Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

HF 1018

as introduced - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 03/11/2019 05:10pm

KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.
Line numbers 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7
1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.28 3.29
3.30 3.31 3.32 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 4.30 4.31 4.32 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22
5.23 5.24 5.25 5.26 5.27 5.28 5.29 5.30 5.31 5.32 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 6.20 6.21 6.22 6.23 6.24 6.25 6.26 6.27 6.28 6.29 6.30 6.31 6.32 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 7.19 7.20 7.21 7.22 7.23 7.24 7.25 7.26 7.27 7.28 7.29 7.30 7.31 7.32 7.33 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4

A bill for an act
relating to redistricting; providing for appointment of a commission to recommend
the boundaries of legislative and congressional districts; establishing districting
principles for legislative and congressional plans; assigning duties to the Legislative
Coordinating Commission; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 2.

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

Section 1.

new text begin [2.032] REDISTRICTING ADVISORY COMMISSION.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Commission membership; duties. new text end

new text begin In each year ending in one, a
redistricting advisory commission is created to draw the boundaries of legislative and
congressional districts in accordance with the principles established in section 2.035. The
commission consists of five retired judges of the appellate or district courts of this state
who have not served in a party-designated or party-endorsed position, such as legislator, to
be appointed in the manner provided in subdivision 2.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Appointment. new text end

new text begin By January 15 of each year ending in one, the majority leader
of the senate, the minority leader of the senate, the speaker of the house, and the minority
leader of the house of representatives shall each appoint one judge, after consulting with
each other in an effort to attain geographic balance in their appointments. If an appointing
authority fails to make an appointment by the deadline, the vacancy must be filled by
appointment by the chief justice of the supreme court no later than January 22 of that year.
The director of the Legislative Coordinating Commission shall convene a meeting of the
four judges no later than January 29 of that year, at which meeting the four appointed judges
shall, by a vote of at least three judges, choose the fifth judge. The five judges shall select
one of their number to serve as chair of the commission.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Code of conduct. new text end

new text begin In performing their duties, the five retired judges shall abide
by the Code of Judicial Conduct and are considered judicial officers within the meaning of
section 609.415.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Removal; filling vacancies. new text end

new text begin (a) The commission may remove a commissioner,
after notice and a hearing, for reasons that would justify recall of a state official under
section 211C.02.
new text end

new text begin (b) Except for vacancies filled by the chief justice as directed by subdivision 2, vacancies
on the commission must be filled by the appointing authority that made the initial
appointment. A vacancy must be filled within 30 days after the vacancy occurs.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Lobbyist registration. new text end

new text begin Action of the commission to submit a redistricting plan
to the legislature is an "administrative action" for purposes of section 10A.01, subdivision
21, requiring certain persons to register as a lobbyist.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Compensation and expenses. new text end

new text begin Commissioners must be compensated for their
commission activity as provided in section 15.0575, subdivision 3.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Plans submitted to commission. new text end

new text begin The commission shall adopt a schedule for
interested persons to submit proposed plans to the commission and to respond to plans
proposed by others. The commission shall adopt standards to govern the format of plans
submitted to it. The schedule and standards adopted by the commission under this subdivision
are not rules for purposes of chapter 14, and section 14.386 does not apply.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Public hearings; preliminary drafts. new text end

new text begin The commission shall hold at least one
public hearing in each congressional district before adopting the first redistricting plans.
The commission must publish on its website a preliminary draft of the plan at least one
week before the hearing.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 9. new text end

new text begin Deadlines. new text end

new text begin (a) The commission shall submit to the legislature, by April 30 of
the year ending in one, plans for legislative and congressional districts. Each plan must be
accompanied by a report summarizing information and testimony received by the commission
in the course of the hearings and including any comments and conclusions the commissioners
deem appropriate on the information and testimony received at the hearings or otherwise
presented to the commission.
new text end

