Read the emails below ...
" In other words, this bill would in essence prohibit the use of Federal funds to create maps showing community racial disparities or disparities in access to affordable housing. "
From: Ratliff, Louise [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2017 11:12 AM
To:
Cc: l
Subject: RE: S.103 - Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act of 2017
By the way, there are TWO such bills, one in the House and one in the Senate:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/482
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/103
Of particular note is section 3 (of both bills):
-------------------------
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
no Federal funds may be used to design, build, maintain, utilize, or provide access to a Federal database of geospatial information on community racial disparities or disparities in access to affordable housing.
--Louise
From: Hallie Pritchett [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2017 9:05 AM
To:
Cc:
Subject: Re: S.103 - Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act of 2017
This was posted on GOVDOC-L as well, although the person who posted was more concerned about archive government websites that may go missing. Here's the response I sent to GOVDOC-L this morning:
---
The larger and far more troubling issue is the what Section 3 is actually prohibiting:
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal funds may be used to design, build, maintain, utilize, or provide access to a Federal database of geospatial information on community racial disparities or disparities in access to affordable housing.
Geospatial information is data referenced to geographic coordinates; such data that can be mapped and analyzed using a Geographic Information System (GIS). In other words, this bill would in essence prohibit the use of Federal funds to create maps showing
community racial disparities or disparities in access to affordable housing. Housing is obviously location-based; it is much easier for most people to understand and interpret such data when it is displayed on a map. Prohibiting the use of Federal funds
to create what has long been a standard data visualization tool for understanding and interpreting often complex data, particularly for the type data in question and given the fact that most members of Congress or the American public are not experts in
understanding and interpreting numeric data is nothing short of outrageous. This appears to be a blatant attempt to limit if not eliminate transparency in HUD; that alone is absolutely chilling.
---
I haven't had a chance to look at the history of these bills, which might give some clue as to why this clause was included. My guess is that some Congressional staffer who worked the bill knows something about GIS and the power of maps to show such data clearly. Regardless, this really needs more attention than it's currently getting.
Hallie Pritchett
Head, Map and Government Information Library
Map and Federal Regional Depository Librarian
University of Georgia Libraries
Athens, GA 30602
[log in to unmask]
706-542-0664
Map and Government Information Library -
www.libs.uga.edu/magil
From: Gamm, Margaret H [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2017 4:28 PM
To:
Cc:
Subject: S.103 - Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act of 2017
Hello all,
This came to my attention today. You may be aware of it already, so my apologies for duplication if you are. The broad wording of this bill is deeply concerning as it could affect the availability of some resources.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/103/text
Specifically, Section 3:
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal funds may be used to design, build, maintain, utilize, or provide access to a Federal database of geospatial information on community racial disparities or disparities in access to affordable housing.
-Margaret
Margaret Gamm
Special Collections Librarian
University of Iowa Libraries
(319) 335-6247