Bill Text: MN HF2222 | 2011-2012 | 87th Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Legislative districting plan adopted for use in 2012 and thereafter, and districting principles adopted for legislative districts.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-13 - Introduction and first reading, referred to Redistricting [HF2222 Detail]

Download: Minnesota-2011-HF2222-Introduced.html

1.1A bill for an act
1.2relating to redistricting; adopting a legislative districting plan for use in 2012
1.3and thereafter; adopting districting principles for legislative districts; amending
1.4Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 2.031, subdivision 1; 2.91, subdivision 1;
1.5repealing Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 2.031, subdivision 2; 2.444; 2.484.
1.6BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7    Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 2.031, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.8    Subdivision 1. Legislative districts. (a) The representatives in the senate and house
1.9of representatives are apportioned throughout the state in 67 senate districts and 134 house
1.10of representatives districts. Each senate district is entitled to elect one senator and each
1.11house of representatives district is entitled to elect one representative.
1.12(b) Legislative redistricting plan L1102-0, on file with the Geographic Information
1.13Services Office of the Legislative Coordinating Commission and published on its Web site
1.14on December 14, 2011, is adopted and describes the legislative districts within this state.
1.15Each senate district is composed of the two house districts, A and B, of the same number.

1.16    Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 2.91, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.17    Subdivision 1. Distribution. Upon enactment of a redistricting plan for the
1.18legislature or for Congress, the Legislative Coordinating Commission shall deposit the
1.19plan with the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall provide copies of the relevant
1.20portions of the redistricting plan to each county auditor, who shall provide a copy of the
1.21relevant portions of the plan to each municipal clerk within the county. The secretary of
1.22state, with the cooperation of the commissioner of administration, shall make copies of the
1.23plan file, maps, and tables available to the public for the cost of publication. The revisor of
1.24statutes shall code a metes and bounds description of the districts, as established pursuant
2.1to legislative enactment or court order, in Minnesota Statutes no later than the date of the
2.2state primary in the year ending in two.

2.3    Sec. 3. DISTRICTING PRINCIPLES FOR LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS.
2.4    Subdivision 1. Applicability. The principles in this section apply to legislative
2.5districts.
2.6    Subd. 2. Nesting. A representative district may not be divided in the formation
2.7of a senate district.
2.8    Subd. 3. Numbering. Legislative districts must be numbered in a regular series,
2.9beginning with house district 1A in the northwest corner of the state and proceeding across
2.10the state from west to east, north to south, but bypassing the 11-county metropolitan
2.11area until the southeast corner has been reached; then to the 11-county metropolitan area
2.12outside the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul; then in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
2.13    Subd. 4. Equal population. The population of a legislative district shall not deviate
2.14by more than two percent from the population of the ideal district.
2.15    Subd. 5. Minority representation. Legislative districts shall not be drawn with
2.16either the purpose or effect of denying or abridging the voting rights of any United States
2.17citizen on account of race, ethnicity, or membership in a language minority group, and
2.18must otherwise comply with the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United
2.19States Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, United States Code,
2.20title 42, sections 1973 to 1973aa-6.
2.21    Subd. 6. Contiguity; compactness. Legislative districts shall consist of convenient,
2.22contiguous territory structured into compact units. Contiguity by water is sufficient if the
2.23body of water does not pose a serious obstacle to travel within the district. Legislative
2.24districts with areas that connect only at a single point shall not be considered contiguous.
2.25    Subd. 7. Minor civil divisions. Political subdivisions shall not be divided more
2.26than necessary to meet constitutional requirements.
2.27    Subd. 8. Preserving communities of interest. Where possible in compliance with
2.28the preceding principles, communities of interest shall be preserved. For purposes of this
2.29principle, "communities of interest" include, but are not limited to, groups of Minnesota
2.30residents with clearly recognizable similarities of social, geographic, political, cultural,
2.31ethnic, economic, or other interests. Additional communities of interest will be considered
2.32if persuasively established and if consideration thereof would not violate applicable law.
2.33    Subd. 9. Consideration of plans. Legislative districts shall not be drawn for the
2.34purpose of protecting or defeating an incumbent. The impact of redistricting on incumbent
2.35officeholders is a factor subordinate to all redistricting criteria to determine whether
3.1proposed plans result in either undue incumbent protection or excessive incumbent
3.2conflicts.
3.3EFFECTIVE DATE; EXPIRATION. This section is effective the day following
3.4final enactment and applies to any plan for districts enacted or established for use at the
3.5state primary in 2012 and thereafter. This section expires June 1, 2012.

3.6    Sec. 4. REPEALER.
3.7Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 2.031, subdivision 2; 2.444; and 2.484, are
3.8repealed.

3.9    Sec. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
3.10Except where otherwise provided, this act is effective for the state primary election
3.11in 2012 and thereafter.
feedback