Committee endorses bill to require racial impact statements in all state legislation

The legislation makes sense, said James Myall, policy analyst for the Maine Center for Economic Policy.

“The bill is based on a simple premise: Racial disparities in Maine are real, and can be exacerbated or improved by policy. The same way we assess spending bills to determine their impact on state finances or assess new infrastructure to see how it would affect our environment, we can and should rate legislation for how it would help or hinder racial justice,” Myall said.

Click here to read the full story, first published February 17, 2021, in the Portland Press Herald.