Resolution 2019-30711 RESOLUTION NO. 2019-30711
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, URGING THE UNITED STATES
CONGRESS TO ENACT LAWS AND TAKE ANY AND ALL SUCH
OTHER LAWFUL ACTIONS THAT WOULD EXPRESSLY ELIMINATE A
CITIZENSHIP QUESTION ON THE DECENNIAL CENSUS IN THE
INTEREST OF THE PROPER ALLOCATION ,OF POLITICAL
REPRESENTATION AND THE APPROPRIATE DISTRIBUTION OF
FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL FUNDS.
WHEREAS, Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution
mandates that, every ten years, the federal government conduct a census to count every person
residing in the United States, whether a citizen or non-citizen, and whether residing in this
country with legal status or without; and
WHEREAS, the population count derived from the decennial census is used to apportion
representatives among the states, to draw political districts and allocate power within them, and
to allocate hundreds of billions of dollars in federal, state, and local funds; and
WHEREAS, since its inception in 1790, the decennial census has collected demographic
data about the population of the United States, including information about respondents' race,
sex, age, and whether they own their homes; and
WHEREAS, in almost every census between 1820 and 1950, the federal government
collected data about respondents' citizenship status from all households in the country; and
WHEREAS, beginning in 1960, the federal government stopped asking a citizenship
question of every respondent as it was the official position of the Census Bureau that such
question would depress the count for non-citizens, and Hispanics would be less likely to
participate in a census for fear that the data could be used against them or their families; and
WHEREAS, every Secretary of Commerce, to whom Congress has delegated significant
authority over the census, has adhered to that position until March 26, 2018 when Secretary of
Commerce Wilburn L. Ross, Jr., announced that he would reinstate the citizenship question on
the 2020 census, over the strenuous objection of the Census Bureau; and
WHEREAS, although the Secretary of Commerce has broad discretion over the design
and administration of the decennial census, that discretion is not unlimited, and the Secretary
must comply with the policy decisions of Congress as codified in the federal statutes such as
the Administrative Procedures Act; and
WHEREAS, the reinstatement of the citizenship question resulted in various litigation in
the federal courts, which culminated in an opinion issued on January 15, 2019 from the United
States District Court for the Southern District of New York finding that, despite his broad
discretion, Secretary Ross's decision was unlawful and in violation of federal laws and statutes
which require him to, among other things, collect data through the use of administrative records
instead of direct inquiries on census surveys, justify significant departures from past policies and
practices, and notify Congress of the subjects planned for any census at least three years in
advance; and
WHEREAS, noting that such violations were egregious, and following a very lengthy
opinion, the U.S. District Court enjoined the United States Department of Commerce, Secretary
Ross, the Bureau of the Census, and the Director of the Census from implementing Secretary
Ross's decision to ask a citizenship question on the 2020 census questionnaire; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. District Court's opinion is now on appeal in the United States Court
of Appeals for the Second Circuit; and
WHEREAS, although the issues surrounding the census citizenship question are
currently pending in the federal courts, in the interim, the United States Congress should
provide an express mandate in federal law that a citizenship question should not be included in
the decennial census in the interest of the integrity of the census, and to avoid the significant
and lasting negative consequences of loss of political power and funding that would result from
undercounting certain sections of the nation's population.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City
Commission hereby urge the United States Congress to enact laws and take any and all such
other lawful actions that would expressly eliminate a citizenship question on the decennial
census in the interest of the proper allocation of political representation and the appropriate
distribution of federal, state, and local funds.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 13th day of February, 2019.
ATTEST:
Dan Gelber, Mayor
/ 4 2.6
I
Rafael E. Granado, City C erk APPROVED AS TO
FORM& LANGUAGE
& FOR EX CLITION
(Sponsored by: Vice-Mayor Michael Gbngora) ~ o?-- 9 -1
City Attorney D
ate
$*'INCORPORATED'
F:\ATTO\TURN\RESOS\NALEO RESO.docx I
;4,1 CH 2.6..............
Resolutions -C7 R
MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Raul J.Aguila, City Attorney
DATE: February 13, 2019
SUBJECT:A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS
TO ENACT LAWS AND TAKE ANY AND ALL SUCH OTHER LAWFUL
ACTIONS THAT WOULD EXPRESSLY ELIMINATE A CITIZENSHIP
QUESTION ON THE DECENNIAL CENSUS IN THE INTEREST OF THE
PROPER ALLOCATION OF POLITICAL REPRESENTATION AND THE
APPROPRIATE DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL
FUNDS.
RECOMMENDATION
Pursuant to the request of Vice-Mayor Michael Gongora, the above-referenced Resolution is
submitted for consideration by the Mayor and City Commission at the February 13, 2019
Commission meeting.
Legislative Tracking
Office of the City Attorney
Sponsor
Vice-Mayor Michael Gongora
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
❑ Resolution
Page 406 of 911