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LRB-4601/1
JK:skw
2021 - 2022 LEGISLATURE
March 9, 2022 - Introduced by Senators Smith, Carpenter, Roys and Ringhand,
cosponsored by Representatives Hesselbein, Spreitzer, Andraca, Hebl,
Emerson, B. Meyers, Baldeh, Subeck, Snodgrass, Drake, Goyke, Riemer,
Vruwink, Sinicki, Hintz, Conley, Pope, S. Rodriguez, Hong, Bowen, Milroy,
Shankland, Anderson and Shelton. Referred to Committee on Government
Operations, Legal Review and Consumer Protection.
SJR114,1,4 1To renumber section 3 of article IV; to amend section 4 of article IV and section 5
2of article IV; and to create section 3 (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8) of article IV
3and section 9 (3) of article IV of the constitution; relating to: legislative and
4congressional redistricting (first consideration).
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This constitutional amendment, proposed to the 2021 legislature, on first
consideration, creates a new procedure for the preparation of legislative and
congressional redistricting plans. The bill directs the Legislative Reference Bureau
to draw redistricting plans based upon standards specified in the amendment and
establishes a Redistricting Advisory Commission to perform certain tasks in the
redistricting process. Currently, under the state constitution, the legislature is
directed to redistrict legislative districts according to the number of inhabitants at
its next session following each federal decennial census. At the same intervals, the
legislature also reapportions congressional districts in this state pursuant to federal
law.
Under the amendment, the Redistricting Advisory Commission must be
created not later than February 15 of the first year following the federal decennial
census and terminates upon satisfying its duties, until a new Redistricting Advisory
Commission is created for the next round of legislative and congressional
redistricting. The commission consists of five members. The speaker and minority
leader of the assembly and the majority and minority leaders of the senate must each
appoint one person to serve on the commission. Within 30 days after the fourth

commission member is appointed, but not later than February 15 of the first year
following the federal decennial census, the four commission members so appointed
must select the fifth commission member, who serves as chairperson. The
amendment prohibits all of the following individuals from being commission
members: individuals who are not eligible electors of this state at the time of the
appointment, individuals who hold partisan public office or political party office, and
individuals who are a relative of or are employed by a member of the legislature or
of Congress or are employed directly by the legislature or Congress.
The amendment provides that the LRB must be strictly nonpartisan in
preparing redistricting plans. In addition, no district may be drawn for the purpose
of favoring a political party, incumbent legislator or member of Congress, or other
person or group, except to the extent necessary to comply with constitutional
requirements and the federal Voting Rights Act, or for the purpose of diluting the
voting strength of a language or racial minority group. Generally, in preparing the
plan the LRB may not use political affiliations of registered voters, previous election
results, or use residence addresses of incumbent legislators or members of Congress.
The amendment also provides that, if requested to do so by the LRB, the
Redistricting Advisory Commission must provide direction to the LRB concerning
any decision the LRB must make in preparing a redistricting plan for which there
is no clearly applicable guideline. The commission must oversee the work of LRB
employees engaged in preparing a redistricting plan and may enter into contracts for
hiring experts to assist in plan preparation. In addition, the commission must
conduct public hearings on a redistricting bill delivered by the LRB to the legislature
and submit a report to the legislature summarizing information and testimony
received by the commission at the hearings.
Finally, the amendment requires the LRB to deliver to the senate and assembly
identical bills embodying a plan of legislative and congressional redistricting. The
legislature must bring the bill to a vote expeditiously, but not less than seven days
after the report of the Redistricting Advisory Commission is received and made
available to the members of the legislature. In addition, the vote must be under a
procedure or rule permitting no amendments. However, if the legislature rejects the
bill and a 2nd redistricting bill submitted by the LRB, the legislature may amend any
subsequent redistricting bill, but a subsequent bill, and any amendments to it, may
be passed only with the approval of three-fourths of all the members elected in each
house.
A proposed constitutional amendment requires adoption by two successive
legislatures, and ratification by the people, before it can become effective.
