SF 1715

1st Engrossment - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 05/11/2021 08:21am

A bill for an act
relating to redistricting; establishing redistricting principles for legislative and
congressional districts; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter
2.

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

Section 1.

new text begin [2.022] LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING PRINCIPLES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Nesting. new text end

new text begin A state house district must not be divided in the formation of a
state senate district.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Numbering. new text end

new text begin 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,
as defined in section 200.02, subdivision 24, until the southeast corner has been reached;
then to the 11-county metropolitan area outside the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul;
then to Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Population. new text end

new text begin Redistricting plans for state legislatures must faithfully adhere to
the concept of population-based representation. The population of a legislative district must
not deviate by more than two percent from the population of the ideal district.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Minority representation. new text end

new text begin Legislative districts must not be drawn with either
the purpose or effect of denying or abridging the voting rights of any United States citizen
on account of race, ethnicity, or membership in a language minority group and must otherwise
comply with the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution
and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Convenient, contiguous, and compact districts. new text end

new text begin Legislative districts must
consist of convenient, contiguous territory structured into compact units. Contiguity by
water is sufficient if the body of water does not pose a serious obstacle to travel within the
district. Legislative districts with areas that connect only at a single point must not be
considered contiguous.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Preservation of political subdivisions. new text end

new text begin Political subdivisions must not be
divided more than necessary to meet constitutional requirements.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Communities of interest. new text end

new text begin Where possible in compliance with the preceding
principles, communities of interest must be preserved. For purposes of this principle,
"communities of interest" include, but are not limited to, groups of Minnesota citizens with
clearly recognizable similarities of social, geographic, political, cultural, ethnic, economic,
or other interests.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Incumbents. new text end

new text begin Legislative districts must not be drawn for the purpose of protecting
or defeating an incumbent, but the impact of redistricting on incumbent officeholders is a
factor subordinate to all redistricting criteria that the legislature may consider to determine
whether proposed plans result in either undue incumbent protection or excessive incumbent
conflicts.
new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin [2.732] CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING PRINCIPLES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Applicability; constitutional duty of legislature. new text end

new text begin The principles in this
section apply to congressional districts.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Numbering. new text end

new text begin The district numbers must begin with Congressional District 1 in
the southeast corner of the state and end with Congressional District 8 in the northeast corner
of the state.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Population. new text end

new text begin The congressional districts must be as nearly equal in population
as is practicable.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Minority representation. new text end

new text begin Congressional districts must not be drawn with either
the purpose or effect of denying or abridging the voting rights of any United States citizen
on account of race, ethnicity, or membership in a language minority group and must otherwise
comply with the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution
and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Convenient, contiguous, and compact districts. new text end

new text begin Districts must consist of
convenient, contiguous territory structured into compact units. Contiguity by water is
sufficient if the body of water does not pose a serious obstacle to travel within the district.
Congressional districts with areas that connect only at a single point must not be considered
contiguous.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Preservation of political subdivisions. new text end

new text begin Political subdivisions must not be
divided more than necessary to meet constitutional requirements.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Communities of interest. new text end

new text begin Where possible in compliance with the preceding
principles, communities of interest must be preserved. For purposes of this principle,
"communities of interest" include, but are not limited to, groups of Minnesota citizens with
clearly recognizable similarities of social, geographic, political, cultural, ethnic, economic,
or other interests.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Incumbents. new text end

new text begin Congressional districts must not be drawn for the purpose of
protecting or defeating incumbents, but the impact of redistricting on incumbent officeholders
is a factor subordinate to all redistricting criteria that the legislature may consider to determine
whether proposed plans result in either undue incumbent protection or excessive incumbent
conflicts.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [2.95] REDISTRICTING PLANS; DATA.
new text end

new text begin (a) The geographic areas and population counts used in maps, tables, and legal
descriptions of the districts must be those used by the Geographic Information Systems
(GIS) Office of the Legislative Coordinating Commission. The population counts must be
the block population counts provided to the state under Public Law 94-171 after each
decennial census, subject to correction of any errors acknowledged by the United States
Census Bureau.
new text end

new text begin (b) A redistricting plan must not be considered for adoption by the senate or house of
representatives until the redistricting plan's block equivalency file has been submitted to
the GIS Office in a form prescribed by the GIS Office. The block equivalency file must
show the district to which each census block has been assigned.
new text end

Sec. 4. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
new text end

new text begin This act is effective the day following final enactment and applies to any plan for districts
enacted or established on or after that date.
new text end