SCS CSHJR 44(JUD): Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to redistricting and reapportionment of the legislature; repealing obsolete language setting out the apportionment schedule used to elect members of the first state legislature.
00SENATE CS FOR CS 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; repealing obsolete language 03 setting out the apportionment schedule used to elect members of the first state 04 legislature. 05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. Article VI, sec. 1, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 07 Section 1. House [ELECTION] Districts. Members of the house of 08 representatives shall be elected by the qualified voters of the respective house 09 [ELECTION] districts. The boundaries of the house districts shall be set under this 10 article following the official reporting of each decennial census of the United 11 States [UNTIL REAPPORTIONMENT, ELECTION DISTRICTS AND THE 12 NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES TO BE ELECTED FROM EACH DISTRICT 13 SHALL BE AS SET FORTH IN SECTION 1 OF ARTICLE XIV]. 14 * Sec. 2. Article VI, sec. 2, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read:
01 Section 2. Senate Districts. Members of the senate shall be elected by the 02 qualified voters of the respective senate districts. The boundaries of the senate 03 districts shall be set under this article following the official reporting of each 04 decennial census of the United States [SENATE DISTRICTS SHALL BE AS SET 05 FORTH IN SECTION 2 OF ARTICLE XIV, SUBJECT TO CHANGES 06 AUTHORIZED IN THIS ARTICLE]. 07 * Sec. 3. Article VI, sec. 3, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 08 Section 3. Reapportionment of House and Senate . The Redistricting Board 09 [GOVERNOR] shall reapportion the house of representatives and the senate 10 immediately following the official reporting of each decennial census of the United 11 States. Reapportionment shall be based upon the [CIVILIAN] population within each 12 house and senate [ELECTION] district as reported by the official decennial census 13 of the United States . 14 * Sec. 4. Article VI, sec. 4, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 15 Section 4. Method of Redistricting . The Redistricting Board shall 16 establish forty house districts, with each house district to elect one member of the 17 house of representatives. The board shall establish twenty senate districts, each 18 composed of two house districts, with each senate district to elect one senator 19 [REAPPORTIONMENT SHALL BE BY THE METHOD OF EQUAL 20 PROPORTIONS, EXCEPT THAT EACH ELECTION DISTRICT HAVING THE 21 MAJOR FRACTION OF THE QUOTIENT OBTAINED BY DIVIDING TOTAL 22 CIVILIAN POPULATION BY 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 [REDISTRICTING]. The Redistricting 25 Board shall establish [GOVERNOR MAY FURTHER REDISTRICT BY 26 CHANGING] the size and area of house [ELECTION] districts, subject to the 27 limitations of this article. Each house [NEW] district [SO CREATED] shall be formed 28 of contiguous and compact territory containing as nearly as practicable a relatively 29 integrated socio-economic area. Each shall contain a population as near as 30 practicable [AT LEAST EQUAL] to the quotient obtained by dividing the [TOTAL 31 CIVILIAN] population of the state by forty. Each senate district shall be composed
01 as near as practicable of two contiguous house districts. Consideration may be 02 given to local government boundaries. Drainage and other geographic features shall 03 be used in describing boundaries wherever possible. 04 * Sec. 6. Article VI, sec. 8, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 05 Section 8. Redistricting [REAPPORTIONMENT] Board. (a) There [THE 06 GOVERNOR] shall be a redistricting [APPOINT A REAPPORTIONMENT] board 07 [TO ACT IN AN ADVISORY CAPACITY TO HIM]. It shall consist of five 08 members, all of whom shall be residents of the state for at least one year and none 09 of whom may be public employees or officials at the time of or during the tenure 10 of appointment [. AT LEAST ONE MEMBER EACH SHALL BE APPOINTED 11 FROM THE SOUTHEASTERN, SOUTHCENTRAL, CENTRAL, AND 12 NORTHWESTERN SENATE DISTRICTS]. Appointments shall be made without 13 regard to political affiliation. Board members shall be compensated. 14 (b) Members of the Redistricting Board shall be appointed in the year in 15 which an official decennial census of the United States is taken and by 16 September 1 of that year. The governor shall appoint two members of the board. 17 The presiding officer of the senate, the presiding officer of the house of 18 representatives, and the chief justice of the supreme court shall each appoint one 19 member of the board. The appointments to the board shall be made in the order 20 listed in this subsection. At least one board member shall be a resident of each 21 judicial district that existed on January 1, 1999. Board members serve until a 22 final plan for redistricting and proclamation of redistricting has been adopted and 23 all challenges to it brought under Section 11 of this article have been resolved 24 after final remand or affirmation. 25 (c) A person who was a member of the Redistricting Board at any time 26 during the process leading to final adoption of a redistricting plan under Section 27 10 of this article may not be a candidate for the legislature in the general election 28 following the adoption of the final redistricting plan. 29 * Sec. 7. Article VI, sec. 9, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 30 Section 9. Board Actions [ORGANIZATION]. The board shall elect one 31 of its members chairman and may employ temporary assistants. Concurrence of three
