HB 173: "An Act providing for preparation by the Alaska Legislative Council for redistricting before appointment of the Redistricting Board; and relating to preclearance under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 173 01 "An Act providing for preparation by the Alaska Legislative Council for 02 redistricting before appointment of the Redistricting Board; and relating to 03 preclearance under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. FINDINGS. The legislature finds that 06 (1) redistricting requires 07 (A) the assimilation, compilation, and analysis of large amounts of data 08 and maps; 09 (B) complex statistical analysis; and 10 (C) a thorough consideration of legal issues under the Constitution of 11 the State of Alaska and the Constitution of the United States; 12 (2) there is an enormous amount of preparatory work that must be done before 13 the appointment of the Redistricting Board if the Redistricting Board is to adopt a plan within 14 30 days after receiving redistricting data from the United States Bureau of the Census;
01 (3) Alaska's redistricting plan will be subject to review by the United States 02 Department of Justice under 42 U.S.C. 1973 - 1973l (Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended), 03 and ensuring that the plan complies with the provisions of 42 U.S.C. 1973 - 1973l, as 04 amended, will require in-depth analysis of voting patterns over the past decade. 05 * Sec. 2. PURPOSE. It is the purpose of this Act to empower the legislative council to 06 make necessary preparations for redistricting in a timely fashion and to make tools needed for 07 the task of redistricting available to the Redistricting Board as soon as that body is appointed. 08 * Sec. 3. AS 15.10 is amended by adding a new section to read: 09 Article 2. Redistricting Board. 10 Sec. 15.10.200. Voting Rights Act review. The independent legal counsel for 11 the Redistricting Board provided for in art. VI, sec. 9, Constitution of the State of 12 Alaska, shall 13 (1) submit the board's redistricting plan for preclearance to the United 14 States Department of Justice or the United States District Court for the District of 15 Columbia under 42 U.S.C. 1973c; and 16 (2) represent the state in all matters concerning redistricting until a final 17 plan for redistricting and a proclamation of redistricting have been adopted and all 18 challenges to them brought under art. VI, sec. 11, Constitution of the State of Alaska, 19 have been resolved after final remand or affirmation. 20 * Sec. 4. AS 24.20 is amended by adding a new section to read: 21 Sec. 24.20.085. Preparation for legislative redistricting. (a) Upon request 22 of the Alaska Legislative Council, the Department of Law, the Department of Labor, 23 and the division of elections shall provide to the legislative council any necessary staff 24 assistance before the appointment of the Redistricting Board. 25 (b) The legislative council may make arrangements for office space for the 26 Redistricting Board and its staff before the convening of the Redistricting Board, 27 including the leasing of appropriate facilities and office equipment. 28 (c) The legislative council shall compile and provide to, or contract with a 29 third party to compile and provide to, the redistricting board the information necessary 30 to implement a successful redistricting plan, including 31 (1) paper maps or a computer data base built from the TIGER/Line file
01 received from the United States Bureau of the Census describing all units of census 02 geography; 03 (2) a computer data base of election and voter registration information 04 from the division of elections to assist the Redistricting Board in determining 05 compliance with statutory and constitutional requirements; 06 (3) information indicating the location of cultural, economic, 07 geographic, demographic, and trade area factors in the state; and 08 (4) information or analysis of state and federal court decisions 09 concerning reapportionment. 10 (d) The legislative council is responsible for developing a computerized system 11 that uses census data and maps to prepare plans for state senate and house districts in 12 conformity with statutory and constitutional criteria and within applicable time 13 constraints. The legislative council may contract for the acquisition of the computer 14 software and hardware and for the provision of computer services that are necessary 15 to prepare for redistricting. The computer system shall be developed so that it can be 16 made available to the Redistricting Board and used immediately upon the Redistricting 17 Board's convening. 18 (e) The legislative council 19 (1) shall prepare a budget and an accounting procedure for the 20 Redistricting Board; and 21 (2) may, upon request of the Redistricting Board, prepare and submit 22 supplemental appropriation requests for the work of the Board.