Chapter 176
2021 -- S 0852 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/06/2021

A N   A C T
ESTABLISHING A REAPPORTIONMENT COMMISSION

Introduced By: Senators Ruggerio, McCaffrey, Gallo, Coyne, Goodwin, and Picard

Date Introduced: April 28, 2021

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 United
States congressional districts and to perform the necessary functions incident to drafting 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) United States congressional districts
as near equal as possible, subject to the final 2020 census data provided by the United States Census
Bureau.
     (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 the commission
shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment.
     (d) The membership of said the commission shall receive no compensation for their
services. 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 the commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or
desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this act.
     (f) The joint committee on legislative services is hereby authorized and directed to provide
suitable quarters for said the commission, and provide technical and other assistance to the
commission as it may deem necessary to facilitate the purposes of this act.
     (g) The commission is hereby authorized to accept from local, state, and federal
government agencies, grants in money, services or other types of assistance in carrying out the
purposes of said the 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. All 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, including, but not limited to, the Voting Rights
Act of 1965.
     (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 2020; and
     (2) In no case shall a single state senate district have a population which that 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 2020, and in no case shall a single state
representative district have a population which that 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 2020.
     (3) Congressional and state legislative districts shall be subject to the final 2020 census
data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
     (d) Congressional and state legislative districts shall be as compact in territory as possible
and, to the extent practicable, shall reflect natural, historical, geographical, municipal, and other
political lines and communities of interest, 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 United States congressional districts in any manner which that 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 of title 42 ("open
meetings") and chapter 38-2 of title 38 ("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.
     (e)(i) The commission shall have the discretion to determine if there exists a public health
or other emergency or circumstance that could pose a risk to the health and safety of the public and
members and staff of the commission, that would affect public access to the state house to utilize
the technical software used for district mapping.
     (ii) Due to the dangers to public health and safety posed by the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic, and to provide the public with alternative means of accessing information, the
commission, with public notice on the general assembly website, shall provide the public with
access to the web-based software program used for district mapping.
     SECTION 4. Reporting date. - The commission shall report its findings and
recommendations to the general assembly on or before January 15, 2022.
     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, and 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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LC002756/SUB A
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