new text begin (b) The legislature intends that a bill be introduced to enact each plan and that the bill
be brought to a vote in either the senate or the house of representatives, under a procedure
or rule permitting no amendments except those of a purely corrective nature, not less than
three days after the report of the commission is received and made available to the members
of the legislature. The legislature further intends that the bill be brought to a vote in the
second house within one week after final passage in the first house under a similar procedure
or rule. If either the senate or the house of representatives fails to approve a first plan
submitted by the commission, within one week after the failure, the secretary of the senate
or the chief clerk of the house must notify the commission of the failure, including any
information that the senate or house may direct by resolution regarding reasons why the
plan was not approved. If the governor vetoes a plan, the veto message serves as the notice.
new text end

new text begin (c) The commission shall submit a second plan within two weeks after it receives the
notice, unless by then the legislature has adjourned the regular session in the year ending
in one, in which case the second plan must be submitted to the legislature at the opening of
its regular session in the year ending in two. The legislature intends that a second plan be
considered by the legislature under the same procedure as provided for a first plan under
paragraph (b).
new text end

new text begin (d) If the commission fails to submit a plan by either of these two deadlines, the legislature
may proceed to enact a plan without waiting for the commission to submit a plan.
new text end

new text begin (e) If the secretary of the senate or the chief clerk of the house notifies the commission
that a second plan has failed, or the governor vetoes a second plan, the commission shall
submit a third plan within two weeks after it receives the notice, unless by then the legislature
has adjourned regular session in the year ending in one, in which case the third plan must
be submitted to the legislature at the opening of its regular session in the year ending in
two. The third plan is subject to the same procedure as provided for first and second plans
under paragraph (b), except that amendments are not limited.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 10. new text end

new text begin Expiration. new text end

new text begin (a) The commission expires when both legislative and
congressional redistricting plans have been enacted into law or adopted by court order and
any legal challenges to the plans have been resolved.
new text end

new text begin (b) If use of a plan is enjoined after the commission expires, the court enjoining the plan
may direct that a new commission be appointed under this section to draft a remedial plan
for presentation to the legislature in accordance with deadlines established by the court's
order.
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 The principles in this section apply to legislative and
congressional districts.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Population equality. new text end

new text begin (a) Congressional districts must be as nearly equal in
population as practicable.
new text end

new text begin (b) Legislative districts must be substantially equal in population. The population of a
legislative district must not deviate from the ideal by more than one percent, plus or minus.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Minority representation. new text end

new text begin (a) Districts must not be drawn with either the purpose
or effect of denying or abridging the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on
account of race or membership in a language minority group.
new text end

new text begin (b) The districts must ensure that members of the minority have a realistic opportunity
to elect candidates of their choice, where a concentration of a racial or language minority
population makes that possible and it can be done in compliance with the other principles
in this section.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Contiguity; compactness. new text end

new text begin The districts must be composed of convenient
contiguous territory structured into compact units. Contiguity by water is sufficient if the
water does not pose a serious obstacle to travel within the district. Districts with areas that
touch only at a point are not contiguous.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Political subdivisions. new text end

new text begin A county, city, town, or precinct must not be divided
into more than one district except as necessary to meet equal population requirements or to
form districts that are composed of convenient, contiguous, and compact territory. When a
county, city, town, or precinct must be divided into more than one district, it must be divided
into as few districts as possible.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Communities of interest. new text end

new text begin (a) Districts should attempt to preserve identifiable
communities of interest where that can be done in compliance with the preceding principles.
new text end

new text begin (b) For purposes of this principle, "communities of interest" include, but are not limited
to, geographic areas where there are clearly recognizable similarities of social, political,
cultural, ethnic, economic, or other interests.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Cores of prior districts. new text end

new text begin Districts should attempt to preserve the cores of prior
districts where that can be done in compliance with the preceding principles.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Political parties. new text end

new text begin A district or plan must not be drawn with the intent to favor
or disfavor a political party.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 9. new text end

new text begin Incumbents. new text end

new text begin The districts must not be drawn for the purpose of protecting or
defeating an incumbent. The impact of redistricting on incumbent officeholders is a factor
subordinate to all other redistricting criteria that the commission may consider to determine
whether a proposed plan results in either undue incumbent protection or excessive incumbent
conflicts.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 10. new text end

