Sec. 4. Independent redistricting commission
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Each State shall establish an independent redistricting commission composed of 14 members appointed as follows: 5 members from the final majority selection pool (as described in subparagraph
(A)of subsection (b)(4)), of whom— 2 shall be appointed by the leader of the party in the upper house of the State legislature whose members are affiliated with the same political party as the individuals in such pool; 2 shall be appointed by the leader of the party in the lower house of the State legislature whose members are affiliated with the same political party as the individuals in such pool; and 1 shall be appointed on a random basis by the selection panel described in subsection (b)(1). 5 members from the final minority selection pool (as described in subparagraph
(B)of subsection (b)(4)), of whom— 2 shall be appointed by the leader of the party in the upper house of the State legislature whose members are affiliated with the same political party as the individuals in such pool; 2 shall be appointed by the leader of the party in the lower house of the State legislature whose members are affiliated with the same political party as the individuals in such pool; and 1 shall be appointed on a random basis by the selection panel described in subsection (b)(1). 4 members from the final independent selection pool (as described in subparagraph
(C)of subsection (b)(4)), each of whom shall be appointed on a random basis by the selection panel described in subsection (b)(1). In the case of a State with a unicameral legislature— the appointments referred to in clauses
(i)and
(ii)of paragraph (1)(A) shall be made by the leader of the party in the legislature whose members are affiliated with the same political party as the individuals in the final majority selection pool; and the appointments referred to in clauses
(i)and
(ii)of paragraph (1)(B) shall be made by the leader of the party in the legislature whose members are affiliated with the same political party as the individuals in the final minority selection pool. Not later than January 1 of each year in which a decennial census is conducted, the highest court of each State shall appoint a panel of retired judges of courts of the State (hereafter referred to as the selection panel ) to develop an initial pool of individuals who are eligible to serve as members of the independent redistricting commission of the State under this Act. The selection panel shall take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that residents of the State across various geographic regions and demographic groups are aware of the opportunity to serve on the commission, including publicizing the role of the panel and using newspapers, broadcast media, and online sources to encourage individuals to apply for inclusion in the initial pool developed under this paragraph. The selection panel shall include an individual within the initial pool of eligible individuals under this paragraph if— the individual submits an application to the panel for inclusion in the pool, at such time as the panel may require; and the individual meets the criteria for eligibility under subsection
(c)for service as a member of the independent redistricting commission. Not later than the first August 10 occurring after its appointment, the selection panel shall make public— the name of each individual who applies to be included in the initial pool under this paragraph; and in the case of any individual who applies to be included in the pool but is not so included, the reasons for the failure of the panel to include the individual in the pool. Not later than the first October 1 occurring after its appointment, the selection panel shall establish and present to the legislature of the State an intermediate selection pool of 60 individuals who are eligible to serve as members of the independent redistricting commission of the State under this Act, consisting of individuals in the following categories: A majority category, consisting of 20 individuals who are affiliated with the political party with the largest percentage of the registered voters in the State who are affiliated with a political party (as determined with respect to the most recent Statewide election for Federal office held in the State for which such information is available). A minority category, consisting of 20 individuals who are affiliated with the political party with the second largest percentage of the registered voters in the State who are affiliated with a political party (as so determined). An independent category, consisting of 20 individuals who are not affiliated with either of the political parties described in clause
(i)or clause (ii). In selecting individuals for the intermediate selection pool under this paragraph, the selection panel shall take into consideration the analytical skills of the individuals selected, their ability to work on an impartial basis, and the need for the pool to reflect the representative demographic groups and geographic regions of the State. For purposes of this section, an individual shall be considered to be affiliated with a political party if the individual has been continuously registered to vote with the party during the 3-year period ending on the date of the individual’s appointment. Not later than the first November 15 occurring after the appointment of the selection panel, each of the following individuals may reduce the number of individuals in the intermediate selection pool under paragraph (2)(A) by removing not more than 2 individuals from each of the 3 categories described in such paragraph: The leader of the party with the greatest number of seats in the upper house of the State legislature. The leader of the party with the greatest number of seats in the lower house of the State legislature. The leader of the party with the second greatest number of seats in the upper house of the State legislature. The leader of the party with the second greatest number of seats in the lower house of the State legislature. In the case of a State with a unicameral legislature— the leader of the party with the greatest number of seats in the legislature may exercise the removal authority described in clauses
(i)and
