February 21, 2021 The Honorable Justin E. Fairfax

HB 1990 would improve policymaking for proposed sentencing laws and other laws impacting criminal justice law and policy by informing law makers of the potential impact on racial justice and racial disparities in a system known to perpetuate and expand such disparities. [...] The effects of high rates of imprisonment go beyond the experience of prison itself, and have broad consequences for both the justice involved resident and the community.2 A prison term results in barriers to employment including reduced lifetime earnings, and restrictions on access to various public benefits. [...] And for the community at large, the challenges of reentry result in high rates of recidivism, extraction of social and political capital, and the consequent costs a too large prison system. [...] Racial impact statement policies are key to acknowledge the persistence of racial disparity in sentencing law and policymaking and to identify clear actions to minimize and eventually remove those disparities. [...] Racial impact statements should be viewed as a mechanism to help guide the development of sound and fair law and policy, but they are not an impediment to enacting changes in the law.