March 2, 2010, Introduced by Rep. Meadows and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
A bill to amend 1996 PA 463, entitled
"An act to establish guidelines for the decennial adoption of
redistricting plans for the senate and house of representatives; to
provide original jurisdiction to the supreme court to review
redistricting plans enacted by the legislature for compliance with
those guidelines; and to provide a procedure for the supreme court
to use to redistrict the senate and house of representatives under
certain circumstances,"
by amending section 1 (MCL 4.261).
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec.
1. (1) By November 1, 2001, and every 10 years
thereafter,
the legislature shall enact a redistricting plan for
the
senate and house of representatives. Beginning with the 2010
federal decennial census, and after the official total population
count of each federal decennial census of the state and its
political subdivisions is available, the legislative service bureau
shall proceed to district and apportion the senate and house of
representatives. Not later than 180 days after the official total
population count is available, the legislative service bureau shall
prepare a legislative apportionment and redistricting plan and
shall deliver the plan to the secretary of the senate and the clerk
of the house of representatives. The house of representatives and
senate shall have 60 days after the legislative apportionment and
redistricting plan is delivered to the secretary of the senate and
the clerk of the house of representatives within which to reject
the plan. Rejection of the plan shall require a 2/3 vote of the
members elected to and serving in the senate or house of
representatives. A legislative apportionment and redistricting plan
is not subject to amendment by the house and senate.
(2) If the legislative apportionment and redistricting plan
prepared by the legislative service bureau is rejected by either
the senate or the house of representatives, or both, the secretary
of the senate or the clerk of the house of representatives, or
both, shall provide information to the legislative service bureau
indicating why the plan was rejected. The legislative service
bureau shall then adopt the changes suggested by either the senate
or house of representatives, or both, and, if so, the plan is
considered adopted. If the legislative service bureau does not
adopt all the suggested changes, the legislative service bureau
shall prepare a second plan consistent with the requirements of
law. The second plan shall be delivered to the secretary of the
senate and the clerk of the house of representatives not later than
30 days after the date of the vote by which the senate or house of
representatives rejected the first plan. The second plan shall be
voted upon in the same manner prescribed for the first plan.
(3) If the second legislative apportionment and redistricting
plan prepared by the legislative service bureau is rejected, the
secretary of the senate or the clerk of the house of
representatives, or both, shall provide information to the
legislative service bureau indicating why the second plan was
rejected. If the legislative service bureau agrees with the
suggested changes, it shall prepare a third plan which shall be
considered adopted. If the legislative service bureau disagrees
with the suggested changes, the second plan shall be considered
adopted.
(4) Except as otherwise required by federal law for
legislative
districts in this state, the redistricting plan
legislative
service bureau shall be enacted prepare the legislative
apportionment and redistricting plan using only the following
guidelines:
(a) The senate districts shall consist of 38 single-member
districts.
(b) The house of representatives districts shall consist of
110 single-member districts.
(c) Senate and house of representatives districts shall be
areas
of convenient contiguous territory contiguous by land. Areas
that meet only at the points of adjoining corners are not
contiguous.
(d) Senate and house of representatives districts shall have a
population not exceeding 105% and not less than 95% of the ideal
district size for the senate or the house of representatives unless
and until the United States supreme court establishes a different
range of allowable population divergence for state legislative
districts.
(e)
Senate The majority of the
population of each senate and
house
of representatives district lines shall preserve lie within a
single
county lines with the least cost and reasonably adhere to
the principle of equality of population provided for in subdivision
(d).
(f)
If it is necessary to break county lines disregard the
provisions
of subdivision (e) in order to stay
within the range
principle
of allowable equality of population divergence provided
for in subdivision (d), the fewest whole cities or whole townships
necessary
shall be shifted included
in the district. Between 2
cities
or townships, both of which will bring the districts
district into compliance with subdivisions (d) and (h), the city or
township
with the lesser population shall be shifted included in
the district.
(g) Within those counties to which there is apportioned more
than 1 senate district or house of representatives district,
district
lines shall be drawn on to
include entire city and
township
lines with the least cost while
reasonably adhering to the
principle
of equality of population between election districts
consistent
with the maximum preservation of city and township lines
and
without exceeding the range of allowable divergence provided
for
set forth in subdivision (d).
(h)
If it is necessary to break divide
a city or township
lines
between districts in order to stay within the range of
allowable
divergence principle of
equality of population provided
for
in subdivision (d), the number of people necessary to achieve
population
equality shall be shifted between the 2 districts
affected
by the shift, except that in lieu
of absolute equality the
compliance with subdivision (d), district boundary lines may be
drawn along the closest street or comparable boundary.
(i) Within a city or township to which there is apportioned
more than 1 senate district or house of representatives district,
district lines shall be drawn to achieve the maximum compactness of
the geographic area possible within a population range of 98% to
102%
of absolute equality between districts within that city or
township.
(j)
Compactness shall be determined by circumscribing each
district
within a circle of minimum radius and measuring the
principle of equality of population set forth in subdivision (d)
and shall be determined by that area, not part of the Great Lakes
and
not part of another state. , inside the circle but not inside
the
district.
(j) (k)
If a discontiguous township island exists In those
circumstances in which a portion of a township lies within an
incorporated
city or discontiguous portions of townships are split
a
township are separated by an
incorporated city, the splitting of
the
township shall not be
considered a split if any of the
following
circumstances exist as a
whole for the purposes of the
principle of equality of population set forth in subdivision (d),
except as follows:
(i) The city must be split to stay within the range
of
allowable
divergence divided in order
to comply with the principle
of equality of population provided for in subdivision (d) and it is
practicable
impracticable to keep the township together within 1
district.
(ii) A Part
of a township island is contained
within a whole
surrounded
by an incorporated city and a split division of
the city
between 2 districts would be required to keep the township intact.
(iii) The discontiguous portion of a entire township
cannot be
included
in the same a district with another portion of the same
township
without creating a noncontiguous
district.
(k) (l) Senate
and house districts shall not violate the
precedents
established in Miller v Johnson, 115 S Ct 2475; 132 L Ed
2d
762 (1995); Bush v Vera, 116 S Ct 1941; 135 L Ed 2d 248 (1996);
and,
Shaw v Hunt, 116 S Ct 1894; 135 L Ed 2d 207 (1996) comply with
all federal statutes and case law.
(l) The legislative service bureau shall not use or consider
voting history data, past election results, or incumbent addresses
during the preparation or adoption of the apportionment and
redistricting plan.