SJR114,2,1 1Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That:
SJR114,1 2Section 1 . Section 3 of article IV of the constitution is renumbered section 3
3(1) of article IV.
SJR114,2
1Section 2. Section 3 (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8) of article IV of the
2constitution are created to read:
SJR114,3,63 [Article IV] Section 3 (2) (a) The legislative reference bureau shall acquire
4appropriate information, review and evaluate available facilities, and develop
5programs and procedures in preparation for drawing congressional and legislative
6redistricting plans on the basis of each federal decennial census.
SJR114,3,117 (b) By December 1 of the year of the federal decennial census, the legislative
8reference bureau shall obtain from the federal government information regarding
9geographic and political units in this state for which federal census population data
10has been gathered and will be tabulated. The legislative reference bureau shall use
11the information to do all of the following:
SJR114,3,1412 1. Prepare necessary descriptions of geographic and political units for which
13census data will be reported and that are suitable for use as components of legislative
14districts.
SJR114,3,1715 2. Prepare maps of geographic and political units within the state that may be
16used to illustrate the locations of district boundaries proposed in plans prepared in
17accordance with sub. (5).
SJR114,4,218 (c) As soon as possible after receiving the federal census data needed for
19legislative redistricting, the legislative reference bureau shall use that data to assign
20a population figure based upon certified federal census data to each geographic and
21political unit described under par. (b) 1. The legislative reference bureau shall
22prepare and publish an analysis describing the population of current legislative and
23congressional districts and the extent to which the districts may violate the
24standards under sub. (5). Upon satisfying these requirements, the legislative

1reference bureau shall begin the preparation of congressional and legislative
2redistricting plans as required under sub. (4).
SJR114,4,63 (d) None of the 4 selecting authorities, as defined in sub. (8) (a) 2., may assign
4or hire any person to work with the legislative reference bureau to prepare for
5redistricting under this subsection, to prepare plans under sub. (4), or to oversee
6either process.
SJR114,4,127 (3) After receipt of a division ordinance or resolution, as provided by law, the
8legislative reference bureau shall use the federal census data obtained under sub.
9(2) (c) to assign a population figure based upon certified federal census data to each
10ward established in the division ordinance or resolution. The legislative reference
11bureau shall use each ward to which a population figure is assigned in preparing
12congressional and legislative redistricting plans as required under sub. (4).
SJR114,4,2213 (4) (a) Not later than January 1 of the 2nd year following the federal decennial
14census, the legislative reference bureau shall deliver to the majority leader of the
15senate and speaker of the assembly identical bills creating plans of legislative and
16congressional redistricting, prepared in accordance with sub. (5). Either the
17assembly or the senate shall bring the bill to a vote expeditiously, but not less than
187 days after the commission report under sub. (8) (c) 4. b. is received and made
19available to the members of the legislature. The vote shall be under a procedure or
20rule permitting no amendments. If the bill is approved by the first house in which
21it is considered, the bill shall expeditiously be brought to a vote in the 2nd house
22under a similar procedure or rule.
SJR114,5,1223 (b) If neither of the bills delivered by the legislative reference bureau under par.
24(a) is approved by both the assembly and the senate, the chief clerk of the house that
25failed to approve the bill shall immediately transmit to the legislative reference

1bureau information that the house may direct regarding reasons why the plan was
2not approved. The legislative reference bureau shall prepare identical bills
3embodying a 2nd plan of legislative and congressional redistricting prepared in
4accordance with sub. (5), taking into account the reasons transmitted to the
5legislative reference bureau under this paragraph insofar as it is possible to do so
6within the requirements of sub. (5). The legislative reference bureau shall deliver
7the bills to the majority leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly no later
8than 21 days after the date of the vote by which the senate or the assembly failed to
9approve the bill submitted under par. (a). Any bill delivered by the legislative
10reference bureau under this paragraph shall be expeditiously introduced and
11brought to a vote not less than 7 days after the date of introduction, in the same
12manner as prescribed for the bill required under par. (a).
