2021 -- S 0537

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LC002079

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - SPECIAL COMMISSION ON

REAPPORTIONMENT

     

     Introduced By: Senators Calkin, Acosta, Anderson, DiMario, Bell, Ciccone, Quezada,
Mack, Kallman, and Valverde

     Date Introduced: March 04, 2021

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Commission purpose.

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     There is hereby created a special commission on reapportionment. It shall be the purpose

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and responsibility of the commission to draft and to report to the general assembly an act to

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reapportion the districts of the general assembly and the state's United States congressional districts

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and to perform the necessary functions incident to drafting such an act including, but not limited

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to, the division of the state into seventy-five (75) state representative districts, thirty­eight (38) state

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senatorial districts and, if necessary, two (2) United States congressional districts as near equal as

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possible.

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     SECTION 2. Establishment of commission.

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     (a)(1) The special commission on reapportionment shall consist of eighteen (18) members:

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three (3) of whom shall be from the house of representatives, to be appointed by the speaker; one

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of whom shall be from the house of representatives, to be appointed by the minority leader of the

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house of representatives; three (3) of whom shall be from the senate, to be appointed by the

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president of the senate; one of whom shall be from the senate, to be appointed by the minority

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leader of the senate; three (3) of whom shall be members of the general public to be appointed by

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the speaker; two (2) of whom shall be members of the general public to be appointed by the minority

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leader of the house of representatives; three (3) of whom shall be members of the general public to

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be appointed by the president of the senate; and two (2) of whom shall be members of the general

 

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public appointed by the minority leader of the senate.

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     (2) Two (2) members of the general public appointed by the speaker shall not be registered

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members of the two (2) largest political parties in Rhode Island. One member of the general public

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appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives shall not be a registered member

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of the two (2) largest political parties in Rhode Island. Two (2) members of the general public

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appointed by the president of the senate shall not be registered members of the two largest political

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parties in Rhode Island. One member of the general public appointed by the minority leader of the

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senate shall not be a registered member of the two (2) largest political parties in Rhode Island. In

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making selections, the speaker, minority leader of the house of representatives, president of the

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senate, and minority leader of the senate shall ensure the appointees are representative of the state's

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geographic and demographic diversity when selecting the public members.

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     (b) A member of the general public shall be eligible to serve on the commission if the

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person:

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     (1) Has continuously resided in the state for four (4) years prior to appointment;

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     (2) Has not held elective public office or been a candidate for elective public office for a

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four (4) year period prior to appointment; and

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     (3) Has not served as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a political party, political

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action committee, campaign committee of a candidate for federal or state office, current statewide

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officeholder, member of the general assembly, or member of congress;

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     (4) Has not been a federal lobbyist or state lobbyist as defined in chapter 139.1 of title 41;

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and

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     (5) Is not an immediate family member of a current statewide officeholder, member of the

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general assembly, or member of congress.

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     SECTION 3. Commission process.

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     (a) The commission shall set its own rules of procedure.

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     (b) Forthwith upon passage of this act, the members of the commission shall meet and

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organize, and shall select from among themselves a chair and vice chair. Vacancies in said

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commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment.

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     (c) Nine (9) commissioners constitute a quorum for the commission.

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     (d) The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services;

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however, they shall be allowed their travel and necessary expenses. The commission may engage

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such clerical, technical and other assistants as it may deem necessary and spend such other funds

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as may be necessary to accomplish its purposes.

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     (e) All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information,

 

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documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or desirable

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by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this act.

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     (f) The director of administration is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable

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quarters for said commission.

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     (g) The commission is hereby authorized to accept from local, state and federal government

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agencies, grants in money, services or otherwise in carrying out the purposes of the commission.

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     SECTION 4. Commission communication.

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     (a) The commission shall create an official website. The commission website shall provide,

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at a minimum, a description of the role of the commission; timely information about the time, place,

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and purpose of commission meetings; software for use by the public to draw district maps, a portal

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for submission of proposed maps; all maps drawn by the commission or submitted by the public;

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the underlying data used to create or evaluate maps in a format easily usable for analysis; precinct-

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level shapefiles and census block equivalency; precinct-level results from statewide primary and

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general elections for the past ten (10) years; all reports analyzing the maps; links to a video archive

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of all meetings of the commission.

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     (b) The commission shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 46 of title 42 ("open

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meetings") and chapter 2 of title 38 ("access to public records"), except that no documents or

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communications created or received by commissioners, staff, or consultants as part of official duties

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shall be exempt from disclosure for any privilege other than client attorney relationship as allowed

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in § 38-2-2(4)(A)(l)(a).

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     (c) All records pertaining to the commission action on preliminary maps and analyses of

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the maps shall be available for public inspection on the commission website before adoption of the

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final maps.