01 members of the Redistricting Board is required for actions of the board [A 02 RULING OR DETERMINATION], but a lesser number may conduct hearings [OR 03 OTHERWISE ACT FOR THE BOARD]. The board shall employ or contract for 04 services of independent legal counsel. 05 * Sec. 8. Article VI, sec. 10, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 06 Section 10. Redistricting [REAPPORTIONMENT] Plan and Proclamation. 07 (a) Within thirty days after the official reporting of the decennial census of the 08 United States or thirty days after being duly appointed, whichever occurs last, the 09 board shall adopt one or more proposed redistricting plans. The board shall hold 10 public hearings on the proposed plan, or, if no single proposed plan is agreed on, 11 on all plans proposed by the board. No later than ninety days after the board has 12 been appointed and the official reporting of the decennial census of the United 13 States, the board shall adopt a final redistricting plan and [WITHIN NINETY 14 DAYS FOLLOWING THE OFFICIAL REPORTING OF EACH DECENNIAL 15 CENSUS, THE BOARD SHALL SUBMIT TO THE GOVERNOR A PLAN FOR 16 REAPPORTIONMENT AND REDISTRICTING AS PROVIDED IN THIS ARTICLE. 17 WITHIN NINETY DAYS AFTER RECEIPT OF THE PLAN, THE GOVERNOR 18 SHALL] issue a proclamation of [REAPPORTIONMENT AND] redistricting. [AN 19 ACCOMPANYING STATEMENT SHALL EXPLAIN ANY CHANGE FROM THE 20 PLAN OF THE BOARD.] The final plan shall set out boundaries of house and 21 senate districts and [REAPPORTIONMENT AND REDISTRICTING] shall be 22 effective for the election of members of the legislature until after the official reporting 23 of the next decennial census of the United States . 24 (b) Adoption of a final redistricting plan shall require the affirmative 25 votes of three members of the Redistricting Board. 26 * Sec. 9. Article VI, sec. 11, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 27 Section 11. Enforcement. Any qualified voter may apply to the superior 28 court to compel the Redistricting Board [GOVERNOR], by mandamus or otherwise, 29 to perform its [HIS REAPPORTIONMENT] duties under this article or to correct any 30 error in redistricting [OR REAPPORTIONMENT]. Application to compel the board 31 [THE GOVERNOR] to perform [HIS REAPPORTIONMENT DUTIES] must be filed
01 not later than [WITHIN] thirty days following [OF] the expiration of the ninety-day 02 period specified in [EXPIRATION OF EITHER OF THE TWO NINETY-DAY 03 PERIODS SPECIFIED IN] this article. Application to compel correction of any error 04 in redistricting [OR REAPPORTIONMENT] must be filed within thirty days following 05 the adoption of the final redistricting plan and proclamation by the board 06 [PROCLAMATION]. Original jurisdiction in these matters is [HEREBY] vested in 07 the superior court. On appeal from the superior court , the cause shall be reviewed 08 by the supreme court on [UPON] the law and the facts . Notwithstanding Section 15 09 of Article IV, all dispositions by the superior court and the supreme court under 10 this section shall be expedited and shall have priority over all other matters 11 pending before the respective court. Upon a final judicial decision that a plan is 12 invalid, the matter shall be returned to the board for correction and development 13 of a new plan. If that new plan is declared invalid, the matter may be referred 14 again to the board . 15 * Sec. 10. Article XI, sec. 3, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 16 Section 3. Petition. After certification of the application, a petition containing 17 a summary of the subject matter shall be prepared by the lieutenant governor for 18 circulation by the sponsors. If signed by qualified voters, equal in number to ten per 19 cent of those who voted in the preceding general election and resident in at least two- 20 thirds of the house [ELECTION] districts of the State, it may be filed with the lieutenant 21 governor. 22 * Sec. 11. Article XV, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended by adding a new 23 section to read: 24 Section 29. Applicability of Amendments Providing for Redistricting of the 25 Legislature. The 1998 amendments relating to redistricting of the legislature (art. VI 26 and art. XIV) apply only to plans for redistricting and proclamations of redistricting 27 adopted on or after January 1, 2001. 28 * Sec. 12. Article VI, secs. 5 and 7, and Article XIV, Constitution of the State of Alaska, 29 are repealed. 30 * Sec. 13. The amendments proposed by this resolution shall be placed before the voters 31 of the state at the next general election in conformity with art. XIII, sec. 1, Constitution of the
01 State of Alaska, and the election laws of the state.