WEST virginia Legislature
2016 regular session
By
[
Referred to the Committee on
Proposing an amendment to
the Constitution of the State of West Virginia, amending section four, article
I thereof and section ten, article VI thereof, relating to representatives to
Congress, the arrangement of Congressional, Senatorial and Delegate Districts
after census by creating a Citizens'
Redistricting Commission; designating the terms of office and duties of
commissioners; providing that Citizens'
Redistricting Commission must submit redistricting plans to each house;
providing that each house may reject its plan by a two-thirds vote of the
members elected; numbering and designating the proposed amendment; and
providing a summarized statement of the purpose of such proposed amendment.
Resolved by the
Legislature of West Virginia, two thirds of the members elected to each house
agreeing thereto:
That the question of
ratification or rejection of an amendment to the Constitution of the State of
West Virginia be submitted to the voters of the state at the next general
election to be held in the year
ARTICLE
VI. THE LEGISLATURE.
§10. Arrangement
of Senatorial and Delegate Districts.
The
arrangement of the Senatorial and Delegate Districts, and apportionment of
Delegates, shall hereafter be declared by law, as soon as possible after each
succeeding census, taken by authority of
the United States. When so declared they
shall apply to the first general election for members of the Legislature, to be
thereafter held, and shall continue in force unchanged, until such districts
shall be altered, and delegates apportioned, under the succeeding census.
No later than ninety
days from the time the census data is available from the United States, the
arrangement of Senatorial and Delegate Districts shall be presented to the
Legislature in a bill submitted for introduction in each house at the request
of the Citizens' Redistricting Commission hereinafter created. In order to consider any other measure
providing for the arrangement of the Senatorial and Delegate Districts, each
house of the Legislature must consider without amendment and reject by
two-thirds vote of those elected in each house the bill relating to that house
as proposed by the Citizens' Redistricting Commission. All voting on the floor of both houses on the
question of passage of any general law shall be by yeas and nays to be entered
on the journals. Prior to submission of
the bill by the Citizens' Redistricting Commission, the commission shall hold
no less than a total of five public hearings, with one hearing being held in
each of the various regions of the state.
The bill submitted to the Legislature by the commission shall conform to
the United States Constitution, West Virginia Constitution, and case law
governing redistricting. In drafting the
proposed arrangement of Senatorial and Delegate Districts, the commission may
not consider the residency of incumbents.
In drafting the proposed arrangement of Delegate Districts, the
commission shall arrange for districts containing one delegate.
The Citizens' Redistricting Commission is hereby
created. It shall be composed of seven
members who have been residents and registered voters of this state for at
least ten years prior to the date of appointment, to be appointed by the
Governor during the year in which the decennial census is taken, no more than
four of whom shall be members of the same political party. The members shall be broadly representative
of the public at large. Members of the
Legislature and officers and employees of the state or of any county, municipality
or other governmental unit of the state are not eligible for appointment to or
to serve as members of the commission.
The term of each member of the commission expires upon the submission of
the commission's proposed bill to the Legislature. Any member may be reappointed for any number
of terms, and any vacancy shall be filled by the Governor for the unexpired
term. Any member of the commission may be removed by the Governor prior to the
expiration of the member's term for official misconduct, incompetency or
neglect of duty. The Governor shall
designate one member of the commission as chairman. The members of the commission shall serve
without compensation, but shall be entitled to be reimbursed for all reasonable
and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties as
members. For purposes of fulfilling the
duties proscribed herein, the Legislature shall make available to the
commission all necessary information and staff.
Resolved further, That in accordance with the provisions of article
eleven, chapter three of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, such
amendment is hereby numbered “Amendment No. 1” and designated as the “
NOTE: The purpose of this
resolution is to propose an amendment to the State Constitution that would
allow citizens to participate directly in the formation of legislative
districts by creating a nonpartisan citizen commission which will hold public
hearings around the state and present a redistricting bill to the Legislature.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.