Bill Text: VA SJR306 | 2019 | Regular Session | Prefiled

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Constitutional amendment; Virginia Redistricting Commission (first reference).

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-1)

Status: (Passed) 2019-03-26 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0824) [SJR306 Detail]

Download: Virginia-2019-SJR306-Prefiled.html
19104200D
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 306
Offered January 9, 2019
Prefiled January 9, 2019
Proposing an amendment to Section 6 of Article II of the Constitution of Virginia and proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia by adding in Article II a section numbered 6-A, relating to apportionment; Virginia Redistricting Commission.
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Patrons-- Barker and Saslaw
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Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections
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RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, a majority of the members elected to each house agreeing, That the following amendments to the Constitution of Virginia be, and the same hereby are, proposed and referred to the General Assembly at its first regular session held after the next general election of members of the House of Delegates for its concurrence in conformity with the provisions of Section 1 of Article XII of the Constitution of Virginia, namely:

Amend Section 6 of Article II of the Constitution of Virginia and amend the Constitution of Virginia by adding in Article II a section numbered 6-A as follows:

ARTICLE II
FRANCHISE AND OFFICERS

Section 6. Apportionment.

Members of the House of Representatives of the United States and members of the Senate and of the House of Delegates of the General Assembly shall be elected from electoral districts established by the General Assembly pursuant to Section 6-A of this Constitution. Every electoral district shall be composed of contiguous and compact territory and shall be so constituted as to give, as nearly as is practicable, representation in proportion to the population of the district. The General Assembly shall reapportion the Commonwealth shall be reapportioned into electoral districts in accordance with this section and Section 6-A in the year 2011 2021 and every ten years thereafter.

Any such decennial reapportionment law shall take effect immediately and not be subject to the limitations contained in Article IV, Section 13, of this Constitution.

The districts delineated in the decennial reapportionment law shall be implemented for the November general election for the United States House of Representatives, Senate, or House of Delegates, respectively, that is held immediately prior to the expiration of the term being served in the year that the reapportionment law is required to be enacted. A member in office at the time that a decennial redistricting law is enacted shall complete his term of office and shall continue to represent the district from which he was elected for the duration of such term of office so long as he does not move his residence from the district from which he was elected. Any vacancy occurring during such term shall be filled from the same district that elected the member whose vacancy is being filled.

Section 6-A. Virginia Redistricting Commission.

(a) In the year 2020 and every ten years thereafter, the Virginia Redistricting Commission (the Commission) shall be convened for the purpose of establishing districts for the United States House of Representatives and for the Senate and the House of Delegates of the General Assembly pursuant to Article II, Section 6 of this Constitution.

(b) The Commission shall consist of sixteen commissioners who shall be selected in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.

(1) Eight commissioners shall be legislative members, four of whom shall be members of the Senate of Virginia and four of whom shall be members of the House of Delegates. These commissioners shall be appointed no later than December 1 of the year ending in zero and shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed.

(A) Two commissioners shall represent the political party having the highest number of members in the Senate of Virginia and shall be appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate of Virginia.

(B) Two commissioners shall represent the political party having the next highest number of members in the Senate of Virginia and shall be appointed by the leader of that political party.

(C) Two commissioners shall represent the political party having the highest number of members in the House of Delegates and shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates.

(D) Two commissioners shall represent the political party having the next highest number of members in the House of Delegates and shall be appointed by the leader of that political party.

(2) Eight commissioners shall be citizen members who shall be selected in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision and in the manner determined by the General Assembly by general law.

(A) There shall be a Redistricting Commission Selection Committee consisting of five retired judges of the circuit courts of Virginia. By November 15 of the year ending in zero, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia shall certify to the Speaker of the House of Delegates, the leader in the House of Delegates of the political party having the next highest number of members in the House of Delegates, and the leaders in the Senate of the political parties having the highest and next highest number of members in the Senate a list of retired judges of the circuit courts of Virginia who are willing to serve on the Committee, and these members shall each select a judge from the list. The four judges selected to serve on the Committee shall select, by a majority vote, a judge from the list prescribed herein to serve as the fifth member of the Committee and to serve as the chair of the Committee.

(B) By December 1 of the year ending in zero, the Committee shall adopt a process, not inconsistent with that which may be prescribed by the General Assembly, by which registered voters of the Commonwealth may apply to serve on the Commission.

(C) The Committee shall select, by majority vote, from the list of submitted applications sixteen citizen candidates for service on the Commission. The citizen candidates selected shall meet the criteria established by the General Assembly by general law, including criteria for determining whether a voter is affiliated with a political party. Four citizen candidates shall be voters who affiliate with the political party receiving the highest number of votes for governor at the immediately preceding gubernatorial election and four citizen candidates shall be voters who affiliate with the political party receiving the next highest number of votes for governor at the immediately preceding gubernatorial election. Eight citizen candidates shall be voters who are not affiliated with either of those political parties.

(D) The Speaker of the House of Delegates, the leader in the House of Delegates of the political party having the next highest number of members in the House of Delegates, and the leaders in the Senate of the political parties having the highest and next highest number of members in the Senate shall each strike from the list of citizen candidates one citizen candidate affiliated with the opposite political party and one citizen candidate not affiliated with either of the political parties receiving the highest and next highest number of votes for governor at the immediately preceding gubernatorial election.

(c) By February 1 of the year ending in one, the Commission shall hold a public meeting at which it shall select a chairman from its membership. The chairman shall be a citizen member and shall be responsible for coordinating the work of the Commission.

(d) The Commission shall submit to the General Assembly plans of districts for the Senate and the House of Delegates of the General Assembly no later than 45 days following the receipt of census data and shall submit to the General Assembly plans of districts for the United States House of Representatives no later than 60 days following the receipt of census data. A plan shall receive an affirmative vote of at least six of the eight legislative members and six of the eight citizen members in order to be submitted to the General Assembly.

(e) Within fifteen days of receipt of a plan, the General Assembly shall take a vote on the bill embodying that plan in accordance with the provisions of Article IV, Section 11 of this Constitution, except that no amendments shall be permitted. A bill embodying a plan adopted by the General Assembly shall be presented to the Governor, who shall act upon the bill in accordance with the provisions of Article V, Section 6 of this Constitution, except that no amendments shall be permitted.

(f) If the Commission fails to submit a plan of districts by the deadlines set forth in subsection (d), or the General Assembly fails to adopt a bill embodying a plan submitted by the Commission by the deadline set forth in subsection (d), or the Governor fails to act on or vetoes a bill embodying a plan submitted by the Commission and adopted by the General Assembly by the deadline set forth in subsection (e), the chairman of the Commission shall promptly certify to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia that such failure has occurred, and the districts shall be decided by judicial decision.

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