Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

A proposed constitutional amendment requires adoption by two successive legislatures, and ratification by the people, before it can become effective.

AJR124,1,5 Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That:

AJR124,1 Section 1 . Section 3 of article IV of the constitution is renumbered section 3 (1) of article IV.

AJR124,2 Section 2 . Section 3 (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8) of article IV of the constitution are created to read:

AJR124,2,2 [Article IV] Section 3 (2) (a) The legislative reference bureau shall acquire appropriate information, review and evaluate available facilities, and develop programs and procedures in preparation for drawing congressional and legislative redistricting plans on the basis of each federal decennial census.

AJR124,2,7 (b) By December 1 of the year of the decennial federal census, the legislative reference bureau shall obtain from the federal government information regarding geographic and political units in this state for which federal census population data has been gathered and will be tabulated. The legislative reference bureau shall use the information to do all of the following:

AJR124,2,10 1. Prepare necessary descriptions of geographic and political units for which census data will be reported and that are suitable for use as components of legislative districts.

AJR124,2,13 2. Prepare maps of geographic and political units within the state which may be used to illustrate the locations of district boundaries proposed in plans prepared in accordance with sub. (5).

AJR124,2,22 (c) As soon as possible after receiving the federal census data needed for legislative redistricting, the legislative reference bureau shall use that data to assign a population figure based upon certified federal census data to each geographic or political unit described under par. (b) 2. The legislative reference bureau shall prepare and publish an analysis describing the population of current legislative and congressional districts and the extent to which the districts may violate the standards under sub. (5). Upon satisfying these requirements, the legislative reference bureau shall begin the preparation of congressional and legislative redistricting plans as required under sub. (4).

AJR124,3,2 (d) None of the 4 selecting authorities, as defined in sub. (8) (a) 2., may assign or hire any person to work with the legislative reference bureau to prepare for redistricting under this subsection, to prepare plans under sub. (4), or to oversee either process.

AJR124,3,8 (3) After receipt of a division ordinance or resolution, as provided by law, the legislative reference bureau shall use the federal census data obtained under sub. (2) (c) to assign a population figure based upon certified federal census data to each ward established in the division ordinance or resolution. The legislative reference bureau shall use each ward to which a population figure is assigned in preparing congressional and legislative redistricting plans as required under sub. (4).

AJR124,3,18 (4) (a) Not later than January 1 of the 2nd year following the decennial federal census, the legislative reference bureau shall deliver to the majority leader of the senate and speaker of the assembly identical bills creating plans of legislative and congressional redistricting, prepared in accordance with sub. (5). Either the assembly or the senate shall bring the bill to a vote expeditiously, but not less than 7 days after the commission report under sub. (8) (c) 4. b. is received and made available to the members of the legislature. The vote shall be under a procedure or rule permitting no amendments. If the bill is approved by the first house in which it is considered, the bill shall expeditiously be brought to a vote in the 2nd house under a similar procedure or rule.

AJR124,4,8 (b) If neither of the bills delivered by the legislative reference bureau under par. (a) is approved by both the assembly and the senate, the chief clerk of the house that failed to approve the bill shall immediately transmit to the legislative reference bureau information that the house may direct regarding reasons why the plan was not approved. The legislative reference bureau shall prepare identical bills embodying a 2nd plan of legislative and congressional redistricting prepared in accordance with sub. (5), taking into account the reasons transmitted to the legislative reference bureau under this paragraph insofar as it is possible to do so within the requirements of sub. (5). The legislative reference bureau shall deliver the bills to the majority leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly no later than 21 days after the date of the vote by which the senate or the assembly failed to approve the bill submitted under par. (a). Any bill delivered by the legislative reference bureau under this paragraph shall be expeditiously introduced and brought to a vote not less than 7 days after the date of introduction, in the same manner as prescribed for the bill required under par. (a).

AJR124,4,20 (c) If neither of the bills delivered by the legislative reference bureau under par. (b) is approved by both the assembly and the senate, the same procedure as prescribed by par. (b) shall be followed. If a 3rd plan is required under this paragraph, the legislative reference bureau shall deliver the bills to the majority leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly no later than 21 days after the date of the vote by which the senate or the assembly failed to approve the bill submitted under par. (b). Any bill delivered by the legislative reference bureau under this paragraph shall be expeditiously introduced and brought to a vote not less than 7 days after the date of introduction and shall be subject to amendment in the same manner as other bills. Any bill delivered under this paragraph, and any amendment to such a bill, may be passed only with the approval of three-fourths of all the members elected in each house.

AJR124,4,21 (d) Notwithstanding pars. (a) to (c):

AJR124,5,6 1. If certified federal census data that is sufficient to permit preparation of a congressional redistricting plan becomes available at an earlier time than the population data needed to permit preparation of a legislative redistricting plan in accordance with sub. (5), the legislative reference bureau shall so inform the majority leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly. If the majority leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly jointly direct, the legislative reference bureau shall prepare a separate bill establishing congressional districts and deliver it separately from the bill establishing legislative districts. The legislature shall proceed to consider the congressional redistricting bill in substantially the manner prescribed by pars. (a) to (c).

AJR124,5,15 2. If the population data for legislative redistricting that the federal government provides and, if used by the legislative reference bureau, the corresponding topologically integrated geographic encoding and referencing data file for that population data are not available to the legislative reference bureau on or before April 1 of the first year following the decennial federal census, the deadlines set forth in this subsection shall be extended by a number of days equal to the number of days after April 1 of the first year following the decennial federal census that the population data and the topologically integrated geographic encoding and referencing data file for legislative redistricting become available.

AJR124,5,18 (5) (a) Legislative and congressional districts shall be established on the basis of population requirements imposed under the Wisconsin Constitution and the U.S. Constitution and requirements imposed under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

AJR124,6,5 (b) Senate and assembly districts, respectively, shall satisfy the population standards established in this paragraph. 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 Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. For purposes of this paragraph, 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. No senate district may have a population that exceeds that of any other senate district by more than 10 percent and no assembly district may have a population that exceeds that of any other assembly district by more than 10 percent, unless necessary to maintain compliance with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

AJR124,6,11 (c) Congressional districts shall each have a population as nearly equal as practicable to the ideal district population, derived as prescribed in par. (b), while maintaining compliance with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. No congressional district may have a population which varies by more than 1 percent from the applicable ideal district population, unless necessary to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

AJR124,6,19 (d) District boundaries shall coincide with ward boundaries and, to the extent consistent with par. (a), 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. When there is a choice among political subdivisions to divide, the more populous political subdivisions shall be divided before the less populous, except that this requirement does not apply to a legislative district boundary drawn along a county boundary which passes through a city with territory in more than one county.

AJR124,6,21 (e) Districts shall be composed of convenient contiguous territory. Areas which meet only at the points of adjoining corners are not contiguous.

AJR124,6,25 (f) Districts shall not be drawn with the intent or result of denying or abridging the equal opportunity of racial or language minorities to participate in the political process or diminishing their ability to elect representatives of their choice, whether by themselves or by voting in concert with other persons.

AJR124,7,1 (g) 1. In this paragraph:

AJR124,7,10 a. “Geographic unit center" means that point within a population data unit approximately equidistant from the northern and southern extremities and also approximately equidistant from the eastern and western extremities of the population data unit. This point shall be determined by visual observation of a map of the population data unit, unless it is otherwise determined within the context of an appropriate coordinate system developed by the federal government or another source that the legislative reference bureau determines is qualified and objective and is obtained for use in this state with prior approval of the joint committee on legislative organization.