SJR114,5,2413 (c) If neither of the bills delivered by the legislative reference bureau under par.
14(b) is approved by both the assembly and the senate, the same procedure as
15prescribed by par. (b) shall be followed. If a 3rd plan is required under this
16paragraph, the legislative reference bureau shall deliver the bills to the majority
17leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly no later than 21 days after the
18date of the vote by which the senate or the assembly failed to approve the bill
19submitted under par. (b). Any bill delivered by the legislative reference bureau under
20this paragraph shall be expeditiously introduced and brought to a vote not less than
217 days after the date of introduction and shall be subject to amendment in the same
22manner as other bills. Any bill delivered under this paragraph, and any amendment
23to such a bill, may be passed only with the approval of three-fourths of all the
24members elected in each house.
SJR114,5,2525 (d) Notwithstanding pars. (a) to (c):
SJR114,6,10
11. If certified federal census data that is sufficient to permit preparation of a
2congressional redistricting plan becomes available at an earlier time than the
3population data needed to permit preparation of a legislative redistricting plan in
4accordance with sub. (5), the legislative reference bureau shall so inform the majority
5leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly. If the majority leader of the
6senate and the speaker of the assembly jointly direct, the legislative reference
7bureau shall prepare a separate bill establishing congressional districts and deliver
8it separately from the bill establishing legislative districts. The legislature shall
9proceed to consider the congressional redistricting bill in substantially the manner
10prescribed by pars. (a) to (c).
SJR114,6,1911 2. If the population data for legislative redistricting that the federal
12government provides and, if used by the legislative reference bureau, the
13corresponding topologically integrated geographic encoding and referencing data
14file for that population data are not available to the legislative reference bureau on
15or before April 1 of the first year following the federal decennial census, the deadlines
16set forth in this subsection shall be extended by a number of days equal to the number
17of days after April 1 of the first year following the federal decennial census that the
18population data and the topologically integrated geographic encoding and
19referencing data file for legislative redistricting become available.
SJR114,6,2320 (5) (a) Legislative and congressional districts shall be established on the basis
21of population requirements imposed under this constitution and the U.S.
22Constitution and requirements imposed under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of
231965.
SJR114,7,1124 (b) Senate and assembly districts, respectively, shall satisfy the population
25standards established in this paragraph. The quotient, obtained by dividing the sum

1of the absolute values of the deviations of all district populations from the applicable
2ideal district population by the number of districts established, may not vary by more
3than 1 percent from the applicable ideal district population, unless necessary to
4maintain compliance with section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. For purposes
5of this paragraph, the ideal district population is determined by dividing the
6population of the state reported in the most recent federal decennial census by the
7number of districts to be established. No senate district may have a population that
8varies by more than 10 percent from any other senate district and no assembly
9district may have a population that varies by more than 10 percent from any other
10assembly district, unless necessary to maintain compliance with section 2 of the
11Voting Rights Act of 1965.
SJR114,7,1712 (c) Congressional districts shall each have a population as nearly equal as
13practicable to the ideal district population, derived as prescribed in par. (b), while
14maintaining compliance with section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. No
15congressional district may have a population that varies by more than 1 percent from
16the applicable ideal district population, unless necessary to comply with section 2 of
17the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
SJR114,7,2518 (d) District boundaries shall coincide with ward boundaries and, to the extent
19consistent with par. (a), shall coincide with the boundaries of political subdivisions.
20The number of political subdivisions divided among more than one district shall be
21as small as possible. When there is a choice among political subdivisions to divide,
22the more populous political subdivisions shall be divided before the less populous,
23except that this requirement does not apply to a legislative district boundary drawn
24along a county boundary that passes through a city with territory in more than one
25county.
SJR114,8,2
1(e) Districts shall be composed of convenient contiguous territory. Areas that
2meet only at the points of adjoining corners are not contiguous.
