HJR 16: Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to reapportionment and redistricting of the legislature.
00HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 16 01 Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to 02 reapportionment and redistricting of the legislature. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. Article VI, sec. 1, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 05 SECTION 1. ELECTION DISTRICTS. Members of the house of 06 representatives shall be elected by the qualified voters of the respective election 07 districts. The boundaries of the election districts shall be set under this article 08 after each decennial census of the United States [UNTIL REAPPORTIONMENT, 09 ELECTION DISTRICTS AND THE NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES TO BE 10 ELECTED FROM EACH DISTRICT SHALL BE AS SET FORTH IN SECTION 1 11 OF ARTICLE XIV]. 12 * Sec. 2. Article VI, sec. 2, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 13 SECTION 2. SENATE DISTRICTS. Members of the senate shall be elected 14 by the qualified voters of the respective senate districts. The boundaries of the
01 senate districts shall be set under this article after each decennial census of the 02 United States [SENATE DISTRICTS SHALL BE AS SET FORTH IN SECTION 2 03 OF ARTICLE XIV, SUBJECT TO CHANGES AUTHORIZED IN THIS ARTICLE]. 04 * Sec. 3. Article VI, sec. 3, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 05 SECTION 3. REDISTRICTING [REAPPORTIONMENT] OF HOUSE AND 06 SENATE. The Redistricting Board [GOVERNOR] shall redistrict 07 [REAPPORTION] the house of representatives and the senate immediately following 08 the official reporting of each decennial census of the United States. Redistricting 09 [REAPPORTIONMENT] shall be based upon resident [CIVILIAN] population within 10 each election district as reported by the census. 11 * Sec. 4. Article VI, sec. 4, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 12 SECTION 4. METHOD. Redistricting [REAPPORTIONMENT] shall be by 13 the method of equal proportions. The Redistricting Board shall establish single-member election districts unless, 14 in the judgment of the board, circumstances 15 require the use of dual-member election districts or a combination of single-member and dual-member election 16 districts. A dual-member election district may 17 not elect more than two representatives. A senate district shall be composed of 18 one dual-member election district or two contiguous single-member election 19 districts, but each senate district shall elect only one senator [, EXCEPT THAT 20 EACH ELECTION DISTRICT HAVING THE MAJOR FRACTION OF THE 21 QUOTIENT OBTAINED BY DIVIDING TOTAL CIVILIAN POPULATION BY 22 FORTY SHALL HAVE ONE REPRESENTATIVE]. 23 * Sec. 5. Article VI, sec. 6, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 24 SECTION 6. DISTRICT BOUNDARIES. Election districts and senate 25 districts [REDISTRICTING. THE GOVERNOR MAY FURTHER REDISTRICT BY 26 CHANGING THE SIZE AND AREA OF ELECTION DISTRICTS, SUBJECT TO 27 THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS ARTICLE. EACH NEW DISTRICT SO CREATED] 28 shall be formed of contiguous and compact territory containing as nearly as practicable 29 a relatively integrated socio-economic area. [EACH SHALL CONTAIN A 30 POPULATION AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE QUOTIENT OBTAINED BY 31 DIVIDING THE TOTAL CIVILIAN POPULATION BY FORTY.] Consideration may
01 be given to local government boundaries. Drainage and other geographic features shall 02 be used in describing boundaries wherever possible. Election district and senate 03 district boundaries may not be drawn with the intent of giving an advantage to 04 a political party. 05 * Sec. 6. Article VI, sec. 8, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 06 SECTION 8. REDISTRICTING [REAPPORTIONMENT] BOARD. (a) 07 There shall be a Redistricting Board [THE GOVERNOR SHALL APPOINT A 08 REAPPORTIONMENT BOARD TO ACT IN AN ADVISORY CAPACITY TO HIM]. 09 It shall consist of nine [FIVE] members, all of whom shall be residents of the State 10 and none of whom may be public employees or officials. At least one member 11 [EACH] shall be appointed from each judicial district established by law under 12 Section 1 of Article IV and no more than five members may be appointed from 13 one judicial district. Members shall be residents of the judicial district from 14 which appointed [THE SOUTHEASTERN, SOUTHCENTRAL, CENTRAL, AND 15 NORTHWESTERN SENATE DISTRICTS]. Appointments shall be made without 16 regard to political affiliation, and no more than five members may be members of 17 the same political party. Board members shall be compensated as provided by law. 18 (b) The Alaska Supreme Court shall appoint a three judge panel of 19 superior court judges to appoint the members of the Redistricting Board. The 20 appointments shall be made promptly following the official reporting of each 21 decennial census. 22 (c) A board member may be removed by the three judge panel for 23 misfeasance or nonfeasance in office. 24 (d) A vacancy on the board shall be filled by the three judge panel. 25 (e) A member of the Redistricting Board may not be a candidate for the 26 legislature in the two general elections following the adoption of a redistricting 27 plan under this article. 28 * Sec. 7. Article VI, sec. 9, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 29 SECTION 9. ORGANIZATION. The board shall elect one of its members 30 chairman and may employ temporary assistants. Concurrence of five [THREE] 31 members is required for a ruling or determination, except for the adoption of a
