2018 -- H 7749

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LC004899

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2018

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J O I N T   R E S O L U T I O N

TO APPROVE AND PUBLISH AND SUBMIT TO THE ELECTORS A PROPOSITION OF

AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION -- REAPPORTIONMENT

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Knight, Chippendale, Ajello, Filippi, and Nunes

     Date Introduced: February 28, 2018

     Referred To: House Judiciary

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     RESOLVED, That a majority of all members elected to each house of the general

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assembly voting therefore, the following amendment to the Constitution of the state be proposed

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to the qualified electors of the state in accordance with the provisions of Article XIV of the

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Constitution for their approval and that it take place of Article VII Sections 1 and 2, Article VIII

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Section 1 and that it also adds additional sections to Article VII, all of which are hereby amended,

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effective January 1, 2019, to read as follows:

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     Article VII

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     OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

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     Section 1. Composition.

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     There shall be one hundred (100) members of the house of representatives, provided,

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however, that commencing in 2003 there shall be seventy-five (75) members of the house of

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representatives. The house of representatives shall be constituted on the basis of population and

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the representative districts shall be as nearly equal in population and as compact in territory as

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possible. The general assembly shall, after any new census taken by authority of the United

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States, reapportion the representation to conform to the Constitution of the state and the

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Constitution of the United States.

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     Section 2. Redistricting. In the year following the year in which the national census is

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taken under the direction of Congress at the beginning of each decade, the Citizens' Redistricting

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Commission described in Article VII, Section 3, shall adjust the boundary lines of the

 

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Congressional, senate and house, and assembly districts (also known as "redistricting") in

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conformance with the standards and processes set forth in Article VII, Section 3 of the Rhode

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Island Constitution.

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     Section 3. Citizens' Redistricting Commission.

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     (a) The Citizens' Redistricting Commission shall be created no later than January 1, 2021,

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and in each year ending in the number one thereafter.

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     (b) The commission shall: (1) Conduct an open and transparent process enabling full

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public consideration of and comment on the drawing of district lines; (2) Draw district lines

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according to the redistricting criteria specified in this article; and (3) Conduct themselves with

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impartiality, integrity and fairness.

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     (c)(1) The selection process is designed to produce a commission that is independent

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from legislative influence and reasonably representative of the state's diversity.

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     (2) The commission shall consist of fourteen (14) members, as follows: five (5) who are

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registered with the largest political party in Rhode Island based on registration; five (5) who are

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registered with the second largest political party in Rhode Island based on registration; and four

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(4) who are not registered with either of the two (2) largest political parties in Rhode Island based

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on registration.

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     (3) Commission members shall be selected at random from a pool of applicants meeting

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the qualifications herein.

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     (4) Each commission member shall be a voter who has been continuously registered for

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six (6) years in Rhode Island. Each commission member shall have voted in the last three (3)

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statewide general elections immediately preceding their application.

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     (5) No member of the commission or their spouse shall hold elective or appointed public

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office at the federal, state, or municipal level in this state. No member of the commission or their

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spouse shall have served as paid staff for, or as a paid consultant to congress, the general

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assembly, or any individual legislator, or have been registered as a federal, state, or local lobbyist

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in the state for five (5) years leading up to appointment on the commission.

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     (6) The term of office of each member of the commission expires upon the appointment

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of the first member of the succeeding commission.

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     (7) Nine (9) members of the commission shall constitute a quorum. Nine (9) or more

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affirmative votes shall be required for any official action. The final redistricting maps must be

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approved by at least nine (9) affirmative votes.

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     (8) Each commission member shall apply this article in a manner that is impartial and

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that reinforces public confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process. A commission

 

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member and their spouse shall be ineligible for a period of five (5) years beginning from the

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termination of their appointment to hold elective or appointed public office at the federal, state, or

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municipal level in this state. A member of the commission and their spouse shall be ineligible for

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a period of three (3) years beginning from the date of termination of their appointment to serve as

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paid staff for, or as a paid consultant to congress, the general assembly, or any individual

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legislator, or to register as a federal, state, or local lobbyist in the state.

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     (d) The commission shall establish single-member districts for the senate, congress, and

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assembly pursuant to a mapping process using the following criteria as set forth in the following

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order of priority:

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     (1) Districts shall comply with the United States Constitution. Congressional districts

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shall achieve population equality as nearly as is practicable, and senatorial and house districts

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shall have reasonably equal population with other districts for the same office, except where

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deviation is required to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act, 52 U.S.C. § 10301 and

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following, or allowable law.

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     (2) Districts shall comply with federal Voting Rights Act, 52 U.S.C. § 10301 and

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following.

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     (3) Districts shall be geographically contiguous.

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     (4) Partisan fairness shall be maximized to the extent possible. A plan's partisan fairness

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is maximized when the expected partisan asymmetry is minimized. Partisan asymmetry shall be

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calculated uniformly using the proposed map, data from the last ten (10) years' of statewide

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elections, and the best available statistical methods.

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     (5) The geographic integrity of any city, town, county, village, local neighborhood, or

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local community of interest shall be respected in a manner that minimizes their division to the

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extent possible without violating the requirements of any of the preceding subsections. A

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community of interest is a contiguous population which shares common social and economic

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interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of effective and fair

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representation. Examples of such shared interests are those common to an urban area, a rural area,

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an industrial area, or an agricultural area, and those common to areas in which the people share

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similar living standards, use the same transportation facilities, have similar work opportunities, or

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have access to the same media of communication relevant to the election process. Communities

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of interest shall not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political

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candidates.

