HF 2143

as introduced - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             proposing an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution, 
  1.3             Article IV, section 3; providing that senators be 
  1.4             elected from districts of equal area. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.] 
  1.7      An amendment to the Minnesota Constitution, Article IV, 
  1.8   section 3, is proposed to the people.  If the amendment is 
  1.9   adopted, the section will read as follows: 
  1.10     Sec. 3.  At its first session after each enumeration of the 
  1.11  inhabitants of this state made by the authority of the United 
  1.12  States, the legislature shall have the power to prescribe the 
  1.13  bounds of congressional and legislative districts.  Senators 
  1.14  shall be chosen by single districts of convenient contiguous 
  1.15  territory and substantially equal area.  No representative 
  1.16  district shall be divided in the formation of a senate 
  1.17  district Representatives shall be chosen by single districts of 
  1.18  convenient contiguous territory.  The senate and representative 
  1.19  districts shall be numbered in a separate regular series. 
  1.20     Sec. 2.  [SCHEDULE AND QUESTION.] 
  1.21     The proposed amendment shall be submitted at the 1998 
  1.22  general election and, if adopted, shall apply to legislatures 
  1.23  elected in 2002 and thereafter.  The question submitted shall be:
  1.24     "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide 
  1.25  that state senators be elected from districts of equal area? 
  2.1                                      Yes .......
  2.2                                      No ........"