738,866,367, or approximately $1,535 per
capita, for 16 major federal assistance programs that
distribute funds based on federal decennial census-derived
statistics;
(11) because federal decennial census data are used in
political, business, and social welfare contexts, the
accuracy of the count is critical;
(12) a complete and accurate count of all Illinois
residents in the 2020 Census is vital to ensure fair
political representation and distribution of funding in
Illinois;
(13) in fiscal year 2015, the 50 states and the
District of Columbia received $589,700,000,000 from 16
large federal assistance programs that allocate funds on
the basis of federal decennial census–derived statistics;
(14) there are census tracts in jurisdictions
throughout the State where achieving an accurate count of
the population is challenging, including the counties of
Cook, DeKalb, Pulaski, Will DuPage, Kane, Peoria,
Alexander, Jackson, Coles, Champaign, St. Claire,
McDonough, Madison, Winnebago, and Lake;
(15) the U.S. Government Accountability Office added
the 2020 Census to the High Risk list because of concerns

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about funding and effective operations, increasing
concerns about an undercount of the population; and
(16) adequate funding is necessary to ensure a complete
and accurate count of all people in this State, and it is
the intent of the General Assembly that existing
governmental outreach and education efforts be used to
facilitate a complete count for the 2020 Census.
Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"2020 Census" means the decennial census conducted by the
United States Census Bureau in the year 2020 to determine the
number of people living in the United States for purposes of
apportionment of representatives in the House of
Representatives.
"Grant Panel" means the 2020 Census Grant Program Panel.
Section 15. 2020 Census Grant Program.
(a) There is created the 2020 Census Grant Program for the
purpose of issuing matching grants to units of local government
and nonprofit organizations to support the accurate counting of
the population of the State and its local jurisdictions, and
the collection of basic demographic and housing information of
the population of this State for the 2020 Census.
(b) There is created the 2020 Census Grant Program Panel.
The Grant Panel shall consist of the following members:
(i) a chair appointed jointly by the President of the

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Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
(ii) two members appointed by the Governor; and
(iii) two members appointed jointly by the President of
the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(c) The Secretary of State shall provide staff and
administrative support for the Grant Panel. A member of the
Grant Panel shall not receive compensation for service as a
member of the Grant Panel, but is entitled to reimbursement for
necessary travel expenses incurred by the member.
(d) On or before July 1, 2019, a unit of local government
or nonprofit organization may apply to the Grant Panel for
matching funds to support the accurate counting of the
population of its jurisdiction or the State and the collection
of basic demographic and housing information of the population
of the State for the 2020 Census.
(e) On or before August 1, 2019, the Grant Panel shall
award matching funds, in an amount determined by the Grant
Panel, to units of local government and nonprofit organizations
for approved applications.
(f) The Grant Panel shall notify units of local government
of the 2020 Census Grant Program. Units of local government
receiving notice from the Grant Panel under this subsection (f)
shall notify nonprofit organizations within the jurisdiction
of the unit of local government of the 2020 Census Grant
Program.
(g) For fiscal year 2020, the Governor shall include in the

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annual State budget for the 2020 Census Grant Program an
appropriation of $33,000,000.
Section 20. Repeal. This Act is repealed on January 1,
2022.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.