Bill Text: DE HR9 | 2011-2012 | 146th General Assembly | Draft
Bill Title: Urging An Open And Transparent Redistricting Process With Public Participation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 13-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-06-28 - Stricken [HR9 Detail]
Download: Delaware-2011-HR9-Draft.html
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SPONSOR: |
Rep. Hudson |
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Reps. Lavelle, Hocker, Blakey, Briggs King, Kenton, Lee, Miro, Ramone, D. Short, Willis, Wilson |
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 146th GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 9 |
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URGING AN OPEN AND TRANSPARENT REDISTRICTING PROCESS WITH PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. |
WHEREAS, the citizens of Delaware should be entitled to comment on the redrawing of Legislative district lines as the process unfolds; and
WHEREAS, the migration of more people to southern Delaware compared to older residential patterns in the State may require the shifting of more than a few Census Tracts from within their current Representative and Senatorial district lines to other district lines; and
WHEREAS, not only Legislators, but their constituents, have strong feelings about the geographic cohesiveness and the partisan balance of districts; and
WHEREAS, citizens should be able to recommend redistricting plans to the House and Senate that they feel will represent the public interest;
NOW, THEREFORE:
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 146th General Assembly of the State of Delaware that (1) the 2010 redistricting process for the Delaware House of Representatives should be open and transparent;
(2) all drawing of lines or grouping of Census Tracts to produce new Representative Districts should be discussed and explained in a public forum with appropriate public notice;
(3) the Legislative Council should provide purchase information on the computer program and census data used by the General Assembly;
(4) opportunities should be provided for proponents of plans to present those plans in public to the House of Representatives and/or to the committees or persons charged with the task of redistricting the House of Representatives; and
(5) the final plan or plans to be voted on by the House of Representatives should be a product of this public process.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the House of Representatives of the 146th General Assembly believe the public can fairly weigh all information that should go into considering how Census Tracts should be grouped and, while the members may be likely to favor the opinions of people from their area, they will also be motivated to preserve fundamental fairness for all future candidates.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the objective of redistricting, as established by the United States and Delaware Constitutions, is to make election districts fair, which should be the goal that drives the process – fairness in numerical equality in persons represented per district, along with fairness in the equality of opportunity for anyone to be elected in districts balanced by party, race, and ethnicity.
SYNOPSIS
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This House Resolution declares the intent of the House of Representatives to have the redistricting process open and transparent. Specifically, this Resolution calls for open meetings and opportunities for the public to be heard during the redistricting process. |
