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HF 2520

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 04/17/2021 12:41pm

KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.

Bill Text Versions

Engrossments
Introduction Posted on 04/15/2021

Current Version - as introduced

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A bill for an act
relating to elections; providing principles and procedures related to the redistricting
of congressional and legislative districts; 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 both congressional and legislative
districts.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Prohibition. new text end

new text begin Districts must not be drawn purposely to 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 subdivisions 4 to 11. 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 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
of a legislative district must not deviate by more than two percent, plus or minus, from the
population of the ideal district.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Convenience and contiguity. new text end

new text begin Each district must be convenient and contiguous.
A district is convenient if it allows reasonable ease of travel within the 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. 6. new text end

new text begin Nesting. new text end

new text begin A representative district must not be divided in the formation of a
senate district.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Minority representation. new text end

new text begin Districts must comply with the 14th and 15th
Amendments to the United States Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as
amended. Consistent with those laws, districts must provide racial, ethnic, and language
minorities an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect the candidate
of their choice. Racial, ethnic, and language minorities who constitute less than a voting-age
majority of a district must have an opportunity to substantially influence the outcome of an
election.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Communities of interest. 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, governmental, regional, social, cultural, historic, socioeconomic, occupational,
trade, or transportation interests. Communities of interest do not include relationships with
political parties, incumbents, or candidates.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 9. new text end

new text begin Political subdivisions and American Indian reservations. new text end

new text begin Districts must
minimize the division of counties, cities, towns, and federally recognized American Indian
reservations, except when:
new text end

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

new text begin (2) despite the division, the known population of any affected county, city, town, or
reservation remains wholly located within a single district.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 10. new text end

new text begin Partisan effect. new text end

new text begin Applicable judicial standards and the best available scientific
and statistical methods must be used to assess whether a plan unduly favors or disfavors a
political party, candidate, or incumbent.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 11. new text end

new text begin Natural geographic boundaries. new text end

new text begin Districts must respect natural geographic
boundaries, including bodies of water and other significant geological and topographic
features.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [2.036] REDISTRICTING; LEGISLATIVE PROCESS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Administrative support. new text end

new text begin The Legislative Coordinating Commission
shall provide administrative support to the redistricting process.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Database. new text end

new text begin The geographic areas and population counts used in maps, tables,
and legal descriptions of congressional and legislative districts considered by the legislature
must be those used by the Geographic Information Services (GIS) Office of the Legislative
Coordinating Commission. The population counts shall 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 and, to the extent
practicable, adjusted so that persons who are incarcerated are counted at their last known
residential address before incarceration. The GIS Office must make the database available
to the public on the GIS Office website.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Publication; block equivalency file requirements. new text end

new text begin A redistricting plan must
not be considered for adoption by the senate or house of representatives until the redistricting
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 shall publish each plan submitted to it on the GIS
Office website.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Reports. new text end

new text begin Publication of a plan must include the following reports:
new text end

new text begin (1) a population equality report, listing each district in the plan, its population as the
total number of persons, and deviations from the ideal as both a number of persons and as
a percentage of the population. The report must also show the populations of the largest
and smallest districts and the overall range of deviations of the districts;
new text end

new text begin (2) a contiguity report, listing each district that is noncontiguous either because two
areas of a district do not touch or because the districts are linked by a point;
new text end

new text begin (3) a minority voting-age population report, listing for each district the voting age
population of each racial or language minority and the total minority voting age population,
according to the categories recommended by the United States Department of Justice. The
report must also highlight each district with 30 percent or more total minority population;
new text end

new text begin (4) a communities of interest report, if the chief author of a plan asserts that it preserves
a community of interest, maps of the plan must include a layer identifying the census blocks
within the community of interest. Publication of the plan must also include a report that
lays out the research and process used to identify the communities of interest and lists the
district or districts to which the community of interest has been assigned. The report must
include the number of communities of interest that are split and the number of times the
communities were split;
new text end

new text begin (5) a political subdivision and Tribal reservations splits report, listing the split counties,
cities, towns, unorganized territories, precincts, and Tribal reservations and the district to
which each portion of a split is assigned. The report must also show the number of
subdivisions or reservations split and the number of times a subdivision or reservation is
split;
new text end

new text begin (6) a plan components report, listing for each district the names and populations of the
counties within it and, where a county is split between or among districts, the names and
populations of the portion of the split county and each of the split county's whole or partial
cities, townships, unorganized territories, precincts, and Tribal reservations within each
district;
new text end

new text begin (7) a measures of compactness report, listing for each district at least the results of the
Reock, Polsby-Popper, Minimum Convex Hull, Population Polygon, Population Circle,
Ehrenburg, Length-Width, measures of compactness. The report must also state for all the
districts in a plan the sum of its perimeters and the mean of its other measurements. The
commission may consider other tests of compactness; and
new text end

new text begin (8) an incumbent officeholder report, listing for each district the names of incumbent
officeholders who reside in the district and identifying the number of districts where more
than one incumbent officeholder resides, and the number of districts where no incumbent
officeholder resides.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Legislative committee process; district hearings. new text end

new text begin (a) The legislature recognizes
the importance of public engagement, transparency, and accountability in the redistricting
process and the role those values play in strengthening representative democracy. The
legislature intends that any committee established must:
new text end

new text begin (1) conduct at least one public hearing in each existing congressional district to solicit
public input on issues important to that district in drawing new district boundaries, including
but not limited to defining communities of interest for consideration;
new text end

new text begin (2) publish on the committee's website preliminary drafts of the congressional and
legislative district plans and each preliminary draft's accompanying reports at least two
weeks before a committee considers a motion to adopt each plan; and
new text end

new text begin (3) allow the public to submit comments after publication of a plan and before the
committee considers a motion to adopt the plan.
new text end

new text begin (b) To the extent practicable, a legislative committee must permit interested persons to
draw and submit proposed plans for the committee's consideration and allow interested
persons to respond to plans submitted by others before the committee develops and publishes
its proposed plans.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Public access to records. new text end

new text begin (a) Notwithstanding any law or rule to the contrary,
records of the legislature related to development, consideration, or adoption of a redistricting
plan are public, including but not limited to draft plans, analyses of plans, and supplemental
data used to develop a plan.
new text end

new text begin (b) This subdivision does not require disclosure of data or communications protected
by attorney-client privilege or a legislator's communications with nonpartisan legislative
staff regarding confidential bill drafting or other legislative services unless further directed
by the Committee on Rules and Legislative Administration of the house of representatives
or the Committee on Rules and Administration of the senate.
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.
new text end

new text begin This act is effective July 1, 2021, and applies to congressional and legislative districts
first established on or after that date.
new text end