HF 1566

as introduced - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A joint resolution 
  1.2             relating to redistricting; establishing districting 
  1.3             principles for legislative and congressional plans. 
  1.4      
  1.5      BE IT RESOLVED, by the Legislature of the State of 
  1.6   Minnesota that a plan presented to the Senate or House of 
  1.7   Representatives for redistricting seats in the Legislature or 
  1.8   the United States House of Representatives must adhere to the 
  1.9   following principles: 
  1.10     (1) [NUMBER OF DISTRICTS.] (a) The Senate must be composed 
  1.11  of 67 members.  The House of Representatives must be composed of 
  1.12  134 members.  Each district is entitled to elect a single member.
  1.13     (b) A plan for congressional districts must have eight 
  1.14  districts, each entitled to elect a single member. 
  1.15     (2) [NESTING.] A representative district may not be divided 
  1.16  in the formation of a Senate district. 
  1.17     (3) [EQUAL POPULATION.] (a) Legislative districts must be 
  1.18  substantially equal in population.  The population of a 
  1.19  legislative district must not deviate from the ideal by more 
  1.20  than two percent, plus or minus.  
  1.21     (b) Congressional districts must be as nearly equal in 
  1.22  population as practicable. 
  1.23     (4) [CONTIGUITY; COMPACTNESS.] The districts must be 
  1.24  composed of convenient contiguous territory.  To the extent 
  2.1   consistent with the other principles in this resolution, 
  2.2   districts should be compact.  Contiguity by water is sufficient 
  2.3   if the water is not a serious obstacle to travel within the 
  2.4   district. 
  2.5      (5) [NUMBERING.] (a) The legislative districts must be 
  2.6   numbered in a regular series, beginning with House district 1A 
  2.7   in the northwest corner of the state and proceeding across the 
  2.8   state from west to east, north to south, but bypassing the 
  2.9   seven-county metropolitan area until the southeast corner has 
  2.10  been reached; then to the seven-county metropolitan area outside 
  2.11  the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul; then in Minneapolis and 
  2.12  St. Paul. 
  2.13     (b) The congressional district numbers must begin with 
  2.14  district one in the southeast corner of the state and end with 
  2.15  district eight in the northeast corner of the state. 
  2.16     (6) [MINORITY REPRESENTATION.] The districts must not 
  2.17  dilute the voting strength of racial or language minority 
  2.18  populations.  Where a concentration of a racial or language 
  2.19  minority makes it possible, the districts must increase the 
  2.20  probability that members of the minority will be elected.  
  2.21     (7) [PRESERVING POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.] A county, city, or 
  2.22  town must not be divided into more than one district except as 
  2.23  necessary to meet equal population requirements or to form 
  2.24  districts that are composed of convenient contiguous territory. 
  2.25     (8) [COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST.] The districts should attempt 
  2.26  to preserve communities of interest where that can be done in 
  2.27  compliance with the preceding principles.  For purposes of this 
  2.28  principle, "communities of interest" include, but are not 
  2.29  limited to, political subdivisions, neighborhoods, or other 
  2.30  geographic areas where there are clearly recognizable 
  2.31  similarities of social, political, cultural, ethnic, or economic 
  2.32  interests. 
  2.33     (9) [POLITICAL COMPETITIVENESS.] The districts should be 
  2.34  politically competitive, where that can be done in compliance 
  2.35  with the preceding principles.  Where a concentration of 
  2.36  third-party supporters makes it possible, a district should 
  3.1   increase the probability that the candidate of a third party 
  3.2   will be elected.  
  3.3      (10) [DATA TO BE USED.] The geographic areas and population 
  3.4   counts used in maps, tables, and legal descriptions of the 
  3.5   districts must be those used by the Geographic Information 
  3.6   Systems Office of the Legislative Coordinating Commission.  The 
  3.7   population counts will be the block population counts provided 
  3.8   under Public Law Number 94-171, subject to correction of any 
  3.9   errors acknowledged by the United States Census Bureau. 
  3.10     (11) [DATA READY; PLANS POSTED.] The director of Geographic 
  3.11  Information Systems shall notify the President of the Senate and 
  3.12  the Speaker of the House of Representatives when the necessary 
  3.13  census data has been received from the United States Census 
  3.14  Bureau, loaded into the Legislature's computerized redistricting 
  3.15  system, and verified as ready for use in redistricting.  A 
  3.16  redistricting plan must not be considered for adoption by the 
  3.17  Senate or House of Representatives until: 
  3.18     (a) the notice has been given; 
  3.19     (b) a block equivalency file showing the district to which 
  3.20  each census block has been assigned, in a form prescribed by the 
  3.21  director of Geographic Information Systems, has been filed with 
  3.22  the director; and 
  3.23     (c) a copy of the plan has been posted on the Web site of 
  3.24  the Geographic Information Systems Office.