Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined 23 other attorneys general (the group includes the District of Columbia) and two governors in a comment letter opposing a Census Bureau proposal that would change who is counted in the 2030 census. The letter, dated Nov. 2, was filed on the last day of the public comment period, and Tong's office announced it Nov. 5. The governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania also signed. Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz is quoted in the announcement but is not a signer.
The Census Bureau proposed the rule in the Federal Register on Sept. 10 and extended the comment deadline on Oct. 5 from Oct. 13 to Nov. 2. The Bureau has not published a final rule on the federal docket pages read for this article.
What the rule would do
The proposal would add two parts to the federal regulations. The first defines a person's "usual residence" as the place where they have lawfully spent the greatest number of days from Jan. 3 to April 1 of a census year, and says that should be consistent with tax records such as returns and W-2 forms. The notice proposes to count lawful permanent residents toward apportionment of congressional seats while excluding "illegal aliens" and noncitizens whose legal status is less durable than permanent residence. It also asks for comment on adding a legal-status question to the short-form questionnaire.
The second part would set standards and restrictions for demographic questions on the short form. The notice cites the sensitivity of questions about race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. The proposed regulatory text says no question about race, ethnicity or sexual orientation "shall appear" on the short form or any other census questionnaire. Questions on biological sex, date of birth and household relationships would still be allowed.
The coalition's objections
According to the attorney general's release, the coalition of 24 attorneys general and two governors argues the exclusions violate the 14th Amendment's requirement to count all persons for apportionment and the Census Act. It also argues that dropping the long-standing usual-residence standard could count people in vacation homes or workplaces, and that removing the demographic questions would deprive states of data they use for policy, program evaluation and enforcement of antidiscrimination laws.
Bysiewicz said in the release that the proposed rule "would make it impossible for the Census Bureau to meet those goals and conduct a successful census," which she defined as one that counts all communities equally. Tong said the plan would shift funding and political power to states the administration prefers.
The letter, posted on the Connecticut attorney general's site, also argues that a Jan. 3 to April 1 counting window conflicts with the Census Act's requirement that the census be taken as of April 1.
The Bureau's notice says each of the two proposals is being made independently, on its own merits. The release does not say whether the Bureau has responded to the letter.
Questions about the proposal can be directed to Daniel Sweeney, the Commerce Department deputy general counsel named in the notice, at (301) 996-3533. Comments already filed are part of docket USBC-2026-0628 on regulations.gov.
