Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, | 11 |
three-fifths of the members elected to each house concurring | 12 |
herein, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the | 13 |
state, in the manner prescribed by law at a special election to be | 14 |
held on May 3, 2011, a proposal to amend Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, | 15 |
7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15 of Article XI, to amend, for the | 16 |
purpose of adopting new Section numbers as indicated in | 17 |
parentheses, Sections 5 (4), 6 (5), 7 (6), 8 (7), 10 (8), 11 (9), | 18 |
12 (11), 13 (12), and 15 (13) of Article XI, and to enact new | 19 |
Section 10 of Article XI of the Constitution of the State of Ohio | 20 |
to read as follows: | 21 |
1. The governor, auditor of state, secretary of | 22 |
state, one person chosen by the speaker of the house of | 23 |
representatives and the leader in the senate of the political | 24 |
party of which the speaker is a member, and one person chosen by | 25 |
the legislative leaders in the two houses of the major political | 26 |
party of which the speaker is not a member shall be the persons | 27 |
responsible for the apportionment of this state for members of the | 28 |
general assembly. | 29 |
Such persons, or a majority of their number, shall meet and | 30 |
establish in the manner prescribed in this Article the boundaries | 31 |
for each of ninety-nine house of representatives districts and | 32 |
thirty-three senate districts. Such meeting shall convene on a | 33 |
date designated by the governor between August 1 and October 1 in | 34 |
the year one thousand nine hundred seventy-one and every tenth | 35 |
year thereafter.(A) The Ohio redistricting commission shall | 36 |
consist of the following seven members and shall be responsible | 37 |
for the redistricting of this state for congress and the general | 38 |
assembly: | 39 |
The governorof the commission, which shall be held after the | 54 |
first day of June but before the sixteenth day of June of the year | 55 |
ending in the numeral one. At that first meeting, the members | 56 |
shall convene, select co-chairpersons, at least one of whom shall | 57 |
be a member of a political party other than the largest one | 58 |
represented on the commission, and adopt procedural rules for the | 59 |
operation of the commission. | 60 |
(C) Not later than the first day of July of a year ending in | 61 |
the numeral one, the Ohio redistricting commission shall convene, | 62 |
public notice being given, to establish a schedule that it | 63 |
determines appropriate to carry out the duties set forth in this | 64 |
article. Not later than the first day of October of a year ending | 65 |
in the numeral one, the commission shall adopt, in the manner | 66 |
prescribed in this article, the boundaries for each of the | 67 |
ninety-nine house of representatives districts, thirty-three | 68 |
senate districts, and the prescribed number of congressional | 69 |
districts as apportioned to the state pursuant to Section 2 of | 70 |
Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States. After the | 71 |
commission adopts each plan, the commission shall file that plan | 72 |
with the secretary of state. Upon filing with the secretary of | 73 |
state, the plan shall become effective. | 74 |
(D) Unless otherwise specified in this article, a simple | 79 |
majority of its members shall be required for any action by the | 80 |
Ohio redistricting commission. The affirmative vote of five | 81 |
members of the commission, including votes from at least two | 82 |
members of the commission who are members of a political party | 83 |
other than the largest one represented on the commission, shall be | 84 |
required to adopt any plan. | 85 |
(E) The Ohio redistricting commission shall make the | 86 |
necessary provisions to allow for public comment at public | 87 |
hearings and in writing and to allow for any resident of Ohio to | 88 |
submit a congressional plan or a general assembly plan for | 89 |
consideration. The commission shall develop and implement a plan | 90 |
to make available to the public all relevant data and information | 91 |
necessary for the submission of a potential congressional plan and | 92 |
a potential general assembly plan by any resident of Ohio. | 93 |
(B) The population of each house of representatives district | 138 |
shall be substantially equal to the ratio of representation in the | 139 |
house of representatives, as provided in sectionSection 2 of this | 140 |
Articlearticle, and in no event shall any house of | 141 |
representatives district contain a population of less than | 142 |
ninety-five percentper cent nor more than one hundred five | 143 |
percentper cent of the ratio of representation in the house of | 144 |
representatives, except in those instances where reasonable effort | 145 |
is made to avoid dividing a county in accordance with section 9as | 146 |
otherwise provided in division (B) of Section 8 of this Article | 147 |
article. | 148 |
