ORDINANCE NO. ________, SERIES 2022
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AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 37 OF THE LOUISVILLE/ JEFFERSON COUNTY METRO CODE OF ORDINANCES TO SUPPORT BUSINESSES WHICH HIRE PERSONS CONVICTED OF A CRIME BY REQUIRING A GOOD FAITH EFFORT TO INCREASE PROCUREMENT FROM THOSE SECOND CHANCE BUSINESSES.
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SPONSORED BY: COUNCIL MEMBERS DORSEY, CHAMBERS ARMSTONG, SHANKLIN, ARTHUR, BOWENS, AND PURVIS
WHEREAS, the Prison Policy Initiative estimates that, as of 2020, there were 2.3 million Americans who were incarcerated; and
WHEREAS, the Brennan Center estimates that nearly half of Black men will be arrested by the time they turn 23; and
WHEREAS, that same organization states that the same number of Americans have a criminal record as have a four-year college degree; and
WHEREAS, one study estimates that having a felony conviction on one's record is correlated with a 22 percent decrease in annual earnings (Terry-Ann Craigie, Conviction, Imprisonment, and Lost Earnings: How Involvement with the Criminal Justice System Deepens Inequality (Sep. 15, 2020) https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/conviction-imprisonment-and-lost-earnings-how-involvement-criminal); and
WHEREAS, that same study shows that white people who have been incarcerated see their income trend upward after their incarceration, whereas Black and brown people do not; and
WHEREAS, studies suggest that even a misdemeanor conviction is associated with a 16% decrease in annual wages (Terry-Ann Craigie, Conviction, Imprisonment, and Lost Earnings: How Involvement with the Criminal Justice System Deepens Inequality (Sep. 15, 2020) https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/conviction-imprisonment-and-lost-earnings-how-involvement-criminal); and
WHEREAS, numerous studies show that Black individuals are more likely to be charged with a serious crime and more likely to face a longer sentence than are white people (An Unjust Burden, Vera: Institute o...
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