1st Engrossment - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 05/04/2011 04:37pm
A bill for an act
relating to redistricting; adopting a legislative districting plan for use in 2012
and thereafter; amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 2.031, subdivision
1; 2.91, subdivision 1; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 2.031,
subdivision 2; 2.444; 2.484.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 2.031, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
new text begin (a) new text end The representatives in the senate and house
of representatives are apportioned throughout the state in 67 senate districts and 134 house
of representatives districts. Each senate district is entitled to elect one senator and each
house of representatives district is entitled to elect one representative.
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(b) Legislative redistricting plan L1101-0, on file with the Geographic Information
Services Office of the Legislative Coordinating Commission and published on its Web site
on May 2, 2011, is adopted and describes the legislative districts within this state. Each
senate district is composed of the two house districts, A and B, of the same number.
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Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 2.91, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Upon enactment of a redistricting plan for the
legislature or for Congress, the Legislative Coordinating Commission shall deposit the
plan with the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall provide copies of the relevant
portions of the redistricting plan to each county auditor, who shall provide a copy of the
relevant portions of the plan to each municipal clerk within the county. The secretary of
state, with the cooperation of the commissioner of administration, shall make copies of the
plan file, maps, and tables available to the public for the cost of publication. deleted text begin The revisor of
statutes shall code a metes and bounds description of the districts in Minnesota Statutes.
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The principles in this section apply to legislative
and congressional districts.
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A representative district may not be divided in the formation
of a senate district.
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(a) 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.
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(b) Congressional districts must be as nearly equal in population as practicable.
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The districts must be composed of convenient
contiguous territory. To the extent consistent with the other principles in this section,
districts should be compact. Contiguity by water is sufficient if the water is not a serious
obstacle to travel within the district. Point contiguity is not sufficient.
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(a) 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, but bypassing the 11-county metropolitan
area until the southeast corner has been reached; then to the 11-county metropolitan area
outside the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul; then in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
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(b) Congressional district numbers must begin with district one in the southeast
corner of the state and end with district eight in the northeast corner of the state.
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(a) The dilution of racial or ethnic minority
voting strength is contrary to the laws of the United States and the state of Minnesota.
These principles must not be construed to supersede any provision of the Voting Rights
Act of 1965, as amended.
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(b) A redistricting plan must not have the intent or effect of dispersing or
concentrating minority population in a manner that prevents minority communities from
electing their candidates of choice.
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(a) A county, city, or town must not be unduly
divided unless required to meet equal population requirements or to form districts
composed of convenient, contiguous territory.
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(b) A county, city, or town is not unduly divided in the formation of a legislative or
congressional district if:
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(1) the division occurs because a portion of a city or town is noncontiguous with
another portion of the same city or town; or
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(2) despite the division, the known population of any affected county, city, or town
remains wholly located within a single district.
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(a) Districts should attempt to
preserve identifiable communities of interest where that can be done in compliance with
the preceding principles.
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(b) For purposes of this subdivision, "communities of interest" means recognizable
areas with similarities of interests, including but not limited to racial, ethnic, geographic,
social, or cultural interests.
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The geographic areas and population counts used in
maps, tables, and legal descriptions of the districts must be those used by the Geographic
Information Services Office of the Legislative Coordinating Commission. The population
counts will be the 2010 block population counts provided to the state under Public Law
94-171, subject to correction of any errors acknowledged by the United States Census
Bureau.
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A redistricting plan must not be considered for
adoption by the senate or house of representatives until a block equivalency file showing
the district to which each census block has been assigned, in a form prescribed by the
director of the Geographic Information Services Office, has been filed with the director.
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Where it is not possible to fully comply with the
principles contained in subdivisions 1 to 8, 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.
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This section is effective the day following
final enactment and applies to any plan for districts enacted or established for use at the
state primary in 2012 and thereafter. This section expires June 1, 2012.
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Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 2.031, subdivision 2; 2.444; and 2.484,
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are
repealed.
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Except where otherwise provided, this act is effective for the state primary election
in 2012 and thereafter.
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