CSHJR 44(JUD): Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to redistricting and reapportionment of the legislature; and providing for an effective date.
00CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 44(JUD) 01 Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to 02 redistricting and reapportionment of the legislature; and providing for an effective 03 date. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. Article VI, sec. 1, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 06 Section 1. Election Districts. Members of the house of representatives shall 07 be elected by the qualified voters of the respective election districts. The boundaries 08 of the election districts shall be set under this article after each decennial census 09 of the United States [UNTIL REAPPORTIONMENT, ELECTION DISTRICTS AND 10 THE NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES TO BE ELECTED FROM EACH 11 DISTRICT SHALL BE AS SET FORTH IN SECTION 1 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 by the 14 qualified voters of the respective senate districts. The boundaries of the senate
01 districts shall be set under this article after each decennial census of the United 02 States [SENATE DISTRICTS SHALL BE AS SET FORTH IN SECTION 2 OF 03 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. Reapportionment of House and Senate . The Reapportionment 06 Board [GOVERNOR] shall reapportion the house of representatives and the senate 07 immediately following the official reporting of each decennial census of the United 08 States. Reapportionment shall be based upon the [CIVILIAN] population within each 09 election and senate district as reported by the census. 10 * Sec. 4. Article VI, sec. 4, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 11 Section 4. Method of Reapportionment . The Reapportionment Board shall 12 establish forty election districts, with each election district to elect one member 13 of the house of representatives. Each election district shall contain a population 14 as near as practicable to the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the 15 state by forty. The board shall establish twenty senate districts each composed 16 of two contiguous election districts, with each senate district to elect one senator 17 [REAPPORTIONMENT SHALL BE BY THE METHOD OF EQUAL 18 PROPORTIONS, EXCEPT THAT EACH ELECTION DISTRICT HAVING THE 19 MAJOR FRACTION OF THE QUOTIENT OBTAINED BY DIVIDING TOTAL 20 CIVILIAN POPULATION BY FORTY SHALL HAVE ONE REPRESENTATIVE]. 21 * Sec. 5. Article VI, sec. 6, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 22 Section 6. Method of Redistricting. The Reapportionment Board shall 23 establish [GOVERNOR MAY FURTHER REDISTRICT BY CHANGING] the size 24 and area of election districts, subject to the limitations of this article. Each [NEW] 25 district [SO CREATED] shall be formed of contiguous and compact territory 26 containing as nearly as practicable a relatively integrated socio-economic area. Each 27 shall contain a population as near as practicable [AT LEAST EQUAL] to the 28 quotient obtained by dividing the [TOTAL CIVILIAN] population of the state by 29 forty. Consideration may be given to local government boundaries. Drainage and 30 other geographic features shall be used in describing boundaries wherever possible. 31 * Sec. 6. Article VI, sec. 8, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read:
01 Section 8. Reapportionment Board. (a) The Reapportionment Board 02 [THE GOVERNOR SHALL APPOINT A REAPPORTIONMENT BOARD TO ACT 03 IN AN ADVISORY CAPACITY TO HIM. IT] shall consist of five members, all of 04 whom shall be residents of the state and none of whom may be public employees 05 or officials at the time of and during the tenure of appointment. Board members 06 shall be appointed as provided in (b) and (c) of this section [. AT LEAST ONE 07 MEMBER EACH SHALL BE APPOINTED FROM THE SOUTHEASTERN, 08 SOUTHCENTRAL, CENTRAL, AND NORTHWESTERN SENATE DISTRICTS. 09 APPOINTMENTS SHALL BE MADE WITHOUT REGARD TO POLITICAL 10 AFFILIATION]. Board members shall be compensated as provided by law . 11 (b) Except as provided in (c) of this section, members of the 12 Reapportionment Board shall be appointed after, but not later than fifteen days 13 after, the election of the permanent presiding officers of the house of 14 representatives and senate following the first regular session of a legislature that 15 convenes the year following a decennial census. Except as provided in (f) of this 16 section, board members serve until a final plan for reapportionment and 17 proclamation of reapportionment has been adopted and all challenges to it 18 brought under Section 11 of this article have been resolved after final remand or 19 affirmation. 20 (c) Following election of the permanent presiding officers of the house of 21 representatives and senate, the members of the house of representatives who are 22 not members of the majority shall elect by majority vote a house of 23 representatives minority appointing officer, and the members of the senate who 24 are not members of the majority shall elect by majority vote a senate minority 25 appointing officer. If all members of the senate or house of representatives are 26 members of the majority, the minority appointing officer of that house shall be 27 appointed by the members of that house who are not members of the political 28 party with the greatest number of members in that house. One member of the 29 Reapportionment Board shall be appointed by the presiding officer of the house 30 of representatives, one by the house of representatives minority appointing officer, 31 one by the presiding officer of the senate, and one by the senate minority
