1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to elections; city elections in cities of the 
  1.3             first class; providing for the election of certain 
  1.4             council members elected by ward after reapportionment; 
  1.5             amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 205.84, 
  1.6             subdivision 1. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 205.84, 
  1.9   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL PROVISIONS.] (a) In a city 
  1.11  electing council members by wards, wards shall be as equal in 
  1.12  population as practicable and each ward shall be composed of 
  1.13  compact, contiguous territory.  Each council member shall be a 
  1.14  resident of the ward for which elected, but, except as otherwise 
  1.15  provided by paragraph (b), a change in ward boundaries does not 
  1.16  disqualify a council member from serving for the remainder of a 
  1.17  term.  
  1.18     (b) Notwithstanding any home rule charter provision to the 
  1.19  contrary, in a city of the first class where council members are 
  1.20  elected by ward to serve for four years to terms that are not 
  1.21  staggered, if the population of any ward changes by five percent 
  1.22  or more, all council members must be elected to new terms at the 
  1.23  first municipal general election after ward boundaries are 
  1.24  redefined under subdivision 2; provided, however, that if no 
  1.25  municipal general election would otherwise occur in the year 
  1.26  ending in "2" or the year ending in "3," a municipal general 
  2.1   election must be held in one of those years. 
  2.2      Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.3      Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment.