Racial Equity Impact Notes

About REIN

The REIN unit evaluates for the racial impact of selected criminal justice legislation. The REIN unit conducts statistical analyses using available criminal justice data to provide an objective evaluation of potential disparities among racial and ethnic groups that may be either exacerbated or created by the legislation.

The findings of these assessments are published as a racial equity impact statement, which is made available online as part of the legislative history of the bill. The decision to publish a REIN for a particular bill or set of bills is based on the following criteria:

There is enough data to be processed to provide an objective analysis of the bill’s provisions.

The topics addressed in the bill include current issues of concern for minority residents in the State.

Providing information surrounding key decision points in the criminal justice system will inform legislators and the public of possible policy implications of legislation.

This document outlines the data practices that the unit operates upon when producing notes for bills.