SJR114,8,73 (f) Districts shall not be drawn with the intent or result of denying or abridging
4the equal opportunity of racial or language minorities to participate in the political
5process or diminishing the ability of racial or language minorities to elect
6representatives of each minority group's choice, whether by the group or by voting
7concert with other persons.
SJR114,8,88 (g) 1. In this paragraph:
SJR114,8,179 a. “Geographic unit center" means that point within a population data unit
10approximately equidistant from the northern and southern extremities and also
11approximately equidistant from the eastern and western extremities of the
12population data unit. This point shall be determined by visual observation of a map
13of the population data unit, unless it is otherwise determined within the context of
14an appropriate coordinate system developed by the federal government or another
15source that the legislative reference bureau determines is qualified and objective and
16is obtained for use in this state with prior approval of the joint committee on
17legislative organization.
SJR114,8,2118 b. “Population data unit" means a ward, census enumeration district, block, or
19other unit of territory that has clearly identified geographic boundaries and for
20which a total population figure is included in or can be derived directly from certified
21federal census data.
SJR114,9,222 c. “X-coordinate" means the relative location of a point along the east–west axis
23of the state. Unless otherwise measured within the context of an appropriate
24coordinate system obtained for use as permitted by subd. 1. a., the x-coordinate shall

1be measured along a line drawn due east from a due north and south line running
2through the point that is the western extremity of this state, to the point to be located.
SJR114,9,83 d. “Y-coordinate" means the relative location of a point along the north–south
4axis of the state. Unless otherwise measured within the context of an appropriate
5coordinate system obtained for use as permitted by subd. 1. a., the y-coordinate shall
6be measured along a line drawn due south from a due east and west line running
7through the point that is the northern extremity of this state, to the point to be
8located.
SJR114,9,159 2. To the extent consistent with pars. (a) to (c), districts shall be compact in
10form. Compact districts are those that are square, rectangular, or hexagonal in
11shape to the extent permitted by natural or political boundaries. When it is
12necessary to compare the relative compactness of 2 or more districts, or of 2 or more
13alternative redistricting plans, the tests prescribed by subds. 3. and 4. shall be used.
14Should the results of these 2 tests be contradictory, the standard under subd. 3. shall
15be given greater weight than the standard under subd. 4.
SJR114,9,1816 3. a. The compactness of a district is greatest when the length of the district and
17the width of the district are equal. The measure of a district's compactness is the
18absolute value of the difference between the length and the width of the district.
SJR114,9,2319 b. In measuring the compactness of a district by means of electronic data
20processing, the difference between the x-coordinates of the easternmost and the
21westernmost geographic unit centers included in the district shall be compared to the
22difference between the y-coordinates of the northernmost and southernmost
23geographic unit centers included in the district.
SJR114,9,2524 c. To determine the length and width of a district by manual measurement, the
25distance from the northernmost point or portion of the boundary of a district to the

1southernmost point or portion of the boundary of the same district and the distance
2from the westernmost point or portion of the boundary of the district to the
3easternmost point or portion of the boundary of the same district shall each be
4measured. If the northernmost or southernmost portion of the boundary, or each of
5these points, is a part of the boundary running due east and west, the line used to
6make the measurement required by this subd. 3. c. shall be drawn either due north
7and south or as nearly so as the configuration of the district permits. If the
8easternmost or westernmost portion of the boundary, or each of these points, is a part
9of the boundary running due north and south, a similar procedure shall be followed.
10The lines to be measured for the purpose of this subd. 3. c. shall each be drawn as
11required by this subd. 3. c., even if some part of either or both lines lies outside the
12boundaries of the district that is being tested for compactness.
SJR114,10,1813 d. The absolute values computed for individual districts under this subdivision
14may be cumulated for all districts in a plan in order to compare the overall
15compactness of 2 or more alternative redistricting plans for the state or for a portion
16of the state. However, it is not valid to cumulate or compare absolute values
17computed using the measurements under subd. 3. b. with those computed using the
18measurements under subd. 3. c.
