Minnesota Session Laws - 1999, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 237-H.F.No. 1015 
                  An act relating to elections; providing for 
                  redistricting; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
                  sections 204B.14, subdivision 4; 204B.146, by adding a 
                  subdivision; and 205.84. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 204B.14, 
        subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 4.  [BOUNDARY CHANGE PROCEDURE.] Any change in the 
        boundary of an election precinct shall be adopted at least 90 
        days before the date of the next election and, for the state 
        primary and general election, no later than June 1 in the year 
        of the state general election.  The precinct boundary change 
        shall not take effect until notice of the change has been posted 
        in the office of the municipal clerk or county auditor for at 
        least 60 days.  
           The county auditor must publish a notice illustrating or 
        describing the congressional, legislative, and county 
        commissioner district boundaries in the county in one or more 
        qualified newspapers in the county at least 14 days prior to the 
        first day to file affidavits of candidacy for the state general 
        election in the year ending in two. 
           Alternate dates for adopting changes in precinct 
        boundaries, posting notices of boundary changes, and notifying 
        voters affected by boundary changes pursuant to this 
        subdivision, and procedures for coordinating precinct boundary 
        changes with reestablishing local government election district 
        boundaries may be established in the manner provided in the 
        rules of the secretary of state. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 204B.146, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 3.  [CORRECTION TO ELECTION DISTRICT BOUNDARIES.] 
        When a municipal boundary that is coterminous with a 
        congressional, legislative, or county commissioner district 
        boundary has changed and the affected territory contains 50 or 
        fewer registered voters, the secretary of state may order 
        corrections to move the affected election district boundaries so 
        they again will be coterminous with the municipal boundary.  The 
        election district boundary change is effective 28 days after the 
        date that the order is issued.  The secretary of state shall 
        immediately notify the municipal clerk and county auditor 
        affected by the boundary change and the legislative coordinating 
        commission.  The municipal clerk shall send a nonforwardable 
        notice stating the location of the polling place to every 
        household containing a registered voter affected by the boundary 
        change at least 25 days before the next election. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 205.84, is 
        amended to read: 
           205.84 [REDISTRICTING; CITIES WITH WARDS IN CERTAIN 
        CITIES.] 
           Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL PROVISIONS.] In a statutory 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 a change in ward 
        boundaries does not disqualify a council member from serving for 
        the remainder of a term.  
           Subd. 2.  [REDEFINING WARD BOUNDARIES EFFECTIVE DATE.] The 
        governing body of the city may by ordinance redefine ward 
        boundaries after a municipal general election.  The council 
        shall hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance before its 
        adoption.  One week's published notice of the hearing shall be 
        given.  After the official certification of the federal 
        decennial or special census, the governing body of the city 
        shall either confirm the existing ward boundaries as conforming 
        to the standards of subdivision 1 or redefine ward boundaries to 
        conform to those standards as provided in section 204B.135, 
        subdivision 1.  If the governing body of the city fails to take 
        either action within the time required, no further compensation 
        shall be paid to the mayor or council member until the wards of 
        the city are either reconfirmed or redefined as required by this 
        section.  An ordinance establishing new ward boundaries pursuant 
        to section 204B.135, subdivision 1, becomes effective on the 
        date of the state primary election in the year ending in 
        two.  Ward boundaries established at other times become 
        effective 90 days after the adoption of the ordinance.  
           Subd. 3.  [TRANSITION SCHEDULE.] The governing body of a 
        city electing more than one council member in each ward may 
        adopt an orderly transition schedule to biennial November 
        elections in which only one council member in each ward is 
        elected in any municipal general election. 
           Presented to the governor May 24, 1999 
           Signed by the governor May 25, 1999, 2:30 p.m.