SF 349

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) 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; modifying reapportionment 
  1.4             requirements once each 20 years to provide for 
  1.5             uninterrupted four-year senate terms. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.] 
  1.8      An amendment to the Minnesota Constitution, article IV, 
  1.9   section 3, is proposed to the people.  
  1.10     If the amendment is adopted, the section will read:  
  1.11     Sec. 3.  At its first session After each decennial 
  1.12  enumeration of the inhabitants of this state made by the 
  1.13  authority of the United States, the legislature shall have the 
  1.14  power to prescribe the bounds of congressional and legislative 
  1.15  districts.  The legislature shall prescribe the bounds of 
  1.16  congressional districts at the first legislature that convenes 
  1.17  after each decennial enumeration.  The legislature shall 
  1.18  prescribe the bounds of legislative districts at the first 
  1.19  legislature that convenes after each decennial enumeration that 
  1.20  occurs in a year divisible by four.  The legislature shall 
  1.21  prescribe the bounds of legislative districts at the second 
  1.22  legislature that convenes after each decennial enumeration that 
  1.23  occurs in a year not divisible by four.  Senators shall be 
  1.24  chosen by single districts of convenient contiguous territory.  
  1.25  No representative district shall be divided in the formation of 
  2.1   a senate district.  The senate districts shall be numbered in a 
  2.2   regular series. 
  2.3      Sec. 2.  [SUBMISSION TO VOTERS.] 
  2.4      The proposed amendment must be submitted to the people at 
  2.5   the 2004 general election.  The question submitted must be: 
  2.6      "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to schedule 
  2.7   legislative redistricting so as to keep all elections of state 
  2.8   senators in the same years governors are elected and to 
  2.9   maintain, without interruption, the four-year state senate terms 
  2.10  specified in the Minnesota Constitution? 
  2.11                                     Yes .......
  2.12                                     No ........"