HJR 44: Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to redistricting of the legislature.
00HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 44 01 Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to 02 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 representatives shall 06 be elected by the qualified voters of the respective election districts. The boundaries 07 of the election districts shall be set under this article after each decennial census 08 of the United States [UNTIL REAPPORTIONMENT, ELECTION DISTRICTS AND 09 THE NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES TO BE ELECTED FROM EACH 10 DISTRICT SHALL BE AS SET FORTH IN SECTION 1 OF ARTICLE XIV]. 11 * Sec. 2. Article VI, sec. 2, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 12 Section 2. Senate Districts. Members of the senate shall be elected by the 13 qualified voters of the respective senate districts. The boundaries of the senate 14 districts shall be set under this article after each decennial census of the United
01 States [SENATE DISTRICTS SHALL BE AS SET FORTH IN SECTION 2 OF 02 ARTICLE XIV, SUBJECT TO CHANGES AUTHORIZED IN THIS ARTICLE]. 03 * Sec. 3. Article VI, sec. 3, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 04 Section 3. Redistricting [REAPPORTIONMENT] of House and Senate . 05 The Redistricting Board [GOVERNOR] shall redistrict [REAPPORTION] the house 06 of representatives and the senate immediately following the official reporting of each 07 decennial census of the United States. Redistricting [REAPPORTIONMENT] shall 08 be based upon resident [CIVILIAN] population within each election and senate 09 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. Single-Member Districts [METHOD]. The Redistricting Board 12 shall establish single-member election districts. The board shall establish senate 13 districts composed of two contiguous election districts, with each senate district 14 to elect one senator. [REAPPORTIONMENT SHALL BE BY THE METHOD OF 15 EQUAL PROPORTIONS, EXCEPT THAT EACH ELECTION DISTRICT HAVING 16 THE MAJOR FRACTION OF THE QUOTIENT OBTAINED BY DIVIDING TOTAL 17 CIVILIAN POPULATION BY FORTY SHALL HAVE ONE REPRESENTATIVE.] 18 * Sec. 5. Article VI, sec. 6, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 19 Section 6. District Boundaries [REDISTRICTING]. Election districts and 20 senate districts [THE GOVERNOR MAY FURTHER REDISTRICT BY CHANGING 21 THE SIZE AND AREA OF ELECTION DISTRICTS, SUBJECT TO THE 22 LIMITATIONS OF THIS ARTICLE. EACH NEW DISTRICT SO CREATED] shall 23 be formed of contiguous and compact territory containing as nearly as practicable a 24 relatively integrated socio-economic area. [EACH SHALL CONTAIN A 25 POPULATION AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE QUOTIENT OBTAINED BY 26 DIVIDING THE TOTAL CIVILIAN POPULATION BY FORTY.] Consideration may 27 be given to local government boundaries. Drainage and other geographic features shall 28 be used in describing boundaries wherever possible. 29 * Sec. 6. Article VI, sec. 8, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 30 Section 8. Redistricting [REAPPORTIONMENT] Board. (a) There shall 31 be a Redistricting Board [THE GOVERNOR SHALL APPOINT A
01 REAPPORTIONMENT BOARD TO ACT IN AN ADVISORY CAPACITY TO HIM]. 02 It shall consist of five members, all of whom shall be residents of the state and none 03 of whom may be public employees or officials. At least one board member [EACH] 04 shall be appointed from each judicial district established by law under Section 1 of 05 Article IV. Members shall be residents of the judicial district from which 06 appointed [THE SOUTHEASTERN, SOUTHCENTRAL, CENTRAL, AND 07 NORTHWESTERN SENATE DISTRICTS]. Appointments shall be made without 08 regard to political affiliation , except that no more than four members may be 09 members of the same political party . Board members shall be compensated as 10 provided by law. 11 (b) Board members shall be appointed not later than fifteen days after the 12 organization of the first regular session of a legislature that convenes following the 13 year in which the census is taken. Except as provided in (e) and (f) of this 14 section, board members first appointed serve until a final redistricting plan and 15 proclamation of redistricting has been adopted and all challenges to it brought 16 under Section 11 of this article have been resolved, including orders entered by 17 a court to compel correction of the final redistricting plan and proclamation of 18 redistricting. 19 (c) Board members shall be appointed as follows: 20 (1) one member shall be appointed by the chief justice of the 21 supreme court; 22 (2) one member shall be appointed by the caucus of the members 23 of the house of representatives having the largest number of caucus members in 24 the house of representatives; 25 (3) one member shall be appointed by the caucus of the members 26 of the house of representatives having the second largest number of caucus 27 members in the house of representatives; 28 (4) one member shall be appointed by the caucus of the members 29 of the senate having the largest number of caucus members in the senate; and 30 (5) one member shall be appointed by the caucus of the members 31 of the senate having the second largest number of caucus members in the senate.
