I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8795 
To establish a process for the creation of minority impact assessments to 
determine whether pending bills, if enacted, are likely to create or exacer-
bate disparate outcomes among racial or ethnic minority groups, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 9, 2022 
Mr. TORRES of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To establish a process for the creation of minority impact 
assessments to determine whether pending bills, if en-
acted, are likely to create or exacerbate disparate out-
comes among racial or ethnic minority groups, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wayne Ford Racial 
Impact Statement Act of 2022’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Minority impact assessments are a tool for 
lawmakers to evaluate potential disparities of pro-
posed legislation prior to adoption and implementa-
tion. 
(2) There are 5,000 criminal penalties in Fed-
eral law and the number of Federal statutes car-
rying a criminal penalty has increased by 50 percent 
since the 1980s. 
(3) The enactment of criminal laws and pen-
alties is a serious matter and the legislative process 
should reflect the gravity of this process. 
(4) The United States Sentencing Commission 
was created to reduce sentencing disparities, which 
provides a strong foundation for equity action in this 
branch of Government. 
(5) Criminal laws conceived and voted on in 
haste can lead to the enactment of unnecessary, du-
plicative, ineffective, or prejudicial criminal pen-
alties. 
(6) In 2008, Iowa was the first State to enact 
minority impact assessment legislation, authored by 
former State Representative Wayne Ford, requiring 
that criminal justice legislation be evaluated with re-
spect to whether it will disproportionately impact 
specified minority groups. 
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(7) The Iowa law created a measurable decline 
in Black incarceration rates from 13.6 per 1 White 
resident to 9 to 1 White residents, demonstrating 
that minority impact assessments can effectively ad-
dress disparities in lawmaking and sentencing. 
(8) Similar legislation has since been considered 
or enacted in New York, Arizona, Arkansas, Cali-
fornia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Lou-
isiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, 
Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, 
Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, 
Wisconsin, Connecticut, Oregon, New Jersey, Colo-
rado, Maine, and Virginia. 
(9) The NAACP and the National Black Cau-
cus of State Legislators have adopted resolutions in 
support of Federal legislation providing for the use 
of minority impact assessments. 
(10) Precedent for adopting procedural meas-
ures that increase critical deliberation and require 
independent analysis at the Federal level of racial 
disparities in criminal justice already exists in the 
form of scores from the Congressional Budget Of-
fice. 
(11) Deeply rooted discriminatory policies and 
practices in our legal system fuel systemic inequal-
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ities and cycles of poverty and hardship, stigmatize 
and exclude people with criminal records, and im-
pede community integration. 
(12) Requiring an independent assessment with 
sobering information on the impact of legislation 
that adds or increases criminal penalties is one way 
to level the inequities that disproportionately impact 
people of color, LGBTQ individuals, individuals with 
disabilities, and other vulnerable groups in sen-
tencing. 
(13) Congress must institutionalize a more de-
liberate and evidence-based process prior to voting to 
criminalize conduct and impose harsh sentences. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 
a tool for lawmakers and Federal agencies to determine 
whether pending bills and proposed rules, if enacted, are 
likely to create or exacerbate disparate outcomes among 
racial or ethnic minority groups. 
SEC. 3. MINORITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) MINORITY IMPACT ASSESSMENTS ON LEGISLA-
TION.—The Comptroller General of the United States, in 
consultation with the Sentencing Commission and the Ad-
ministrative Office of the United States Courts, shall pre-
pare and submit a minority impact assessment to Con-
gress on a covered bill or joint resolution prior to the con-
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