2019 -- H 5087

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LC000492

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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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, Fogarty, Place, Filippi, and Kislak

     Date Introduced: January 10, 2019

     Referred To: House Judiciary

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

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

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

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

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

effective January 1, 2021, to read as follows:

     Article VII

     OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

     Section 1. Composition.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Constitution of the United States.

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

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

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

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

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

Island Constitution.

     Section 3. Citizens' Redistricting Commission.

     (a) The Citizens' Redistricting Commission shall be created no later than January 1, 2023,

and in each year ending in the number one thereafter.

     (b) The commission shall:

     (1) Conduct an open and transparent process enabling full public consideration of and

comment on the drawing of district lines;

     (2) Draw district lines according to the redistricting criteria specified in this article; and

(3) Conduct themselves with impartiality, integrity and fairness.

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

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

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

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

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

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

on registration.

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

the qualifications herein.

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

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

statewide general elections immediately preceding their application.

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

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

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

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

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

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

of the first member of the succeeding commission.

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

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

approved by at least nine (9) affirmative votes.

     (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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

order of priority:

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

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

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

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

following, or allowable law.

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

following.

     (3) Districts shall be geographically contiguous.

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

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

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

elections, and the best available statistical methods.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

candidates.

     (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

population are not bypassed for more distant population.

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

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

against an incumbent, political candidate, or political party.

     (f) By January 1, 2024, and in the year ending in the number four (4) thereafter, the

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

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

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

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

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

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

standards used in drawing each final map.

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

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

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

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

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

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

district.

     Section 4. Appeals.

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

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

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

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

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

defense of a certified final map.

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

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

effect.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

     Section 2.5. Officers - Presiding member during organization.

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

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

organization of the house.

     Article VIII

     OF THE SENATE

     Section 1. Composition and Apportionment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Constitution of the United States.

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

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

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

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

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

the organization of the senate.

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

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

Constitution, effective January 1, 2021; and be it further

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

meetings to be held as aforesaid; and be it further

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

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

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

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

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