OKLAHOMA CITY – State lawmakers need more data and oversight tools to develop anti-discrimination polices, a state Senate committee was told during a recent interim hearing.
Hosted by state Senator George Young, D-Oklahoma City, the interim hearings examined the idea of forming a commission to study race and equity issues and looked at proposals that would require racial impact statements for any new legislation that would change the state’s criminal justice system.
Young said some of the issues facing the country could be solved through legislation. “Creating a race and equality commission would bring community voices together to offer suggestions and recommendations to address the racial and socioeconomic disparities we see across our state. Now is the time to be proactive rather than reactive.”
Oklahoma City Councilwoman Nikki Nice told lawmakers that Oklahoma City was one of 33 of the country’s 100 largest cities without a commission that investigates and enforces human rights issues.
“A well-designed human rights commission can reduce conf licts and protect residents from racism and discrimination,” she said. Nice said that a commission could gather data that creates a baseline for inequities in state communities.
Damion Shade, a policy analyst for the Oklahoma Policy Institute said issues such as criminal justice reform require data. In a presentation shared with the Senate Rules Committee, Shade said that the number of Black Oklahomans incarcerated in the state was five times higher than that of white Oklahomans. Shade said that residents in low-income neighborhoods also face more court that those living in more prosperous areas.
Shade said a lack of mental health resources in Oklahoma’s small towns has led to a 111% increase in pre-trial jail populations in rural areas.
He said that the top 10 counties reporting the highest drug death rates and the top 10 counties with mental health distress calls were both rural, a disparity that’s often overlooked by legislation and could be fixed with an independent commission studying this data.
Young said the issue goes beyond race.
“This is not an issue that is only race related,” he said. “The disparities we see in Oklahoma are broad, and we need a commission that looks at the welfare of the most vulnerable citizens of this great state.”
In addition to a call for more data and the creation of a commission to address racial issues, Young called for legislation that would require racial impact statements on criminal justice legislation.
During the last legislative session, Young authored Senate Bill 1184, which required a racial impact statement for any Senate or House bill that creates a new offense; significantly changes an existing offense; changes the penalty for an existing offense; or changes existing sentencing, parole or probation procedures.
Under the proposal a racial impact statement would have to be filed with a committee chairman in order for a criminal justice bill to be heard in a legislative committee. If the bill is amended, a new racial impact statement would be required.
“Incarceration disparities lead to generational cycles of trauma and economic disadvantage,” Young said in a media statement when the bill was filed. “A racial impact statement would allow lawmakers a chance to identify any discriminatory impact toward minority groups. The goal is to reduce the gap of racial and ethnic disparities.”
During the hearing Young said incarceration disparities lead to generation cycles of trauma and economic disadvantage.
“A racial impact statement would allow lawmakers a chance to identify any discriminatory impact toward minority groups,” he said. “The goal is to reduce the gap of racial and ethnic disparities.”
Young stated that incarceration costs continue to grow. He said taxpayers pay anywhere from $12,000 to $25,000 to incarcerate one inmate per year, and possibly more if the inmate has health issues.
“African Americans make up eight to nine percent of our state’s population, but this same group makes up 25-30 percent of our total incarceration rate. Mass incarceration exasperates inequality and we must address this issue,” he said.
Richard Smotherman, a legislative liaison for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation told the committee that the OSBI currently doesn’t have a good way to analyze the racial impact of proposed legislation. He said law enforcement agencies were required to report crime data to the OSBI on a monthly basis but added that those agencies only required to report certain crimes.
Young said he would continue to push legislation which called for the use of racial impact statements.
“I believe racial impact statements are absolutely needed before we proceed with any legislation that would create changes to our criminal justice system,” he said. “Knowledge and data are power. These statements would be no different than a fiscal impact statement for measures that deal with state appropriations, and it wouldn’t be binding for legislation to move through the process. However, more information on how we could be disproportionately affecting communities of color unintentionally with our actions is very important.”
State lawmakers will return to the Capitol on Feb. 1, 2021. However, members can begin to file legislation for the next session on November 15.