01 (d) The legislature shall provide by law for a random process to determine 02 the order for making the appointments of board members under this section. If 03 the legislature has failed to make provision by law by the deadline set by (b) of 04 this section, the chief justice of the supreme court may establish the random 05 process to make the appointments. 06 (e) A board member may be removed only for misfeasance or nonfeasance 07 in office. The chief justice may remove the board member appointed under (c)(1) 08 of this section and appoint the member's replacement. The caucus that appointed 09 a board member under (c)(2) - (5) of this section may remove a board member 10 appointed by it and, subject to (f) of this section, appoint the member's 11 replacement. 12 (f) A vacancy on the board affecting the board member appointed under 13 (c)(1) of this section shall be filled by the chief justice. A vacancy on the board 14 affecting a board member appointed by a caucus under (c)(2) - (5) of this section 15 shall be filled by the caucus, except that, if the membership of the caucus has 16 changed or if a general election has intervened, the successor caucus that, at the 17 time of filling the vacancy, qualifies to make the appointment under (c)(2) - (5) 18 of this section shall fill the vacancy. 19 (g) A person who was a member of the Redistricting Board at any time 20 during the process leading to final adoption of a redistricting plan under Section 21 10 of this article may not be a candidate for the legislature in the two general 22 elections following the adoption of the final redistricting plan . 23 * Sec. 7. Article VI, sec. 9, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 24 Section 9. Organization. The Redistricting Board [BOARD] shall elect one 25 of its members chairman [AND MAY EMPLOY TEMPORARY ASSISTANTS]. 26 Concurrence of three members is required for a ruling or determination, but a lesser 27 number may conduct hearings or otherwise act for the board. The board shall select 28 and may employ or contract for services of legal counsel. The legislative council 29 shall assign staff to assist the board, shall prepare an estimate of the board's 30 operating expenses and submit it in its budget, and, from appropriations made by 31 the legislature, shall pay the board's expenses.
01 * Sec. 8. Article VI, sec. 10, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 02 Section 10. Redistricting [REAPPORTIONMENT] Plan and Proclamation. 03 (a) Except as provided under (c) and (d) of this section, no later than the date 04 that is eighteen months before the date of the first general election following the 05 official reporting of each decennial census, the Redistricting Board shall adopt a 06 proposed redistricting plan. The board shall hold public hearings on the 07 proposed plan and shall hold at least one hearing in each judicial district 08 established by law under Section 1 of Article IV. No later than the date that is 09 fourteen months before the date of the first general election following the official 10 reporting of each decennial census, the board shall adopt a final redistricting plan 11 and [WITHIN NINETY DAYS FOLLOWING THE OFFICIAL REPORTING OF 12 EACH DECENNIAL CENSUS, THE BOARD SHALL SUBMIT TO THE 13 GOVERNOR A PLAN FOR REAPPORTIONMENT AND REDISTRICTING 14 AS PROVIDED IN THIS ARTICLE. WITHIN NINETY DAYS AFTER RECEIPT 15 OF THE PLAN, THE GOVERNOR] shall issue a proclamation of 16 [REAPPORTIONMENT AND] redistricting. [AN ACCOMPANYING STATEMENT 17 SHALL EXPLAIN ANY CHANGE FROM THE PLAN OF THE BOARD]. The final 18 plan adopted and proclaimed under this section shall set out election district and 19 senate district boundaries, shall, in accordance with Section 3 of Article II, 20 determine the terms of senators, [REAPPORTIONMENT] and [REDISTRICTING] 21 shall be effective for the election of members of the legislature until after the official 22 reporting of the next decennial census. 23 (b) Except as provided in (c) of this section, adoption of a final 24 redistricting plan shall require the affirmative votes of three members of the 25 board. 26 (c) If the board is unable to adopt a final plan and proclamation of 27 redistricting by the date specified in (a) or (d)(3) of this section, the supreme 28 court shall appoint a panel of three superior court judges. The board shall, 29 within ten days, transmit to the panel the three proposed plans receiving the 30 greatest number of votes by the board. Within forty-five days of the transmittal, 31 from among the plans received from the board, the panel shall adopt one of the
01 proposed plans without change as a final plan and shall issue a proclamation of 02 redistricting. The supreme court shall adopt rules for proceedings before the 03 three-judge panel under this subsection. 04 (d) If the data from a decennial census are not available to the board by 05 the date that is sixteen months before the date of the first general election 06 following a decennial census year, 07 (1) a plan adopted and proclaimed shall not take effect until the 08 second general election following the decennial census year; 09 (2) for the first general election following the decennial census year, 10 members of the legislature shall be elected from districts in existence as a result 11 of the previous redistricting plan or proclamation; and 12 (3) the board shall adopt a proposed plan within four months of the 13 receipt of the census data and shall adopt a final plan and proclamation of 14 redistricting within four months of the adoption of the proposed plan. 15 * Sec. 9. Article VI, sec. 11, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 16 Section 11. Enforcement. Any qualified voter may apply to the superior 17 court to compel the performance of [GOVERNOR, BY MANDAMUS OR 18 OTHERWISE, TO PERFORM HIS REAPPORTIONMENT] duties under this article 19 or to correct any error in redistricting [OR REAPPORTIONMENT]. Application to 20 compel performance of [THE GOVERNOR TO PERFORM HIS 21 REAPPORTIONMENT] duties must be filed not later than [WITHIN] thirty days 22 from [OF] the date that an act is required to be done under [EXPIRATION OF 23 EITHER OF THE TWO NINETY-DAY PERIODS SPECIFIED IN] this article. 24 Application to compel correction of any error in redistricting [OR 25 REAPPORTIONMENT] must be filed within thirty days following the adoption of the 26 final plan and proclamation of redistricting by the Redistricting Board or by the 27 three-judge superior court panel appointed by the supreme court under Section 28 10 of this article [PROCLAMATION]. Original jurisdiction in these matters is hereby 29 vested in the superior court. On appeal, the cause shall be reviewed by the supreme 30 court upon the law and the facts. A disposition by the superior court and an appeal 31 before the supreme court under this section shall have priority over all other
01 matters pending before the respective court. The superior court shall render a 02 decision in a matter before it under this section not more than ninety days after 03 application is made to compel performance or correction, and the supreme court 04 shall render a decision in a matter on appeal not more than forty-five days after 05 submission of a complete record of appeal. 06 * Sec. 10. Article VI, secs. 5 and 7, and Article XIV, Constitution of the State of Alaska, 07 are repealed. 08 * Sec. 11. The amendments proposed by this resolution shall be placed before the voters 09 of the state at the next general election in conformity with art. XIII, sec. 1, Constitution of the 10 State of Alaska, and the election laws of the state.