Chapter 106
2011 -- H 6096
Enacted 06/22/11
A N A C T
ESTABLISHING A
REAPPORTIONMENT COMMISSION
Introduced By: Representative Stephen R. Ucci
Date Introduced: May 03, 2011
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Establishment of commission.
- (a) There is hereby created a special
commission on reapportionment, which shall consist of eighteen
(18) members: four (4) of whom
shall be from the house of representatives, to be appointed
by the speaker; two (2) of whom shall
be from the house of representatives, to be appointed by
the minority leader of the house of
representatives; four (4) of whom shall be from the senate, to be
appointed by the president of the
senate; two (2) of whom shall be appointed by the minority
leader of the senate; three (3) of
whom shall be members of the general public to be
appointed by the speaker; and three (3) of
whom shall be members of the general public to be
appointed by the president of the senate.
(b)
It shall be the purpose and responsibility of the commission to draft and to
report to
the general assembly an act to reapportion the districts
of the general assembly and the state's
such an act including, but not limited to, the division of
the state into seventy-five (75) state
representative districts, thirty-eight (38) state senatorial
districts and two (2)
congressional districts as near equal as possible.
(c)
Forthwith upon the passage of this act, the members of the commission shall
meet and
organize, and shall select from among themselves a chairman.
Vacancies in said commission
shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment.
(d)
The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their
services,
but shall be allowed their travel and necessary expenses.
The commission may engage such
clerical, technical and other assistance as it may deem
necessary and spend such other funds as
may be necessary to accomplish its purposes.
(e)
All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and
information,
documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as
is deemed necessary or
desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this
act.
(f)
The director of administration is hereby authorized and directed to provide
suitable
quarters for said commission.
(g)
The commission is hereby authorized to accept from local, state and federal
government agencies, grants in money, services or otherwise in carrying
out the purposes of said
commission.
SECTION 2. Reapportionment standards.
- (a) All districts shall be single member
districts.
(b)
Congressional and state legislative districts shall comply with all
requirements of the
United States Constitution
and of the Rhode Island Constitution, and recognize pertinent or
applicable federal legislation and court precedent.
(c)
Congressional and state legislative districts shall be as nearly equal in
population as
possible, and:
(1)
In no case shall congressional districts vary in population by more than one
percent
(1%) from each other as
determined by the population reported in the federal census in 2010; and
(2)
In no case shall a single state senate district have a population which varies
by more
than five percent (5%) from the average population of all
senate districts as determined by the
population reported in the federal census in 2010, and in no
case shall a single state representative
district have a population which varies by more than five
percent (5%) from the average
population of all representative districts as determined by the
population reported in the federal
census in 2010.
(d)
Congressional and state legislative districts shall be as compact in territory
as possible
and, to the extent practicable, shall reflect natural,
historical, geographical and municipal and
other political lines, as well as the right of all Rhode
Islanders to fair representation and equal
access to the political process.
(e)
To the extent practicable, congressional and state legislative districts shall
be
composed of contiguous territory.
(f)
To the extent practicable, the commission should endeavor to avoid the division
of
state representative districts in the formation of state
senate districts and the division of state
senate districts in the formation of
would result in the creation of voting districts composed
of fewer than one hundred (100)
potential voters.
SECTION 3. Public access.
- (a) The commission shall set its own rules of
procedure.
(b)
The commission shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 42-46 ("Open
Meetings")
and chapter 38-2 ("Access to Public Records") of the general laws.
(c)
The commission shall conduct public hearings prior to the issuance of its
findings and
recommendations.
(d)
Members of the public shall have access to the technical software used for
district
mapping in a location to be determined, in the State House,
on a sign up basis, during reasonable
business hours as determined by the commission.
SECTION 4. Reporting date.
- The commission shall report its findings and
recommendations to the general assembly on or before January 15,
2012.
SECTION 5. Severability.
- The provisions of this act are severable, and if any provisions
hereof shall be held invalid for any reason, such invalidity
shall not affect the validity of any
other provisions herein. This act shall be construed in all
respects so as to meet any constitutional
requirements in carrying out the purposes and provisions of this
act, all steps shall be taken which
are necessary to meet constitutional requirements.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02555
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