01 redistricting plan, but a lesser number may conduct hearings or otherwise act for the 02 board. 03 * Sec. 8. Article VI, sec. 10, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 04 SECTION 10. REDISTRICTING [REAPPORTIONMENT] PLAN [AND 05 PROCLAMATION]. (a) Except as provided under (c) of this section, no later 06 than the date that is eighteen months before the date of the first general election 07 following the official reporting of each decennial census, the Redistricting Board 08 shall prepare a proposed redistricting plan. The board shall hold public hearings 09 on the proposed plan and shall hold at least one hearing in each judicial district 10 established by law under Section 1 of Article IV. No later than the date that is 11 fourteen months before the date of the first general election following the official 12 reporting of each decennial census, the board shall adopt a redistricting plan 13 [WITHIN NINETY DAYS FOLLOWING THE OFFICIAL REPORTING OF EACH 14 DECENNIAL CENSUS, THE BOARD SHALL SUBMIT TO THE GOVERNOR A 15 PLAN FOR REAPPORTIONMENT AND REDISTRICTING AS PROVIDED IN 16 THIS ARTICLE. WITHIN NINETY DAYS AFTER RECEIPT OF THE PLAN, THE 17 GOVERNOR SHALL ISSUE A PROCLAMATION OF REAPPORTIONMENT AND 18 REDISTRICTING. AN ACCOMPANYING STATEMENT SHALL EXPLAIN ANY 19 CHANGE FROM THE PLAN OF THE BOARD]. The redistricting plan adopted 20 under this section shall set out election district and senate district boundaries 21 [REAPPORTIONMENT] and [REDISTRICTING] shall be effective for the election 22 of members of the legislature until after the official reporting of the next decennial 23 census. 24 (b) Adoption of a redistricting plan shall require the affirmative votes of 25 six members of the board. 26 (c) If the board is unable to adopt a redistricting plan by the date 27 specified in (a) or (d)(3) of this section, the supreme court shall appoint a panel 28 of three superior court judges. The board shall, within ten days, transmit to the 29 panel the three proposed plans receiving the greatest number of votes by the 30 board. Within forty-five days of the transmittal, from among the proposed 31 redistricting plans received from the board the panel shall adopt one of them
01 without change. The supreme court shall adopt rules for proceedings before the 02 three-judge panel under this subsection. 03 (d) If the data from a decennial census is not available to the board by the 04 date that is sixteen months before the date of the first general election following 05 a decennial census year, 06 (1) a plan adopted shall not take effect until the second general 07 election following the decennial census year; 08 (2) for the first general election following the decennial census year, 09 members of the legislature shall be elected from districts in existence as a result 10 of the previous redistricting plan or proclamation; and 11 (3) the board shall prepare a proposed plan within four months of 12 the receipt of the census data and shall adopt a final plan within four months of 13 the preparation of the proposed plan. 14 * Sec. 9. Article VI, sec. 11, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 15 SECTION 11. ENFORCEMENT. Any qualified voter may apply to the 16 superior court to compel the Redistricting Board [GOVERNOR, BY MANDAMUS 17 OR OTHERWISE,] to perform its [HIS REAPPORTIONMENT] duties or to correct 18 any error in redistricting [OR REAPPORTIONMENT]. Application to compel 19 performance of [THE GOVERNOR TO PERFORM HIS REAPPORTIONMENT] 20 duties must be filed within thirty days of the date that an act is required to be done 21 under [EXPIRATION OF EITHER OF THE TWO NINETY-DAY PERIODS 22 SPECIFIED IN] this article. Application to compel correction of any error in 23 redistricting [OR REAPPORTIONMENT] must be filed within thirty days following 24 the adoption of the redistricting plan by the Redistricting Board or by the three-judge superior court panel 25 appointed by the supreme court under Section 10 of 26 this article [PROCLAMATION]. Original jurisdiction in these matters is hereby 27 vested in the superior court. On appeal, the cause shall be reviewed by the supreme 28 court upon the law and the facts. A disposition by the superior court and an appeal 29 before the supreme court under this section shall have priority over all other 30 matters pending before the respective court. The superior court shall render a 31 decision in a matter before it under this section not more than ninety days after
01 application is made to compel correction, and the supreme court shall render a 02 decision in a matter on appeal not more than forty-five days after submission of 03 a complete record of appeal. 04 * Sec. 10. Article VI, secs. 5 and 7, and Article XIV, Constitution of the State of Alaska, 05 are repealed. 06 * Sec. 11. The amendments proposed by this resolution shall be placed before the voters 07 of the state at the next general election in conformity with art. XIII, sec. 1, Constitution of the 08 State of Alaska, and the election laws of the state.