SF 1316

as introduced - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 03/14/2012 09:32am

A joint resolution
relating to redistricting; establishing districting principles for legislative and
congressional plans.

BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that a plan for redistricting
seats in the Legislature or the United States House of Representatives must adhere to the
following principles:

(1) [NUMBER OF DISTRICTS.] (a) The Senate must be composed of 67 members. The
House of Representatives must be composed of 134 members. Each district is entitled to elect a
single member.

(b) A plan for congressional districts must have eight districts, each entitled to elect a
single member.

(2) [NESTING.] A representative district may not be divided in the formation of a Senate
district.

(3) [CONTIGUITY; COMPACTNESS.] The districts must be composed of convenient
contiguous territory. To the extent consistent with the other principles in this resolution, districts
should be compact. Contiguity by water is sufficient if the water is not a serious obstacle to
travel within the district.

(4) [NUMBERING.] (a) The 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.

(b) The 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.

(5) [DATA TO BE USED.] The geographic areas and population counts used in maps,
tables, and legal descriptions of the districts must be those used by the Geographic Information
Services Office of the Legislative Coordinating Commission. The population counts will be the
block population counts provided under Public Law Number 94-171, subject to correction of any
errors acknowledged by the United States Census Bureau.

(6) [DATA READY; PLANS POSTED.] The director of the Geographic Information
Services Office shall notify the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives when the necessary census data has been received from the United States Census
Bureau, loaded into the Legislature's computerized redistricting system, and verified as ready
for use in redistricting. A redistricting plan must not be considered for adoption by the Senate
or House of Representatives until:

(a) the notice has been given;

(b) 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 Services Office, has
been filed with the director.