2nd Engrossment - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 04/29/2011 09:16am
A bill for an act
relating to redistricting; establishing districting principles for legislative and
congressional plans; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 2.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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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.
Theses 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 Systems Office of the Legislative Coordinating Commission. The population
counts will be the 2010 block population counts provided to the state under Public Law
Number 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 Systems 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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