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     (d) Commissioners, staff, and consultants shall not communicate with any outside persons

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attempting to influence the map-drawing process outside of public meetings and public comment

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periods. To the extent that commissioners, staff, or consultants receive such communications, they

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must promptly publicly disclose such communications at the next meeting of the commission.

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     SECTION 5. Reapportionment standards.

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     (a) All districts shall be single member districts.

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     (b) Congressional and state legislative districts shall comply with all requirements of the

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United States Constitution. All state legislative districts shall comply with all requirements of the

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United States Constitution and the Rhode Island Constitution, and recognize pertinent or applicable

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federal legislation and court precedent, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

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     (c) Congressional and state legislative districts shall be as nearly equal in population as

 

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possible, and:

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     (1) In no case shall congressional districts vary in population by more than one percent

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(1%) from each other as determined by the population reported in the federal Census conducted in

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2020; and

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     (2) In no case shall a single state senate district have a population which varies by more

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than five percent (5%) from the average population of all senate districts as determined by the

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population reported in the federal Census conducted in 2020, and in no case shall a single state

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representative district have a population which varies by more than five percent (5%) from the

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average population of all representative districts as determined by the population reported in the

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federal Census conducted in 2020.

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     (d) Districts shall provide racial and language minorities with equal opportunity to

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participate in the political process and shall not dilute or diminish their ability to elect candidates

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of choice, whether alone or in coalition with others.

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     (e) Districts shall respect the integrity of communities of interest to the extent practicable

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without violating the requirements of any of the preceding subsections. A community of interest is

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defined as an area with recognized similarities of interests, including, but not limited to, racial,

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ethnic, economic, social, cultural, geographic, or historic identities. Communities of interest shall

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not include common relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates.

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     (f) Congressional and state legislative districts shall be as compact in territory as possible

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and, to the extent practicable, shall reflect natural, historical, geographical and municipal and other

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political lines, as well as the right of all Rhode Islanders to fair representation and equal access to

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the political process.

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     (g) To the extent practicable, congressional and state legislative districts shall be composed

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of contiguous territory.

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     (h) To the extent practicable, the commission should endeavor to avoid the division of state

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representative districts in the formation of state senate districts and the division of state senate

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districts in the formation of United States congressional districts in any manner which would result

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in the creation of voting districts composed of fewer than one hundred (100) potential voters.

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     (i) Districts shall not, when considered on a statewide basis, unduly favor or disfavor any

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political party.

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     SECTION 6. Public access.

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     (a) To identify communities of interest and to obtain other information relevant to drawing

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of districts, the commission shall seek public input. Before any maps are drawn the commission

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shall conduct at least four (4) public hearings to solicit testimony from a representative cross section

 

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of the state's population.

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     (b) Commission meetings shall be advertised and planned to encourage attendance and

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public participation.

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     (c) All commission meetings shall be recorded and a link shall be posted on the commission

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website within twenty-four (24) hours of the completion of the meeting.

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     (d) The commission shall provide a meaningful opportunity for all persons to participate

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in the redistricting process, including, but not limited to, ensuring adequate translation services are

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available at all meetings.

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     SECTION 7. Proposing maps.

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     (a) During the map-drawing process, any member of the public may submit maps, portions

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of maps, or other comments for consideration by the commission. These submissions shall be made

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publicly available on the commission website.

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     (b) When releasing proposed maps:

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     (1) Provide for seven (7) days of public comment in a manner designed to achieve the

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widest public access reasonably possible before acting to approve final maps.

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     (2) Hold no fewer than four (4) public hearings after the release of any proposed maps and,

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in addition, shall accept written comments on proposed maps both online and through written

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submissions.

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     (3) When releasing proposed maps, the commission shall release population data,

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geographic data, election data, and any other data used to create or evaluate the maps.

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     (4) The commission shall provide an additional seven (7) days public comments before any

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meeting to adopt final findings and recommendations to the general assembly.

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     SECTION 8. Reporting date.

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     The commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the general assembly on

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or before January 15, 2022. In the event that the commission is unable to meet the reporting date

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due to a delay in the receipt of federal Census data from the federal government as a result of the

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COVID-19 emergency, the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the

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general assembly no later than March 15, 2022.

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     SECTION 9. The provisions of this act are severable, and if any provisions hereof shall be

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held invalid for any reason, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of any other provisions

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herein. This act shall be construed in all respects in order to meet any constitutional requirements

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in carrying out the purposes and provisions of this act, and all steps shall be taken which are

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necessary to meet constitutional requirements.

 

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     SECTION 10. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - SPECIAL COMMISSION ON

REAPPORTIONMENT

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     This act would create an eighteen (18) member special commission on reapportionment to

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redistrict the districts of the general assembly and the state's congressional districts based on the

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data collected by the federal Census conducted in 2020 by January 15, 2022.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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