STATE OF OKLAHOMA

1st Session of the 53rd Legislature (2011)

HOUSE JOINT
RESOLUTION 1022	By:	Banz

AS INTRODUCED

A Joint Resolution directing the Secretary of State to refer to the people for their approval or rejection a proposed amendment to Sections 9A and 10A of Article V of the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma, which relate to legislative districts; clarifying language; providing ballot title; and directing filing.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE OF THE 1ST SESSION OF THE 53RD OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE:
SECTION 1.  The Secretary of State shall refer to the people for their approval or rejection, as and in the manner provided by law, the following proposed amendments to Sections 9A and 10A of Article V of the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma to read as follows:
Section 9A.  The state State of Oklahoma shall be apportioned into forty-eight senatorial districts in the following manner:  the nineteen most populous counties, as determined by the most recent Federal Decennial Census, shall constitute nineteen senatorial districts with one senator to be nominated and elected from each district; the fifty-eight less populous counties shall be joined into twenty-nine two-county districts with one senator to be nominated and elected from each of the two-county districts.  In apportioning the State Senate, consideration shall be given to population, compactness, area, political units, historical precedents, economic and political interests, contiguous territory, and other major factors, to the extent feasible.
Each senatorial district, whether single county or multi-county, shall be entitled to one senator, who shall hold office for four years; provided that any senator, serving at the time of the adoption of this amendment, shall serve the full time for which he was elected.  Vitalization of senatorial districts shall provide for one-half of the senators to be elected at each general election.
Section 10A.  The Oklahoma House of Representatives shall consist of the number of Representatives as determined by the formula and procedure set forth herein.  The number of members of the House of Representatives to which each county shall be entitled shall be determined according to the following formula:
a.  The total population of the state as ascertained by the most recent Federal Decennial Census shall be divided by the number one hundred and the quotient shall be the ratio of representation in the House of Representatives, except as otherwise provided in this Article.
b.  Every county having a population less than one full ratio shall be assigned one Representative; every county containing an entire ratio but less than two ratios shall be assigned two Representatives; every county containing a population of two entire ratios but less than three ratios shall be assigned three Representatives; and every county containing a population of three entire ratios but less than four ratios shall be assigned four Representatives.
After the first four Representatives, a county shall qualify for additional representation on the basis of two whole ratios of population for each additional Representative.
Each Representative nominated and elected shall hold office for two years.
SECTION 2.  The Ballot Title for the proposed Constitutional amendment as set forth in SECTION 1 of this resolution shall be in the following form:
BALLOT TITLE
Legislative Referendum No. ____	State Question No. ____
THE GIST OF THE PROPOSITION IS AS FOLLOWS:
This measure amends the state Constitution.  It clarifies language.  The language relates to state Senate districts.  It also deals with districts of the state House of Representatives.
SHALL THE PROPOSAL BE APPROVED?
FOR THE PROPOSAL — YES	_____________
AGAINST THE PROPOSAL — NO 	_____________
SECTION 3.  The Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, immediately after the passage of this resolution, shall prepare and file one copy thereof, including the Ballot Title set forth in SECTION 2 hereof, with the Secretary of State and one copy with the Attorney General.

53-1-5804	SD	01/16/11