PRINTER'S NO. 2505
No. 291 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY SCHRODER, FARGO, ARGALL, ARMSTRONG, BATTISTO, DEMPSEY, EGOLF, FICHTER, GEIST, GIGLIOTTI, GRUCELA, HENNESSEY, HERSHEY, HORSEY, HUTCHINSON, KIRKLAND, LAUGHLIN, LEH, McILHINNEY, MELIO, METCALFE, S. MILLER, MUNDY, PESCI, PETRONE, PLATTS, READSHAW, ROBERTS, RUBLEY, SAYLOR, SHANER, STERN, E. Z. TAYLOR, J. TAYLOR, TRELLO, WILT AND YOUNGBLOOD, OCTOBER 25, 1999
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, OCTOBER 25, 1999
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1 Calling on the United States Bureau of the Census to refrain 2 from using statistical sampling in the decennial census. 3 WHEREAS, The Constitution of the United States requires an 4 actual enumeration of the population every ten years and 5 entrusts Congress with overseeing all aspects of each decennial 6 enumeration; and 7 WHEREAS, The sole constitutional purpose of the decennial 8 census is to apportion the seats in Congress among the several 9 states; and 10 WHEREAS, An accurate and legal decennial census is necessary 11 to properly apportion United States House of Representatives 12 seats among the 50 states and to create legislative districts 13 within the states; and 14 WHEREAS, An accurate and legal decennial census is necessary 15 to enable states to comply with the constitutional mandate of
1 drawing state legislative districts within the states; and 2 WHEREAS, Section 2 of Article I of the Constitution of the 3 United States, in order to ensure an accurate count and to 4 minimize the potential for political manipulation, mandates an 5 "actual enumeration" of the population, which requires a 6 physical head count of the population and prohibits statistical 7 guessing or estimates of the population; and 8 WHEREAS, The provisions of 13 United States Code § 195 9 (relating to use of sampling), consistent with this 10 constitutional mandate, expressly prohibit the use of 11 statistical sampling to enumerate the population of the United 12 States for the purpose of reapportioning the United States House 13 of Representatives; and 14 WHEREAS, Legislative redistricting conducted by the states is 15 a critical subfunction of the constitutional requirement to 16 apportion representatives among the states; and 17 WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court, in case No. 98-404, 18 Department of Commerce, et al. v. United States House of 19 Representatives, et al., together with case No. 98-564, Clinton, 20 President of the United States, et al. v. Glavin, et al., 525 21 U.S. _____ (1999), ruled on January 25, 1999, that 13 United 22 States Code (relating to census) prohibits the Bureau of the 23 Census' proposed uses of statistical sampling in calculating the 24 population for purposes of apportionment; and 25 WHEREAS, In reaching its findings, the United States Supreme 26 Court found that the use of statistical procedures to adjust 27 census numbers would create a dilution of voting rights for 28 citizens in legislative redistricting, thus violating legal 29 guarantees of "one-person, one-vote"; and 30 WHEREAS, Consistent with this ruling and the constitutional 19990H0291R2505 - 2 -
1 and legal relationship of legislative redistricting by the 2 states to the apportionment of the United States House of 3 Representatives, the use of adjusted census data would raise 4 serious questions of vote dilution and violate "one-person, one- 5 vote" legal protections, thus exposing the Commonwealth of 6 Pennsylvania to protracted litigation over legislative 7 redistricting plans at great cost to the taxpayers of this 8 Commonwealth, and would likely result in a court ruling 9 invalidating any legislative redistricting plan using census 10 numbers that have been determined in whole or in part by the use 11 of random sampling techniques or other statistical methodologies 12 that add or subtract persons to the census counts based solely 13 on statistical inference; and 14 WHEREAS, Consistent with this ruling, no person enumerated in 15 the census should ever be deleted from the census enumeration; 16 and 17 WHEREAS, Consistent with this ruling, every reasonable and 18 practical effort should be made to obtain the fullest and most 19 accurate count of the population as possible, including 20 appropriate funding for state and local census outreach and 21 education programs, as well as a provision for post-census local 22 review; and 23 WHEREAS, Federal funding formulas based upon census data 24 determine the state-by-state distribution of nearly $200 billion 25 in Federal funds each year; therefore be it 26 RESOLVED (the Senate concurring), That the General Assembly 27 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania call on the Bureau of the 28 Census to conduct the 2000 decennial census consistently with 29 the aforementioned United States Supreme Court ruling and 30 constitutional mandate, which require a physical head count of 19990H0291R2505 - 3 -
1 the population and which bar the use of statistical sampling to 2 create, or in any way adjust, the count; and be it further 3 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly urge the Bureau of the 4 Census to permit a postcensus local review process to ensure an 5 actual enumeration; and be it further 6 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly oppose the use of the 7 2000 decennial census Public Law 94-171 data file for state 8 legislative redistricting based on census numbers that have been 9 determined in whole or in part by the use of statistical 10 inferences derived by means of random sampling techniques or 11 other statistical methodologies that add or subtract persons to 12 the census counts; and be it further 13 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly demand that it receive 14 the 2000 decennial census Public Law 94-171 data file for 15 legislative redistricting identical to the census tabulation 16 data used to apportion seats in the United States House of 17 Representatives consistent with the aforementioned United States 18 Supreme Court ruling and constitutional mandate, which require a 19 physical head count of the population and which bar the use of 20 statistical sampling to create, or in any way adjust, the count; 21 and be it further 22 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly urge the Congress, as the 23 branch of government assigned the responsibility of overseeing 24 the decennial enumeration, to take whatever steps are necessary 25 to ensure that the 2000 decennial census is conducted fairly and 26 legally; and be it further 27 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 28 the President of the United States, the Vice President of the 29 United States, the presiding officers of each house of Congress 30 and to each member of Congress from Pennsylvania. H24L82DMS/19990H0291R2505 - 4 -