SB488: Bill Text

SB488,,32 (2) Senate and assembly districts, respectively, shall satisfy the population standards established in this subsection. The quotient, obtained by dividing the sum of the absolute values of the deviations of all district populations from the applicable ideal district population by the number of districts established, may not exceed 1 percent of the applicable ideal district population, unless necessary to maintain compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act or any other applicable federal law. For purposes of this subsection, the ideal district population is determined by dividing the population of the state reported in the most recent federal decennial census by the number of districts to be established.

SB488,,33 (3) District boundaries shall coincide with ward boundaries and, to the extent consistent with sub. (1), shall coincide with the boundaries of political subdivisions. The number of political subdivisions divided among more than one district shall be as small as possible and all such divisions shall preserve communities of interest.

SB488,,34 (4) Districts shall be composed of convenient contiguous territory. Areas that meet only at the points of adjoining corners are not contiguous. A district containing detached portions of a municipality is legally contiguous even if the area around the detached portion of the municipality is part of a different district.

SB488,,35 (5) To the extent consistent with subs. (1) to (3), districts shall be compact in form. Compact districts are those that are square, rectangular, or hexagonal in shape to the extent permitted by natural or political boundaries. The compactness of a district shall be measured by its Reock score. For each district, the Reock score shall be calculated by taking the ratio of the area of the district to the area of the minimum circumscribing circle. The Reock score ranges from zero to 1, with zero indicating that the district is not compact and one indicating that the district is optimally compact.

SB488,,36 (6) In preparing any plan, the legislative reference bureau shall be strictly nonpartisan. No district may be drawn for the purpose of favoring a political party, incumbent legislator, or other person or group. In establishing districts, no use shall be made of any of the following data for the purpose of augmenting or diluting the voting strength of a language or racial minority group, except to the extent required under sub. (1):

SB488,,37 (a) The residence addresses of incumbent legislators.

SB488,,38 (b) Political affiliations of registered voters.

SB488,,39 (c) Previous election results.

SB488,,40 (d) Demographic information.

SB488,,41 (7) The number of assembly districts in any plan may not be less than 54 nor more than 100. The number of senate districts in any plan may not be more than one-third nor less than one-fourth of the number of assembly districts. Each senate district shall contain only whole assembly districts.

SB488,,42 4.008 Required provisions in redistricting bills. Each bill delivered under s. 4.006 shall provide all of the following:

SB488,,43 (1) That, wherever territory is described in the bill by geographic boundaries, the following conventions are used:

SB488,,44 (a) Each bound continues to the intersection with the bound next named, or to the intersection with a straight-line extension of such bound.

SB488,,45 (b) If the bound is a street, it follows the center line of the street or the center line of the street extended.

SB488,,46 (c) If the bound is a railroad right-of-way, it follows the center line of the railroad right-of-way.

SB488,,47 (d) If the bound is a river or stream, it follows the center of the main channel of such river or stream.

SB488,,48 (e) If the bound follows a municipal boundary, it coincides with such boundary.

SB488,,49 (2) That the bill first applies, with respect to regular elections, to offices filled at the next occurring general election after the bill takes effect and, with respect to special or recall elections, to offices filled or contested on or after the date of that general election.

SB488,,50 4.0085 Challenge based on population inequality; burden of proof. If an action is brought challenging a plan under this subchapter on the basis of an excessive population variance among senate or assembly districts established in the plan, the legislature has the burden of justifying any variance in excess of 1 percent between the population of a senate or assembly district and the applicable ideal district population, as described under s. 4.007 (2).

SB488,3 Section 3. 5.15 (4) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB488,,52 5.15 (4) (a) Except as provided in par. (c), the division ordinance or resolution shall number all wards in the municipality with unique whole numbers in consecutive order, beginning with the number one, shall designate the polling place for each ward, and shall describe the boundaries of each ward consistent with the conventions set forth in s. 4.003 4.008 (1). The ordinance or resolution shall be accompanied by a list of the block numbers used by the U.S. bureau of the census that are wholly or partly contained within each ward, with any block numbers partly contained within a ward identified, and a map of the municipality which illustrates the revised ward boundaries. If the legislature, in an act redistricting legislative districts under article IV, section 3, of the constitution, or in redistricting congressional districts, establishes a district boundary within a municipality that does not coincide with the boundary of a ward established under the ordinance or resolution of the municipality, the municipal governing body shall, no later than April 10 of the 2nd year following the year of the federal decennial census on which the act is based, amend the ordinance or resolution to the extent required to effect the act. The amended ordinance or resolution shall designate the polling place for any ward that is created to effect the legislative act. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to compel a county or city to alter or redraw supervisory or aldermanic districts.

SB488,4 Section 4. 5.15 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB488,,54 5.15 (4) (b) Within 5 days after adoption or enactment of an ordinance or resolution under this section or any amendment thereto, the municipal clerk shall transmit one copy of the ordinance or resolution or the amendment to the county clerk of each county in which the municipality is contained and one copy of the ordinance or resolution or the amendment to the legislative reference bureau, accompanied by the list and map specified in par. (a), together with a report confirming the boundaries of the municipality and of all wards in the municipality. Within 5 days after notice to the municipal clerk of a judgment that has the effect of changing the municipal boundaries, the clerk shall file the same report. The municipal clerk shall ensure that each copy of the ordinance or resolution or amendment and each accompanying report identify the name of the municipality and the county or counties in which it is located.

SB488,5 Section 5. 13.49 of the statutes is created to read:

SB488,,56 13.49 Redistricting advisory commission. (1) Definitions. In this section:

SB488,,57 (a) “Chief election officer” means the chief election officer of the elections commission.

