RDAP chair says panel cannot function in current form, announces planned resignation

Eitan Nasreddin Longo, chair of the Racial Disparities Advisory Panel (RDAP), told the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that the panel cannot perform its legislatively assigned duties under its current structure and plans to resign at the end of the June meeting unless a workable process is established. "There is a profoundly structural disjuncture between a committee that meets for 2 hours once a month ... and a legislature that is part time. It doesn't work real well," Longo said.

The chair’s announcement came during a wide-ranging discussion about RDAP’s role reviewing legislation for racial equity impacts, persistent problems obtaining reliable state data and whether the panel should shift its focus to longer-term projects instead of trying to weigh in on fast-moving bills during a 12-week session.

Longo told the committee the panel has struggled since work began in 2021 with the Division of Racial Justice Statistics to assemble usable datasets from multiple agencies, including the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Corrections. He said memoranda of understanding between agencies are still pending and that the division’s initial report was criticized because the analysts were uncertain which data set to use. "Their first report ... did not necessarily go over very well, and that had to do largely with the fact that they weren't sure what data set they should be looking at," Longo said.

Committee members who spoke during the hearing agreed that RDAP has produced valuable work on longer-term projects, including standing up the Division of Racial Justice Statistics and compiling a recent 40-page biennial report with appendices submitted in February of the prior year. But several legislators said the panel’s monthly two-hour meetings make it impractical for RDAP to review fast-changing bills. One committee member said, "It doesn't work. If we're going to weigh in on what's happening now ... we have to talk about how to do this better."

Options discussed included increasing RDAP meeting frequency during the legislative session, creating a broader multi-stakeholder working group, or legislatively defining the panel’s responsibilities and the mechanism for reviewing bills. Senator Vyhovsky’s proposed model (mentioned in the hearing) and a short-form bill promoted by Representative Arseneau that would require equity impact assessments were raised as possible approaches to ensure timely input on legislation.

Panel members and legislators also raised implementation constraints: the Division of Racial Justice Statistics cannot devote all its staff time to supporting RDAP; state datasets do not currently integrate and would require substantial resources and training to harmonize—Longo said that aligning systems could cost "in the millions." Several participants argued that the panel’s statutory charge, the repeal of its sunset clause following Justice Reinvestment 2, and expectations set by prior legislation need clarification so the legislature and RDAP can agree on realistic, actionable priorities.

Longo said he will remain involved until a transitional plan is in place and acknowledged he may extend participation beyond his initially stated June departure if needed to help the next chair. Committee members agreed to discuss possible next steps, including an informal working meeting to define what role RDAP should play and whether the legislature is willing to provide the mechanism (more frequent meetings, staff support or statutory change) required for real-time legislative review.

The hearing did not produce any formal motions or votes concerning RDAP’s mandate, meeting schedule or staffing. Longo’s announcement was presented as his intent to resign rather than an immediate resignation, and committee members asked the panel and legislative leaders to return with recommendations on structure and process before making binding changes.