SJR114,10,2119 4. a. The compactness of a district is greatest when the ratio of the dispersion
20of population about the population center of the district to the dispersion of
21population about the geographic center of the district is one to one.
SJR114,11,722 b. The population dispersion about the population center of a district or about
23the geographic center of a district is computed as the sum of the products of the
24population of each population data unit included in the district multiplied by the
25square of the distance from the geographic unit center of that population data unit

1to the population center or the geographic center of the district, as the case may be.
2The geographic center of the district is defined by averaging the locations of all
3geographic unit centers that are included in the district. The population center of
4the district is defined by computing the population-weighted average of the
5x-coordinates and y-coordinates of each geographic unit center assigned to the
6district, it being assumed for the purpose of this calculation that each population
7data unit possesses uniform density of population.
SJR114,11,108 c. The ratios computed for individual districts under this subdivision may be
9averaged for all districts in a plan in order to compare the overall compactness of 2
10or more alternative redistricting plans for the state or for a portion of the state.
SJR114,11,1711 (h) In preparing any redistricting plan, the legislative reference bureau shall
12be strictly nonpartisan. No district may be drawn for the purpose of favoring a
13political party, incumbent legislator or member of Congress, or other person or group
14or, except to the extent required under par. (a), for the purpose of augmenting or
15diluting the voting strength of a language or racial minority group. Except as
16provided in par. (j), in establishing districts, no use shall be made of any of the
17following data:
SJR114,11,1818 1. The residence addresses of incumbent legislators or members of Congress.
SJR114,11,1919 2. Political affiliations of registered voters.
SJR114,11,2020 3. Previous election results.
SJR114,11,2221 4. Demographic information except as necessary to meet the requirements of
22pars. (a) and (j).
SJR114,12,223 (i) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, to the extent possible, each
24congressional district shall contain only whole senate districts. The other standards
25specified in this subsection shall take precedence in a case in which a conflict arises

1between those standards and the requirement of including only whole senate
2districts within a congressional district.
SJR114,12,83 (j) In preparing any redistricting plan, the legislative reference bureau shall
4test the efficiency gap and competitiveness of each district and make the test results
5available to the public, including publishing the results on its Internet site, no later
6than 72 hours prior to the first public hearing on the proposed plan. The legislative
7reference bureau may use the data described under par. (h) 2. to 4. to perform the
8tests under this paragraph.
SJR114,12,99 (6) Each bill delivered under sub. (4) shall provide all of the following:
SJR114,12,1110 (a) That, wherever territory is described in the bill by geographic boundaries,
11the following conventions are used:
SJR114,12,1312 1. Each bound continues to the intersection with the bound next named, or to
13the intersection with a straight-line extension of such bound.
SJR114,12,1514 2. If the bound is a street, it follows the center line of the street or the center
15line of the street extended.
SJR114,12,1716 3. If the bound is a railroad right-of-way, it follows the center line of the
17railroad right-of-way.
SJR114,12,1918 4. If the bound is a river or stream, it follows the center of the main channel of
19such river or stream.
SJR114,12,2020 5. If the bound follows a municipal boundary, it coincides with such boundary.
SJR114,12,2421 (b) That the bill first applies, with respect to regular elections, to offices filled
22at the next occurring general election after the bill takes effect and, with respect to
23special or recall elections, to offices filled or contested on or after the date of that
24general election.
SJR114,13,10
1(7) If an action is brought challenging a legislative redistricting plan under this
2section on the basis of an excessive population variance among senate or assembly
3districts established in the plan, the legislature has the burden of justifying any
4variance in excess of 10 percent between the population of a senate or assembly
5district and the applicable ideal district population. If an action is brought
6challenging a congressional redistricting plan under this section on the basis of an
7excessive population variance among congressional districts established in the plan,
8the legislature has the burden of justifying any variance in excess of 1 percent
9between the population of a congressional district and the applicable ideal district
10population.
SJR114,13,1111 (8) (a) In this subsection:
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