Senate Introduced Bill 812






















SENATE BILL No.
812



   October 14, 1999, Introduced by Senators HOFFMAN, SCHUETTE, MC COTTER and 
        SIKKEMA and referred to the Committee on Reapportionment.



        A bill to amend 1966 PA 261, entitled

   "An act to provide for the apportionment of county boards of com-
   missioners; to prescribe the size of the board; to provide for
   appeals; to prescribe the manner of election of the members of
   the county board of commissioners; to provide for compensation of
   members; to prescribe penalties and provide remedies; and to
   repeal acts and parts of acts,"

   by amending sections 4 and 8 (MCL 46.404 and 46.408).

               THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 1         Sec. 4.  In apportioning the county into commissioner dis-

 2    tricts, the county apportionment commission shall  be
             governed

 3     by  USE ONLY the following guidelines:  in
                       the stated order of

 4     importance: 

 5         (a) All districts shall be single-member districts and 
             as

 6     nearly of equal population as is practicable  HAVE
                       A POPULATION

 7    NOT EXCEEDING 105.95% AND NOT LESS THAN 94.05% OF THE IDEAL

 8    DISTRICT SIZE UNLESS THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT ESTABLISHES



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 1    A DIFFERENT RANGE OF ALLOWABLE POPULATION DIVERGENCE FOR COUNTY

 2    COMMISSIONER DISTRICTS.  COMMISSIONER DISTRICT BOUNDARIES SHALL

 3    BE DETERMINED BY USING POPULATION DATA FROM THE UNITED STATES

 4    CENSUS BUREAU OF THE CENSUS IDENTICAL TO THOSE FROM THE ACTUAL

 5    ENUMERATION CONDUCTED BY THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF THE CENSUS

 6    FOR THE APPORTIONMENT OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES

 7    HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN THE UNITED STATES DECENNIAL CENSUS.

 8    DISTRICT BOUNDARIES SHALL NOT BE DETERMINED BY USING CENSUS

 9    BUREAU POPULATION COUNTS DERIVED FROM ANY OTHER MEANS, INCLUDING,

10    BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE USE OF STATISTICAL SAMPLING TO ADD OR

11    SUBTRACT POPULATION BY INFERENCE. The latest official published

12    figures of the United States official census shall be used in

13    this determination, except that in cases requiring division of

14    official census units to meet the population standard, an actual

15    population count may be used to make  such  THE
             division.  Other

16    governmental census figures of total population may be used if

17    taken subsequent to the last decennial United States census and

18    the United States census figures are not adequate for the pur-

19    poses of this act.  The secretary of state shall furnish the

20    latest  official published  UNITED STATES OFFICIAL
             CENSUS figures

21    to the county apportionment commissions  forthwith upon this
             act

22     taking effect, and  within 15 days after
                       publication of

23     subsequent United States official census  THE
             figures.  A con-

24    tract may be entered into with the United States census bureau OR

25    ANY OTHER GOVERNMENTAL UNIT to make any special census if the

26    latest United States decennial census figures are not adequate

27    FOR THIS ACT.



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 1         (b) All districts shall be contiguous.  AREAS THAT MEET ONLY

 2    AT THE POINTS OF ADJOINING CORNERS ARE NOT CONTIGUOUS.

 3         (c) All districts shall be as compact and  of 
             as nearly

 4    square shape as is practicable, depending on the geography of the

 5    county area involved.  COMPACTNESS SHALL BE DETERMINED BY CIRCUM-

 6    SCRIBING EACH DISTRICT WITHIN A CIRCLE OF MINIMUM AREA, NOT PART

 7    OF THE GREAT LAKES AND NOT PART OF ANOTHER COUNTY, INSIDE THE

 8    CIRCLE BUT NOT INSIDE THE DISTRICT.

 9         (d)  No  A township or ANY part 
             thereof  OF A TOWNSHIP

10    shall NOT be combined with any city or ANY part  thereof
              OF A

11    CITY for a single district, unless  such  THE
             combination is

12    needed to meet the population standard.  IF IT IS NECESSARY TO

13    COMBINE A TOWNSHIP OR ANY PART OF A TOWNSHIP WITH ANY CITY OR ANY

14    PART OF A CITY TO MEET THE POPULATION STANDARD, THE FEWEST NUMBER

15    OF COMBINATIONS SHALL BE UTILIZED.

16         (e) Townships, villages, and cities shall be divided only if

17    necessary to meet the population standard.  IF IT IS NECESSARY TO

18    BREAK TOWNSHIP, VILLAGE, AND CITY LINES TO MEET THE POPULATION

19    STANDARD, THE FEWEST NUMBER OF LINES SHALL BE BROKEN.

20         (f) Precincts shall be divided only if necessary to meet the

21    population standard.  IF IT IS NECESSARY TO BREAK PRECINCT LINES

22    TO MEET THE POPULATION STANDARD, THE FEWEST NUMBER OF LINES SHALL

23    BE BROKEN.

24         (g) Residents of state institutions who cannot by law regis-

25    ter in the county as electors shall be excluded from any consid-

26    eration of representation.





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 1         (h) Districts shall not be drawn to effect partisan

 2    political advantage.

 3         (I) DISTRICTS SHALL NOT VIOLATE SECTION 2 OF TITLE I OF THE

 4    VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965, PUBLIC LAW 89-110, 42 U.S.C. 1973.

 5         Sec. 8.  Once an apportionment plan has been found

 6     constitutional and according to the provisions of 
             TO BE IN COM-

 7    PLIANCE WITH this act and all appeals have been exhausted, or if

 8    no appeal is taken, when the time for appeal has expired, that

 9    plan shall be the official apportionment plan for the county

10    until the next United States official decennial census figures

11    are available.


































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