Senate Bill 0740
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Florida Senate - 2000 SJR 740
By Senator Geller
29-425-00
1 Senate Joint Resolution No.
2 A joint resolution proposing the repeal of
3 section 16, Article III of the State
4 Constitution, relating to legislative
5 apportionment, and the addition of section 10,
6 Article II of the State Constitution, relating
7 to the establishment of a commission to
8 reapportion the state legislative districts and
9 redistrict congressional districts; prescribing
10 guidelines for such reapportionment and
11 redistricting; and providing for judicial
12 review thereof.
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14 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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16 That the repeal of section 16 of Article III of the
17 State Constitution and the addition of the following section
18 10 of Article II of the State Constitution are agreed to and
19 shall be submitted to the electors of this state for approval
20 or rejection at the next general election or at an earlier
21 special election specifically authorized by law for that
22 purpose:
23 ARTICLE II
24 GENERAL PROVISIONS
25 SECTION 10. Legislative apportionment and
26 congressional redistricting.--
27 (a) REAPPORTIONMENT MANDATE.--By the end of each year
28 that ends in one, the state shall be divided by the commission
29 herein created into: as many congressional districts as there
30 are United States Representatives apportioned to the state;
31 forty consecutively numbered senate districts; and
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Florida Senate - 2000 SJR 740
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1 one-hundred-and-twenty consecutively numbered representative
2 districts. All legislative districts shall be single-member
3 districts.
4 (b) REAPPORTIONMENT COMMISSION.--
5 (1) In each year that ends in zero and at any other
6 time of court-ordered reapportionment, a commission shall be
7 established to prepare a redistricting plan for congressional
8 districts and a reapportionment plan for legislative
9 districts. The commission shall consist of seven electors,
10 none of whom may be an elected public official, party officer,
11 registered lobbyist, or legislative employee, as such terms
12 are defined by law. Any other person may serve on the
13 commission. By March 1 of the same year, the chief justice of
14 the supreme court shall appoint six members to serve on the
15 commission. Five members shall be selected from
16 recommendations made by the chief judge of each district court
17 of appeal in this state. Each chief judge shall recommend 3
18 individuals who otherwise meet the qualifications of this
19 section and are domiciled in that district. In making such
20 appointments, the chief justice shall appoint at least one
21 member of each racial or language minority group that
22 comprises at least 10 percent of the population of this state
23 as shown by the most recent federal decennial census. If the
24 recommendations from the chief judges do not permit such
25 appointments, the chief justice may disregard the
26 recommendations to the extent necessary to make these required
27 appointments. In making the remaining appointments, the chief
28 justice shall endeavor to establish the membership of the
29 commission to reflect the gender diversity of the state and to
30 be geographically representative of the state.
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1 (2) Within thirty days after the appointments have
2 been made, the six commissioners shall select, by a vote of at
3 least four commissioners, a seventh commissioner, who shall
4 serve as chairperson. The chairperson will be responsible for
5 the administrative duties of the commission, including
6 supervision of commission staff. Staffing of the commission
7 shall be as provided by law. Failure to select the seventh
8 commissioner within the time prescribed shall constitute an
9 impasse that shall automatically discharge the commission. A
10 new commission shall then be appointed in the same manner as
11 the original commission. Within twenty days after the new
12 appointments have been made, the six commissioners shall
13 select, by a vote of at least four commissioners, a seventh
14 commissioner, who shall serve as chairperson.
15 (3) As a condition of appointment, each commissioner
16 shall take an oath that such commissioner will agree not to
17 seek public office in any of the newly redistricted
18 legislative or congressional districts for a period of two
19 years after the effective date thereof.
20 (4) Vacancies shall be filled by the chief justice,
21 except that the chairperson shall be selected in the manner
22 set forth in paragraph (2).
23 (5) The legislature shall, by general appropriations,
24 provide adequate funds to enable the commission to carry out
25 its duties.
26 (6) The commission shall hold public hearings as it
27 deems necessary to carry out its responsibilities under this
28 section. The commission shall adopt its plans by majority
29 vote. No ex parte communication relative to the merits,
30 threat, or offer of reward shall be made to a commissioner. A
31 commissioner who receives an ex parte communication shall
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1 place on the record or otherwise make known the existence of,
2 and disclose, all written communications received and all
3 written responses to such communications, and all oral
4 communications received and all oral responses made thereto.