new text begin Competition. new text end

new text begin Districts should be drawn to encourage electoral competition
where that can be done in compliance with the preceding principles. A district is competitive
if the plurality of the winning political party in the territory encompassed by the district,
based on statewide state and federal partisan general election results during the last ten
years, has historically been no more than eight percent.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 11. new text end

new text begin Proportionality. new text end

new text begin The statewide proportion of districts whose voters, based
on statewide state and federal partisan general election results during the last ten years,
favor each political party should reasonably correspond to the statewide preferences of the
voters of this state where that can be done in compliance with the preceding principles.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 12. new text end

new text begin Numbering. new text end

new text begin (a) Congressional district numbers must begin with district one
in the southeast corner of the state and end with the district with the highest number on the
northeast corner of the state.
new text end

new text begin (b) 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

new text begin Subd. 13. new text end

new text begin Priority of principles. new text end

new text begin Where it is not possible to fully comply with the
principles contained in subdivisions 2 to 12, a redistricting plan must give priority to those
principles in the order in which they are listed in this section, except to the extent that doing
so would violate federal or state law.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [2.037] LEGISLATIVE COORDINATING COMMISSION;
REDISTRICTING.
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 Advisory Commission.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Database. new text end

new text begin (a) The geographic areas and population counts used in maps, tables,
and legal descriptions of legislative and congressional 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.
new text end

new text begin (b) Nothing in this subdivision prohibits the use of additional data, as determined by the
legislature.
new text end

new text begin (c) The database that stores the information described in paragraph (a) must be made
available on the GIS Office website.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Partisan index. new text end

new text begin The GIS Office shall develop an index of election results for
statewide state and federal partisan general elections during the last ten years for the
Redistricting Advisory Commission, legislators, and the public to measure the partisanship
of a plan. The GIS Office shall consult with the legislative caucus leaders to determine the
election results to use in calculating the index.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Publication; consideration of plans. 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. 5. new text end

new text begin Reports. new text end

new text begin Publication of a plan must include the following reports described as
follows:
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 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 U.S. Department of Justice. The report
must also highlight each district with 30 percent or more total minority voting age population.
new text end

new text begin (3) A contiguity report, listing for each district the number of distinct polygons within
it. The report must also show the number of districts with more than one polygon.
new text end

new text begin (4) A measures of compactness report, listing for each district the results of at least the
Reock, Polsby-Popper, Minimum Convex Hull, Population Polygon, Population Circle,
Ehrenburg, Perimeter, Length-Width, and Schwartzberg 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.
new text end

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

new text begin (6) A communities of interest report, listing any district or districts to which a community
of interest has been assigned. 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. The report must also show the number of communities
of interest that are split and the number of times a community of interest is split.
new text end

new text begin (7) A cores of prior districts report, listing for each district the total population, voting
age population, and percentage of the population taken from the territory of a prior district,
and the number of persons that were moved into the district and thus not part of its core.
The report must also show the number of districts changed from a prior district, the number
of persons moved from one district to another, and the average percentage core of a prior
district's voting age population for all districts in the plan.
new text end

new text begin (8) An incumbents by district report, listing for each district any incumbents residing in
it, their political party, and the number of the prior district in which they resided. The report
must also show the number of incumbents paired, whether they have been paired with an
incumbent of their own party or of another party, and the number of open seats.
new text end

new text begin (9) A partisanship report, listing for each district the number of partisan index votes, the
percentage of votes for the party whose candidates received the highest cumulative number
of votes at all the elections included in the index ("the first party"), the percentage of votes
for the party whose candidates received the second-highest cumulative number of votes
("the second party"), the percentage of the cumulative number of votes received by all other
parties and write-in candidates at all the elections included in the index ("third parties"),
and the percentage plurality by which the cumulative number of votes for candidates of the
first party has historically exceeded the cumulative number of votes for candidates of the
second party in the territory encompassed by the district. The report must also show for
each of the first two parties and for the group of third parties the number of districts in which
it has a plurality of the cumulative historical vote, its percentage of the statewide vote, the
percentage of seats it has won, and the number of its districts that are competitive. The
report may also show other measures of partisan fairness accepted in the political science
literature.
new text end

new text begin (10) 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, and precincts within each district.
new text end