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     (6) To the extent practicable, and where this does not conflict with the criteria stated

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above, districts shall be drawn to encourage geographical compactness such that nearby areas of

 

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population are not bypassed for more distant population.

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     (e) The place of residence of any incumbent or political candidate shall not be considered

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in the creation of a map. Districts shall not be drawn for the purpose of favoring or discriminating

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against an incumbent, political candidate, or political party.

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     (f) By January 1, 2022, and in the year ending in the number two (2) thereafter, the

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commission shall approve three (3) final maps that are separately set forth the district boundary

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lines for the congressional, senatorial, and house districts. Upon approval, the commission shall

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certify the three (3) final maps to the secretary of state.

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     (g) The commission shall issue, with each of the three (3) final maps, a report that

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explains the basis on which the commission made its decisions in achieving compliance with the

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criteria listed in Article VII, Section (3)(d) and shall include definitions of the terms and

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standards used in drawing each final map.

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     (h) If the commission does not approve a final map by at least the requisite votes, the

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secretary of state shall immediately petition the Rhode Island Supreme Court for an order

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directing the appointment of special masters to adjust the boundary lines of that map in

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accordance with the redistricting criteria and requirements set forth in subsections (d), (e), and (f)

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of this section. Upon its approval of the masters' map, the court shall certify the resulting map to

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the Secretary of State, which map shall constitute the certified final map for the subject type of

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district.

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     Section 4. Appeals.

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     (a) The commission has the sole legal standing to defend any action regarding a certified

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final map, and shall inform the assembly if it determines that funds or other resources provided

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for the operation of the commission are inadequate. The assembly shall provide adequate funding

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to defend any action regarding a certified map. The commission has sole authority to determine

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whether the attorney general or other legal counsel retained by the commission shall assist in the

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defense of a certified final map.

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     (1) The Rhode Island Supreme Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction in all

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proceedings in which a certified final map is challenged or is claimed not to have taken timely

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effect.

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     (2) Any registered voter in this state may file a petition for a mandamus or writ of

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prohibition, within forty-five (45) days after the commission has certified a final map to the

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secretary of state, to bar the secretary of state from implementing the plan on the grounds that the

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plan violates this constitution, the United States Constitution, or any federal or state statute,

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notwithstanding Article I, Section VI, Clause I of the United States Constitution.

 

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     (3) The Rhode Island Supreme Court shall give priority to ruling on a petition for a

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mandamus or a writ of prohibition filed pursuant to Article VII, Section (4)(a)(2). If the court

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determines that a final certified map violates this Constitution, the United States Constitution, or

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any federal or state statute, the court shall fashion the relief that it deems appropriate, including,

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but not limited to, the relief set forth in Article VII, Section (3)(h).

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     Section 2.5. Officers - Presiding member during organization.

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     The house of representatives shall have authority to elect its speaker, clerks, and other

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officers. The senior member from the City of Newport, if any be present, shall preside in the

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organization of the house.

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     Article VIII

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     OF THE SENATE

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     Section 1. Composition and Apportionment.

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     The senate shall consist of the lieutenant governor and fifty (50) members from the

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senatorial districts in the state, provided, however, that commencing in 2003 the senate shall

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consist of thirty-eight (38) members from the senatorial districts in the state. The senate shall be

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constituted according to the process described in Article VII, Sections 2 through 4 on the basis of

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population and the senatorial districts shall be as nearly equal in population and as compact in

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territory as possible. The general assembly shall, after any new census taken by authority of the

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United States, reapportion the representation to conform to the Constitution of the state and the

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Constitution of the United States.

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     Section 2. Lieutenant governor to be presiding officer until 2003.

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      The lieutenant governor shall preside in the senate and in grand committee until 2003.

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Commencing in 2003, the senate shall elect its president, who shall preside in the senate and in

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grand committee, as well as its secretary and other officers from among its members and shall

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elect its clerks. The senior member from the city of Newport, if any be present, shall preside in

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the organization of the senate.

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     RESOLVED, That this proposition of amendment shall take, in the Constitution of the

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state, the place of Section 1 and Section 2 in Article VII, and Section 1, in Article VIII, of the

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Constitution, effective January 1, 2019; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the said proposition of amendment shall be submitted to the electors

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for their approval or rejection at the next statewide general election. The voting places in the

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several cities and towns shall be kept open during the hours required by law for voting therein for

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general officers of the state; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State shall cause the said proposition of amendment

 

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to be published as a part of the resolution in the newspapers of the state prior to the date of the

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said meetings of the said electors; and the said proposition shall be inserted in the warrants or

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notices to be issued previous to said meetings of the electors for the purpose of warning the town,

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ward, or district meetings, and said proposition shall be read by the town, ward, or district

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meetings to be held as aforesaid; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the town, ward, and district meetings to be held as aforesaid shall be

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warned, and the list of voters shall be canvassed and made up, and the said town, ward, and

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district meetings shall be conducted in the same manner as now provided by law for the town,

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ward, and district meetings for the elections of general officers of the state.

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LC004899

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