HF 2735

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 02/01/2022 11:34am

A bill for an act
relating to redistricting; requiring districts to be numbered in a regular series;
establishing districting principles; specifying requirements related to the use of
United States Census data; amending Minnesota Statutes 2020, sections 2.031, by
adding a subdivision; 2.731; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 2.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 2.031, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Numbering. new text end

new text begin Legislative districts must be numbered in a regular series, beginning
with house district 1A in the northwest corner of the state and proceeding across the state
from west to east, north to south. In a county that includes more than one whole senate
district, the districts must be numbered consecutively.
new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin [2.035] DISTRICTING PRINCIPLES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Application. new text end

new text begin This section applies to congressional and legislative districts
adopted for use at the 2022 state primary and general elections and thereafter.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Impact on political parties, candidates, and incumbents. new text end

new text begin Districts must not
be drawn to purposely favor or disfavor a political party, candidate, or incumbent.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Priority of principles. new text end

new text begin Districts must be drawn in accordance with the principles
listed in this section. If districts cannot be drawn fully in accordance with all principles,
priority must be given to the principles in the order in which they are listed, except when
doing so would violate federal or state law.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Nesting. new text end

new text begin A senate district must consist of two whole representative districts,
labeled "A" and "B," respectively.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Population equality. new text end

new text begin (a) Each congressional district must be as nearly equal
in population as practicable.
new text end

new text begin (b) Each legislative district must be substantially equal in population. The population
deviation goal for each legislative district is less than one percent, plus or minus, from the
population of the ideal district. The maximum permissible deviation for a legislative district
is two percent, plus or minus, from the population of the ideal district.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Minority representation. new text end

new text begin Districts must comply with the Fourteenth and
Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965,
as amended. Consistent with those laws:
new text end

new text begin (1) districts must preserve the equal opportunity of racial, ethnic, and language minorities
to participate in the political process and to elect candidates of their choice, whether alone
or in coalition with others; and
new text end

new text begin (2) districts must provide racial minorities and language minorities who constitute less
than a voting-age majority of a district with an opportunity to substantially influence the
outcome of an election.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Preservation of communities. new text end

new text begin Districts must minimize the division of
identifiable communities of interest. A community of interest may include a racial, ethnic,
or linguistic group or any group with shared experiences or concerns, including but not
limited to geographic, regional, social, cultural, historic, socioeconomic, occupational, trade,
or transportation interests. Communities of interest do not include relationships with political
parties, incumbents, or candidates. A political subdivision is not, by itself, a community of
interest.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Tribal reservations. new text end

new text begin Federally recognized American Indian Tribal reservations
may only be divided if:
new text end

new text begin (1) the division occurs because a portion of the reservation is not contiguous with another
portion of the reservation; or
new text end

new text begin (2) despite the division, the known population of the reservation remains wholly located
within a single district.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 9. new text end

new text begin Compact and contiguous districts. new text end

new text begin Each district must be compact and
contiguous. More than one measure must be used to evaluate the compactness of a district.
Contiguity by water is sufficient if the water is not a serious obstacle to travel within the
district. A district with areas that touch only at a point is not contiguous.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 10. new text end

new text begin Preservation of political subdivisions. new text end

new text begin Districts must minimize the division
of counties, cities, school districts, and towns in circumstances where a division
disproportionately dilutes the influence of an impacted county, city, school district, or town
in the political process.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [2.036] REDISTRICTING; DATA REQUIREMENTS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Application. new text end

new text begin This section applies to congressional and legislative districts
adopted for use at the 2022 state primary and general elections and thereafter.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Data to be used. new text end

new text begin The geographic areas and population counts used in maps,
tables, and legal descriptions of legislative and congressional districts must be those used
by the Geographic Information Services (GIS) Office of the Legislative Coordinating
Commission. The population counts must be the block population counts provided to the
state under Public Law 94-171 after each decennial census, subject to correction of any
errors acknowledged by the United States Census Bureau. The GIS Office must make this
data available to the public on its website.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Consideration of plans. new text end

new text begin A redistricting plan must not be considered by the
senate or house of representatives until the plan's block equivalency file has been submitted
to the GIS Office in a form prescribed by the GIS Office. The block equivalency file must
show the district to which each census block has been assigned. The GIS Office must publish
each plan submitted to it on the office's website.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 2.731, is amended to read:

2.731 NUMBER OF DISTRICTS.

The state of Minnesota is divided into eight congressional districts, each of which is
entitled to elect one representative to the Congress of the United States of America. new text begin
Congressional district numbers must begin with the first district in the southeast corner of
the state and end with the district with the highest number in the northeast corner of the
state.
new text end

Sec. 5. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.
new text end

new text begin This act is effective the day following final enactment and, except where otherwise
provided, applies to districts adopted on or after that date.
new text end