SF 1151

as introduced - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 02/27/2015 09:26am

A bill for an act
relating to redistricting; requiring use of actual residence for redistricting
purposes; allowing population modifications; requiring certain data transfers;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, sections 204B.145; 205.84, subdivision 1;
375.025, subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 241.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 204B.145, is amended to read:

204B.145 DUTIES OF SECRETARY OF STATE; REDISTRICTING.

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Exchange of information. new text end

Following the completion of legislative
redistricting, the secretary of state may coordinate and facilitate the exchange of
information between the legislative redistricting computer system, the statewide voter
registration system, and a computer system developed to assist the counties, municipalities,
and school districts in redrawing election districts and establishing election precincts.

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Corrections information transfer. new text end

new text begin (a) In each year in which the federal
decennial census is taken but in which the United States Bureau of the Census allocates
incarcerated persons as residents of correctional facilities, the commissioner of corrections
shall by May 1 of that same year transfer to the secretary of state the following:
new text end

new text begin (1) a unique identifier, not including the name, or Offender Identification (OID)
number for each incarcerated person subject to the jurisdiction of the department on the
date for which the decennial census reports population. The unique identifier shall enable
the secretary of state to address inquiries about specific address records to the Department
of Corrections, without making it possible for anyone outside of the Department of
Corrections to identify the inmate for whom the address record pertains;
new text end

new text begin (2) the street address of the correctional facility in which the person was incarcerated
at the time of the report;
new text end

new text begin (3) the last known address of the person prior to incarceration or other legal
residence, if known;
new text end

new text begin (4) the person's race, whether the person is of Hispanic or Latino origin, and whether
the person is over the age of 18, if known; and
new text end

new text begin (5) any additional information as the secretary of state may request pursuant to law.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner of corrections shall provide the information specified in
paragraph (a) in a form specified by the secretary of state.
new text end

new text begin (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the information required to be
provided to the secretary of state pursuant to this section shall not include the name or
identification of any incarcerated person. The information shall be treated as confidential,
and shall not be disclosed by the secretary of state except as redistricting data aggregated
by census block for purposes specified in subdivision 4.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Federal facilities. new text end

new text begin The secretary of state shall request each agency that
operates a federal facility in this state that incarcerates persons convicted of a criminal
offense to provide the secretary of state with a report including the information listed
in subdivision 2, paragraph (a).
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Redistricting population. new text end

new text begin The secretary of state shall prepare redistricting
population data to reflect incarcerated persons at their residential address pursuant to
subdivision 5. The data prepared by the secretary of state pursuant to subdivision 5 shall
be the basis of state house of representative districts, state senate districts, and all local
government districts that are based on population. Incarcerated populations residing
at unknown geographic locations within the state, as determined under subdivision 5,
paragraph (c), clause (2), shall not be used to determine the ideal population of any set
of districts, wards, or precincts.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Determinations and data publication by the secretary of state. new text end

new text begin (a) For
each person included in a report received under subdivisions 2 and 3, the secretary of state
shall determine the geographic units for which population counts are reported in the
federal decennial census that contain the facility of incarceration and the legal residence
as listed according to the report.
new text end

new text begin (b) For each person included in a report received under subdivisions 2 and 3, if the
legal residence is known and in this state, the secretary of state shall:
new text end

new text begin (1) ensure that the person is not represented in any population counts reported by the
secretary of state for the geographic units that include the facility at which the person was
incarcerated, unless that geographic unit also includes the person's legal residence; and
new text end

new text begin (2) ensure that any population counts reported by the secretary of state reflect the
persons' residential address as reported under subdivisions 2 and 3.
new text end

new text begin (c) For each person included in a report received under subdivisions 2 and 3 for
whom a legal residence is unknown or not in this state, and for all persons reported in the
census as residing in a federal correctional facility for whom a report was not provided,
the secretary of state shall:
new text end

new text begin (1) ensure that the person is not represented in any population counts reported by
the secretary of state for the geographic units that include the facility at which the person
was incarcerated; and
new text end

new text begin (2) allocate the person to a state unit not tied to a specific determined geography, as
other state residents with unknown state addresses are allocated, including but not limited
to military and federal government personnel stationed overseas.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Data publishing. new text end

new text begin The data prepared by the secretary of state pursuant to
this section shall be completed and published no later than 30 days from the date that
federal decennial Public Law 94-171 data is published for the state of Minnesota.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Data use. new text end

new text begin (a) The secretary of state shall notify county and city
governments that subdivision 4 requires those governments to use the data prepared by the
secretary pursuant to this section for redistricting purposes.
new text end

new text begin (b) The data prepared by the secretary of state in subdivision 5 shall not be used in
the distribution of any state or federal aid.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 205.84, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

General provisions.

(a) In a city electing council members by wards,
wards shall be as equal in population as practicable and each ward shall be composed of
compact, contiguous territory. Each council member shall be a resident of the ward for
which elected, but, except as otherwise provided by paragraph (b), a change in ward
boundaries does not disqualify a council member from serving for the remainder of a term.

(b) Notwithstanding any home rule charter provision to the contrary, in a city of the
first class where council members are elected by ward to serve for four years to terms that
are not staggered, if the population of any ward changes by five percent or more, all
council members must be elected to new terms at the first municipal general election
after ward boundaries are redefined under subdivision 2; provided, however, that if no
municipal general election would otherwise occur in the year ending in "2" or the year
ending in "3," a municipal general election must be held in one of those years.

new text begin (c) "Population" as referenced in this section includes the redistricting population
data prepared by the secretary of state pursuant to section 204B.145, subdivision 5.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [241.0241] LEGAL RESIDENCE OF PERSONS ENTERING CUSTODY.
new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner of corrections shall collect and maintain an electronic record
of the legal residence, presumptively outside of the facility, and other demographic data
for any person entering its custody. At a minimum, this record shall contain the last
known complete street address prior to incarceration, the person's race, whether the person
is of Hispanic or Latino origin, and whether the person is over the age of 18. To the
degree possible, the commissioner of corrections shall also allow the legal residence to be
updated as appropriate.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner shall transfer the data collected under this section to the
secretary of state as provided under section 204B.145, subdivision 2.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 375.025, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Standards.

new text begin (a) new text end The redistricting plan in use in a county shall be
used until a new plan is adopted in accordance with this section. Each county shall be
divided into as many districts numbered consecutively as it has members of the county
board. Commissioner districts shall be bounded by town, municipal, ward, or precinct
lines. Each district shall be composed of contiguous territory as regular and compact in
form as practicable, depending upon the geography of the county involved and shall be as
nearly equal in population as possible. No district shall vary in population more than ten
percent from the average for all districts in the county, unless the result forces a voting
precinct to be split. A majority of the least populous districts shall contain not less than a
majority of the population of the county. A county may be redistricted by the county board
after each federal census. When it appears after a federal census that the districts of the
county are not in accord with the standards set forth in this subdivision, the county shall
be redistricted by the county board within the times set in section 204B.135, subdivision
2. Before acting to redistrict, the county board, or a redistricting commission if one is
appointed, shall publish three weeks' notice of its purpose, stating the time and place of
the meeting where the matter will be considered, in the newspaper having the contract to
publish the commissioners' proceedings for the county for the current year.

new text begin (b) "Population" as referenced in this section includes the redistricting population
data prepared by the secretary of state pursuant to section 204B.145, subdivision 5.
new text end