The proposed bill, titled the "Residence of Individuals in Government Custody Act," aims to ensure that individuals in government custody are counted at their actual residences for redistricting purposes. It addresses the discrepancy in how incarcerated individuals are classified by the census, which often counts them as residents of their incarceration facilities rather than their home addresses.

To rectify this, the bill mandates the Department of Corrections to collect and maintain an electronic record of the legal residence and demographic data of individuals entering custody after January 1, 2026. This record will include the last known complete street address prior to incarceration, the person's race, whether the person is of Hispanic or Latino origin, and whether the person is over the age of eighteen (18) years.

The Department of Corrections is required to report this information to the Secretary of State annually by May 1, including the street address of the correctional facility, the last known address prior to incarceration, and demographic information. The report must not include the names of incarcerated individuals and must be treated as confidential, only to be disclosed in aggregated form for redistricting purposes.

The Secretary of State is tasked with preparing redistricting population data that reflects incarcerated individuals at their residential addresses, ensuring that these individuals are not misrepresented in population statistics for state house of representative districts, state senate districts, and local government districts. The act specifies that incarcerated populations residing at unknown geographic locations will not be used to determine the ideal population of any set of districts, wards, or precincts.

Additionally, the Secretary of State will analyze the data submitted for completeness and publish findings regarding missing data and geocoding issues. The data prepared under this act shall not be used in the distribution of any state or federal aid. The act will take effect upon passage.