5 The prohibition against ex parte communications shall not
6 apply to commission staff. The provisions of section 286.011,
7 Florida Statutes, shall apply to the commission.
8 (c) REAPPORTIONMENT STANDARDS.--
9 (1) Congressional districts and state legislative
10 districts for each respective house shall be as nearly equal
11 in population as is practicable, based on the population
12 reported in the federal decennial census, taken in each year
13 ending in zero. No congressional district shall have a
14 population that varies by more than one percent from the
15 average population of all congressional districts in the
16 state. No legislative district shall have a population that
17 varies by more than ten percent from the average population of
18 all districts of the respective house. The average of the
19 absolute values of the population deviations of all districts
20 of the respective house shall not vary by more than five
21 percent from the average population of all districts. Any
22 population variance must be justifiable as necessary for
23 compliance with the other standards in this section.
24 (2) Districts should be composed of convenient
25 contiguous territory and, consistent with paragraph (1),
26 should be drawn to coincide with the boundaries of local
27 political subdivisions, as such terms are defined by general
28 law.
29 (3) Districts should be compact in form.
30 (4) No district shall be drawn for the purpose of
31 favoring any political party, incumbent legislator,
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1 representative to Congress, or other person. In preparing a
2 plan, the commission shall not take into account the addresses
3 of incumbent legislators or representatives to Congress.
4 (5) A district shall not be drawn to dilute the voting
5 strength of any racial or language minority group.
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7 On applying the reapportionment standards prescribed in this
8 subsection, the prohibition against drawing a district to
9 dilute the voting strength of any racial or language minority
10 groups shall be controlling over the standards prescribed in
11 paragraphs (2) and (3).
12 (d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.--Within five days after
13 completion of a plan of apportionment or redistricting, the
14 commission shall file such plan with the secretary of state
15 or, after January 7, 2003, with the custodian of state
16 records. Within fifteen days after the filing of an
17 apportionment or redistricting plan by the commission, the
18 attorney general shall petition the state supreme court for a
19 declaratory judgment determining the validity of the plan,
20 including its compliance with all criteria herein specified,
21 applicable federal law, and the constitution of the United
22 States. The supreme court, in accordance with its rules, shall
23 permit adversary interests to present their views and, within
24 sixty days after the filing of the petition, shall enter its
25 judgment. If the supreme court determines the apportionment
26 or redistricting plan to be invalid in whole or in part, the
27 commission shall forthwith reconvene and shall, within thirty
28 days, adopt a revised plan that conforms to the judgment of
29 the supreme court. The revised plan shall be subject to
30 judicial review by the supreme court in the same manner as the
31 original plan. Upon approval of the supreme court, a plan of
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1 apportionment or redistricting shall be filed with the
2 secretary of state or, after January 7, 2003, with the
3 custodian of state records, and upon filing, shall be the
4 official plan for the state.
5 (e) JUDICIAL REAPPORTIONMENT.--If the commission fails
6 to adopt a plan or a revised plan by the end of each year that
7 ends in one, the commission shall, within five days, notify
8 the secretary of state or, after January 7, 2003, the
9 custodian of state records in writing of its inability to
10 adopt a plan. Within five days after the filing of such
11 notice, the attorney general shall petition the supreme court
12 to prepare a plan of apportionment or redistricting. The
13 court shall, not later than sixty days after receiving the
14 petition of the attorney general, file with the secretary of
15 state or, after January 7, 2003, with the custodian of state
16 records an order making such apportionment or redistricting.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be
18 placed on the ballot:
19 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
20 ARTICLE II, SECTION 10; ARTICLE III, SECTION 16
21 LEGISLATIVE APPORTIONMENT AND CONGRESSIONAL
22 REDISTRICTING.--Proposing amendments to the State Constitution
23 replacing existing provisions providing for legislative
24 apportionment with new provisions that establish
25 reapportionment standards and provide for the creation of a
26 seven-member commission to prepare an apportionment plan for
27 the state legislature and a redistricting plan for the
28 congressional districts of the state.
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