01 appointing officer. 02 (d) The four board members appointed by the legislators shall appoint by 03 majority vote a fifth member of the board who shall be chair. If the fifth 04 member has not been appointed by the end of the day that is five days after the 05 last day required for appointment of the board members under (b) of this section, 06 the chief justice of the supreme court shall appoint the fifth member who shall be 07 chair. The chair of the board may not have held an elected state office or an 08 elected office of a political party in this state in the five-year period preceding 09 appointment. 10 (e) The legislature shall provide by law the procedure for determining the 11 order for making an appointment to the Reapportionment Board by each of the 12 legislators authorized to make appointments under this section. 13 (f) Any of the four members of the Reapportionment Board appointed by 14 a legislator may be removed with or without cause. Removal will be effected by 15 the person who originally made the appointment or by that person's successor. 16 A vacancy due to removal, resignation, death, incapacity, or otherwise shall be 17 filled by the person who originally made that appointment or by that person's 18 successor. The chair of the board may be removed only for good cause shown by 19 a majority vote of the group consisting of the other members of the board and the 20 chief justice of the supreme court. The vacancy of the chair, due to removal, 21 resignation, death, incapacity, or otherwise, shall be filled as provided for in (d) 22 of this section. 23 (g) A person who was a member of the Reapportionment Board at any 24 time during the process leading to final adoption of a reapportionment plan under 25 Section 10 of this article may not be a candidate for the legislature in the general 26 election following the adoption of the final reapportionment plan. 27 * Sec. 7. Article VI, sec. 9, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 28 Section 9. Board Actions [ORGANIZATION]. [THE BOARD SHALL 29 ELECT ONE OF ITS MEMBERS CHAIRMAN AND MAY EMPLOY TEMPORARY 30 ASSISTANTS.] Concurrence of three members of the Reapportionment Board is 31 required for actions of the board [A RULING OR DETERMINATION], but a lesser
01 number may conduct hearings [OR OTHERWISE ACT FOR THE BOARD]. The 02 board shall employ or contract for services of independent legal counsel. 03 * Sec. 8. Article VI, sec. 10, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 04 Section 10. Reapportionment Plan and Proclamation. (a) Within thirty 05 days after the release of the decennial census population data or thirty days after 06 being duly appointed, whichever occurs last, the board shall adopt one or more 07 proposed reapportionment plans. The board shall hold public hearings on the 08 proposed plan, or, if no single proposed plan is agreed on, on all plans proposed 09 by the board. No later than ninety days after the board has been appointed and 10 the decennial census population data has been released, the board shall adopt a 11 final reapportionment plan and [WITHIN NINETY DAYS FOLLOWING THE 12 OFFICIAL REPORTING OF EACH DECENNIAL CENSUS, THE BOARD SHALL 13 SUBMIT TO THE GOVERNOR A PLAN FOR REAPPORTIONMENT AND 14 REDISTRICTING AS PROVIDED IN THIS ARTICLE. WITHIN NINETY DAYS 15 AFTER RECEIPT OF THE PLAN, THE GOVERNOR SHALL] issue a proclamation 16 of reapportionment [AND REDISTRICTING. AN ACCOMPANYING STATEMENT 17 SHALL EXPLAIN ANY CHANGE FROM THE PLAN OF THE BOARD]. The final 18 plan shall set out boundaries of election and senate districts and 19 [REAPPORTIONMENT AND REDISTRICTING] shall be effective for the election 20 of members of the legislature until sixty days after adoption and final adjudication 21 of the succeeding reapportionment plan and proclamation of reapportionment. 22 (b) Adoption of a final reapportionment plan shall require the affirmative 23 votes of three members of the Reapportionment Board [UNTIL AFTER THE 24 OFFICIAL REPORTING OF THE NEXT DECENNIAL CENSUS]. 25 * Sec. 9. Article VI, sec. 11, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 26 Section 11. Enforcement. Any qualified voter may apply to the superior 27 court to compel the Reapportionment Board [GOVERNOR], by mandamus or 28 otherwise, to perform its [HIS REAPPORTIONMENT] duties under this article or 29 to correct any error in redistricting or reapportionment. Application to compel the 30 board [THE GOVERNOR] to perform [HIS REAPPORTIONMENT DUTIES] must 31 be filed not later than [WITHIN] thirty days following [OF] the expiration of the
01 ninety-day period specified in [EXPIRATION OF EITHER OF THE TWO 02 NINETY-DAY PERIODS SPECIFIED IN] this article. Application to compel 03 correction of any error in redistricting or reapportionment must be filed within thirty 04 days following the adoption of the final plan and proclamation by the board 05 [PROCLAMATION]. Original jurisdiction in these matters is [HEREBY] vested in 06 the superior court. On appeal from the superior court , the cause shall be reviewed 07 by the supreme court on the law and the facts. Notwithstanding Section 15 of 08 Article IV, all dispositions by the superior court and the supreme court under this 09 section shall be expedited and shall have priority over all other matters pending 10 before the respective court. Upon a final judicial decision that a plan is invalid, 11 the case shall be returned to the board for correction and development of a new 12 plan [UPON THE LAW AND THE FACTS]. 13 * Sec. 10. Article XV, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended by adding a new 14 section to read: 15 Section 29. Effective Date and Applicability of Amendments Providing for 16 Redistricting of the Legislature. (a) The 1998 amendments relating to redistricting 17 of the legislature (art. VI) take effect January 1, 2001. 18 (b) Notwithstanding Section 10 of Article VI, the proclamation of 19 reapportionment and redistricting in effect on December 31, 2000, is effective for 20 election of members of the legislature until sixty days after adoption and final 21 adjudication of the succeeding reapportionment plan and proclamation of 22 reapportionment under Article VI. 23 * Sec. 11. Article VI, secs. 5 and 7, and Article XIV, Constitution of the State of Alaska, 24 are repealed. 25 * Sec. 12. The amendments proposed by this resolution shall be placed before the voters 26 of the state at the next general election in conformity with art. XIII, sec. 1, Constitution of the 27 State of Alaska, and the election laws of the state.