SB488,,58 (b) “Four selecting authorities” means all of the following:

SB488,,59 1. The majority leader of the senate.

SB488,,60 2. The minority leader of the senate.

SB488,,61 3. The speaker of the assembly.

SB488,,62 4. The minority leader of the assembly.

SB488,,63 (c) “Partisan public office” means any of the following:

SB488,,64 1. The office of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, state senator, or state representative to the assembly.

SB488,,65 2. A county office that is filled by an election process involving nomination and election of candidates on a partisan basis.

SB488,,66 (d) “Political party office” means an elective office in a political party, as defined in s. 5.02 (13), or in a national political party.

SB488,,67 (e) “Relative” means an individual who is related to the person in question as father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, grandfather, grandmother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister.

SB488,,68 (2) General provisions. (a) Not later than February 15 of the first year following the federal decennial census, a temporary redistricting advisory commission is created consisting of 5 members. Each of the 4 selecting authorities shall certify to the chief election officer the selecting authority’s appointment of an individual to serve on the commission. Within 30 days after the last selecting authority has certified his or her appointment, but not later than February 15 of the first year following the federal decennial census, the 4 commission members so appointed shall select, by a vote of at least 3 members, and certify to the chief election officer the 5th commission member, who shall serve as chairperson. No commission member may abstain from any vote taken by the commission on any matter before the commission, and no vote may be taken by the commission without all 5 members of the commission present and voting. The commission members shall, upon the legislative reference bureau’s recommendation, appoint a person with expertise in the federal Voting Rights Act to provide the commission guidance regarding federal Voting Rights Act compliance.

SB488,,69 (b) No individual may be appointed to the redistricting advisory commission who satisfies any of the following:

SB488,,70 1. The individual is not an eligible elector of this state at the time of the appointment.

SB488,,71 2. The individual holds partisan public office or political party office.

SB488,,72 3. The individual is a relative of or is employed by a member of the legislature or of Congress, or is employed directly by the legislature or Congress.

SB488,,73 (c) Members of the redistricting advisory commission appointed by a selecting authority shall be reimbursed from the appropriation account under s. 20.765 (1) (a) or (b), depending upon the house in which that member’s appointing authority holds office, for actual and necessary expenses incurred in performance of duties as a commission member. The member who is not appointed by a selecting authority shall be reimbursed from the appropriation under s. 20.765 (1) (a) for actual and necessary expenses incurred in performance of duties as a commission member.

SB488,,74 (d) A vacancy on the redistricting advisory commission shall be filled as provided in s. 17.20 (1) within 15 days after the vacancy occurs.

SB488,,75 (e) Each redistricting advisory commission terminates upon complying with sub. (3).

SB488,,76 (f) The legislative reference bureau shall provide assistance to the commission regarding the operations of the commission.

SB488,,77 (3) Duties. The redistricting advisory commission shall do all of the following:

SB488,,78 (a) If requested to do so by the legislative reference bureau, provide direction to the legislative reference bureau concerning any decision the legislative reference bureau must make in preparing a redistricting plan under subch. I of ch. 4 for which no clearly applicable standard is provided under s. 4.007.

SB488,,79 (b) Upon delivery by the legislative reference bureau of a bill embodying a redistricting plan as required under s. 4.006, make available to the public at the earliest feasible time all of the following information:

SB488,,80 1. Copies of the bill.

SB488,,81 2. Maps illustrating the plan.

SB488,,82 3. A summary of the standards prescribed under s. 4.007 for development of the plan.

SB488,,83 4. A statement of the population of each district included in the plan, and the relative deviation of each district population from the ideal district population.

SB488,,84 (c) Upon delivery by the legislative reference bureau of an initial bill embodying a redistricting plan as required under s. 4.006 (1), do all of the following:

SB488,,85 1. As expeditiously as reasonably possible, schedule and conduct at least 8 public hearings, in different geographic regions of the state, on the plan embodied in the bill. No more than one public hearing may be held in the city of Madison, one public hearing shall be held in a city of the first class, and at least one public hearing shall be held in the northern half of the state.

SB488,,86 2. Following the hearings held under subd. 1., promptly prepare and submit to the legislature in the manner provided under s. 13.172 (2) a report summarizing information and testimony received by the commission in the course of the hearings. The report may include any comments and conclusions that the commission’s members deem appropriate concerning the information and testimony received at the hearings or otherwise presented to the commission. The report shall be treated in the same manner as a report submitted under s. 13.172 (2).

SB488,,87 (4) Confidentiality. The redistricting advisory commission may establish policies, consistent with s. 13.92 (1) (c) and notwithstanding s. 19.35 (1), limiting the information that the legislative reference bureau may provide to persons other than the bureau staff concerning any redistricting plan prepared under subch. I of ch. 4, except that any such policy does not apply to a redistricting plan after a bill embodying that plan is delivered by the legislative reference bureau as required under s. 4.006 or to population data furnished to the legislative reference bureau by the U.S. bureau of the census. Upon the plan’s introduction, the legislative reference bureau shall make the drafting file of the plan available for public inspection.

SB488,6 Section 6. Nonstatutory provisions.

SB488,,89 (1) Notwithstanding the deadline for establishing the commission under s. 13.49 (2), the redistricting advisory commission may be established after the effective date of this subsection. For the decennial period beginning in 2020, and notwithstanding any other deadline under this act, the legislative reference bureau shall expeditiously obtain census data and deliver any plan prepared in accordance with s. 4.007 to the majority leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly upon the completion of the redistricting plans no later than January 1, 2024.

SB488,7 Section 7. Initial applicability.

SB488,,91 (1) This act first applies to the 2020 federal decennial census.

SB488,,92 (end)