(ii)of subparagraph (A); and the leader of the party with the second greatest number of seats in the legislature may exercise the removal authority described in clauses
(iii)and
(iv)of subparagraph (A). Not later than the first November 20 occurring after the appointment of the selection panel, the selection panel shall establish the following final selection pools of individuals who may be appointed to serve on the independent redistricting commission under subsection (a): A final majority selection pool, consisting of 10 individuals selected at random from the majority category under clause
(i)of paragraph (2)(A), as reduced under paragraph (3). A final minority selection pool, consisting of 10 individuals selected at random from the minority category under clause
(ii)of paragraph (2)(A), as reduced under paragraph (3). A final independent selection pool, consisting of 10 individuals selected at random from the independent category under clause
(ii)of paragraph (2)(A), as reduced under paragraph (3). An individual is eligible to serve as a member of an independent redistricting commission if the individual meets each of the following criteria: As of the date of appointment, the individual is registered to vote in elections for Federal office held in the State. The individual has voted in at least 2 of the 3 most recent Statewide general elections held prior to the date of appointment. During the 3-year period ending on the date of the individual’s appointment, the individual has been continuously registered to vote with the same political party, or has not been registered to vote with any political party. The individual provides the selection panel with a written statement containing the following assurances: An assurance that the individual shall commit to carrying out the individual’s duties under this Act in an honest, independent, and impartial fashion, and to upholding public confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process. An assurance that, during the covered periods described in paragraph (3), the individual has not taken and will not take any action which would disqualify the individual from serving as a member of the commission under such paragraph. An individual is not eligible to serve as a member of the commission if any of the following applies during any of the covered periods described in paragraph (3): The individual or (in the case of the covered periods described in subparagraphs
(A)and
(B)of paragraph (3)) an immediate family member of the individual holds public office or is a candidate for election for public office. The individual or (in the case of the covered periods described in subparagraphs
(A)and
(B)of paragraph (3)) an immediate family member of the individual serves as an officer of a political party or as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a campaign committee of a candidate for public office. The individual or (in the case of the covered periods described in subparagraphs
(A)and
(B)of paragraph (3)) an immediate family member of the individual holds a position as a registered lobbyist under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 ( 2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. ) or an equivalent State or local law. The individual or (in the case of the covered periods described in subparagraphs
(A)and
(B)of paragraph (3)) an immediate family member of the individual is an employee of an elected public official, a contractor with the legislature of the State, or a donor to the campaign of any candidate for public office (other than a donor who gives an aggregate amount of less than $10,000 to the candidate with respect to the election). In this subsection, the term covered period means, with respect to the appointment of an individual to the commission, any of the following: The 3-year period ending on the date of the individual’s appointment. The period in which the commission is carrying out its duties. The 3-year period beginning on the date of the commission’s termination. In this subsection, the term immediate family member means, with respect to an individual, a father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, wife, father-in-law, or mother-in-law. After having been served written notice and provided with an opportunity for a response, a member of the commission may be removed by the Governor, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the upper house of the State legislature (or, in the case of a State with a unicameral legislature, the legislature), for substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct in office, or inability to discharge the duties of office. A vacancy in the commission shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made. Members of an independent redistricting commission established under this subsection shall select by majority vote one member who was appointed from the final independent selection pool described in subsection (b)(4)(C) to serve as chair of the commission. The commission may not take any action to develop a redistricting plan for the State under section 5 until the appointment of the commission’s chair. The independent redistricting commission of a State may not publish and disseminate any draft or final redistricting plan, or take any other action, without the approval of at least a majority of its members given at a meeting at which at least a majority of its members are present. A majority of the members of the commission shall constitute a quorum. Each State shall establish a commission under this section not later than December 31 of each year in which a decennial census is conducted. The independent redistricting commission of a State shall terminate on the day after the date of the first regularly scheduled general election for Federal office which occurs after the chief executive of the State receives the State apportionment notice. The State shall ensure that the records of the independent redistricting commission are retained in the appropriate State archive in such manner as may be necessary to enable the State to respond to any civil action brought with respect to Congressional redistricting in the State.
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Sec. 4
Independent redistricting commission
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