Sec. 203. Criteria for redistricting plan by independent commission; public notice and input
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The independent redistricting commission of a State shall develop a redistricting plan for the State in accordance with the following criteria, prioritized according to the following order: Districts shall each have equal population per representative as nearly as practicable, in accordance with the Constitution of the United States. To the extent not inconsistent with the above criteria, districts shall comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ( 52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.). To the extent not inconsistent with the above criteria, districts shall be geographically contiguous.
To the extent practicable and not inconsistent with the above criteria, district boundaries shall minimize the division of any community of interest, municipality, county, or neighborhood. For purposes of this subparagraph, a community of interest is a contiguous population which shares common social or economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of its effective and fair representation. Examples of such shared interests are those common to an urban area, a rural area, an industrial area, or an agricultural area, and those common to areas in which the people share similar living standards, use the same transportation facilities, have similar work opportunities, or have access to the same media of communication relevant to the election process.
Communities of interest shall not include relationships with political parties, incumbent officeholders, or political candidates. To the extent practicable and not inconsistent with the above criteria, districts shall be geographically compact such that nearby areas of population are not bypassed for more distant areas of population. In developing the redistricting plan for the State, the independent redistricting commission may not take into consideration any of the following factors, except to the extent necessary to comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965:
The political party affiliation or voting history of the population of a district. The residence of any Member of the House of Representatives or candidate. The independent redistricting commission of a State shall hold each of its meetings in public, shall solicit and take into consideration comments from the public throughout the process of developing the redistricting plan for the State, and shall carry out its duties in an open and transparent manner which provides for the widest public dissemination reasonably possible of its proposed and final redistricting plans.
The commission shall maintain a public Internet site which is not affiliated with or maintained by the office of any elected official and which includes the following features: General information on the commission and its members, including contact information. An updated schedule of commission hearings and activities, including deadlines for the submission of comments. All draft redistricting plans developed by the commission under subsection
(c)and the final redistricting plan developed under subsection (d). Live streaming of commission hearings and an archive of previous meetings and other commission records. A method by which members of the public may submit comments directly to the commission. Access to the demographic data used by the commission to develop the proposed redistricting plans, together with any software used to draw maps of proposed districts. The commission shall solicit, accept, and consider comments from the public with respect to its duties, activities, and procedures at any time during the period— which begins on January 1 of the year ending in the numeral one; and which ends 7 days before the date of the meeting at which the commission shall vote on approving the final redistricting plan for enactment into law under subsection (d)(2). To the greatest extent practicable, the commission shall hold its meetings and hearings in various geographic regions and locations throughout the State. Prior to developing and publishing a final redistricting plan under subsection (d), the independent redistricting commission of a State shall develop and publish a preliminary redistricting plan. Prior to developing a preliminary redistricting plan under this subsection, the commission shall hold not fewer than 3 public hearings at which members of the public may provide input and comments regarding the potential contents of redistricting plans for the State and the process by which the commission will develop the preliminary plan under this subsection. The commission shall notify the public through the website maintained under subsection (b)(2), as well as through publication of notice in newspapers of general circulation throughout the State, of the date, time, and location of each of the hearings held under this paragraph not fewer than 14 days prior to the date of the hearing. The commission shall post the preliminary redistricting plan developed under this subsection, together with a report that includes the commission’s responses to any public comments received under subsection (b)(3), on the website maintained under subsection (b)(2), and shall provide for the publication of each such plan in newspapers of general circulation throughout the State. Not fewer than 14 days prior to the date on which the commission posts and publishes the preliminary plan under this paragraph, the commission shall notify the public through the website maintained under subsection (b)(2), as well as through publication of notice in newspapers of general circulation throughout the State, of the pending publication of the plan. The commission shall accept and consider comments from the public with respect to the preliminary redistricting plan published under paragraph
(3)for not fewer than 30 days after the date on which the plan is published. After posting and publishing the preliminary redistricting plan under paragraph (3), the commission shall hold not fewer than 3 public hearings at which members of the public may provide input and comments regarding the preliminary plan. The commission shall notify the public through the website maintained under subsection (b)(2), as well as through publication of notice in newspapers of general circulation throughout the State, of the date, time, and location of each of the hearings held under this paragraph not fewer than 14 days prior to the date of the hearing. At the option of the commission, after developing and publishing the preliminary redistricting plan under this subsection, the commission may develop and publish subsequent preliminary redistricting plans, so long as the process for the development and publication of each such subsequent plan meets the requirements set forth in this subsection for the development and publication of the first preliminary redistricting plan. After taking into consideration comments from the public on any preliminary redistricting plan developed and published under subsection (c), the independent redistricting commission of a State shall develop and publish a final redistricting plan for the State. Not later than August 15 of each year ending in the numeral one, the commission shall hold a public hearing at which the members of the commission shall vote on approving the final plan for enactment into law. Not fewer than 14 days before the date of the meeting under paragraph (2), the commission shall provide the following information to the public through the website maintained under subsection (b)(2), as well as through newspapers of general circulation throughout the State: The final redistricting plan, including all relevant maps. A report by the commission to accompany the plan which provides the background for the plan and the commission’s reasons for selecting the plan as the final redistricting plan, including responses to the public comments received on any preliminary redistricting plan developed and published under subsection (c). Any dissenting or additional views with respect to the plan of individual members of the commission. The final redistricting plan developed and published under this subsection shall be deemed to be enacted into law if— the plan is approved by a majority of the whole membership of the commission; and at least one member of the commission appointed from each of the categories of the approved selection pool described in section 202(b)(1) approves the plan. The independent redistricting commission of a State shall approve a final redistricting plan for the State not later than August 15 of each year ending in the numeral one.
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Sec. 203
Criteria for redistricting plan by independent commission; public notice and input
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