Section 6 5. District boundaries established pursuant to | 164 |
this Articlearticle shall not be changed until the ensuing | 165 |
federal decennial census and the ensuing
apportionment | 166 |
redistricting or as provided in section 13this section and | 167 |
Section 12 of this Articlearticle, notwithstanding the fact that | 168 |
boundaries of political subdivisions or citymunicipal wards | 169 |
within the district may be changed during that time. District | 170 |
boundaries shall be created by using the boundaries of political | 171 |
subdivisions and citymunicipal wards as they exist at the time of | 172 |
the federal decennial census on which the
apportionment | 173 |
redistricting is based, or, if unavailable, on such other basis as | 174 |
the general assembly has directed. | 175 |
If the currently applicable redistricting plan is determined | 176 |
to be invalid by an unappealed final order of a court of competent | 177 |
jurisdiction, the court shall convene the Ohio redistricting | 178 |
commission to adopt a new plan that is in compliance with the law, | 179 |
including the provisions of this article. In convening the | 180 |
commission under this section, the court may adjust the timelines | 181 |
established in this article as necessary for the timely adoption | 182 |
of a new plan. | 183 |
(B) Every house of representativescongressional and general | 192 |
assembly district shall be compact and composed of contiguous | 193 |
territory, and the boundary of each district shall be a single | 194 |
nonintersecting continuous line. To the extent consistent with the | 195 |
requirements of section 3 of this Articlearticle, the boundary | 196 |
lines of districts shall be so drawn as to delineate an area | 197 |
containing one or more whole counties. | 198 |
(C)(D) Where the requirements of section 3 of this Article | 205 |
article cannot feasibly be attained by combining the areas of | 206 |
governmental units as prescribed in division (B)(C) of this | 207 |
section, only onetwo such unitunits may be divided between two | 208 |
districts, giving preference inper house of representatives | 209 |
district. In the case of congressional districts, the number of | 210 |
units divided per district may be more than two, but not more than | 211 |
necessary to achieve the ratio of representation in the congress | 212 |
as required by this article. In the selection of a unit for | 213 |
division under division (D) of this section, preference shall be | 214 |
given to a contiguous township, a city ward, a citycontiguous | 215 |
municipality, and a village in the order named. | 216 |
(1) The commission shall determine the three most competitive | 226 |
general elections by percentage for nonjudicial statewide state or | 227 |
federal office, including the elections of a president and vice | 228 |
president of the United States, in which the candidates receiving | 229 |
the highest and second highest number of votes were the nominees | 230 |
of political parties, held in the three previous even-numbered | 231 |
years immediately preceding the year in which the commission meets | 232 |
to adopt new plans, provided that the two partisan candidates | 233 |
combined received at least ninety-five per cent of the total votes | 234 |
cast. | 235 |
Section 11 9. Senate districts shall be composed of three | 286 |
contiguous house of representatives districts. A county having at | 287 |
least one whole senate ratio of representation shall have as many | 288 |
senate districts wholly within the boundaries of the county as it | 289 |
has whole senate ratios of representation. Any fraction of the | 290 |
population in excess of a whole ratio shall be a part of only one | 291 |
adjoining senate district. Counties having less than one senate | 292 |
ratio of representation, but at least one house of representatives | 293 |
ratio of representation shall be part of only one senate district. | 294 |
Section 12 11. At any time the boundaries of senate | 320 |
districts are changed in any plan of apportionmentredistricting | 321 |
made pursuant to any provision of this Articlearticle, a senator | 322 |
whose term will not expire within two years of the time the plan | 323 |
of
apportionmentredistricting is made shall represent, for the | 324 |
remainder of the term for which
hethe senator was elected, the | 325 |
senate district which contains the largest portion of the | 326 |
population of the district from which hethe senator was elected, | 327 |
and the district shall be given the number of the district from | 328 |
which the senator was elected. If more than one senator whose term | 329 |
will not so expire would represent the same district by following | 330 |
the provisions of this section, the persons responsible for | 331 |
apportionment, by a majority of their number,Ohio redistricting | 332 |
commission shall designate which senator shall represent the | 333 |
district and shall designate which district the other senator or | 334 |
senators shall represent for the balance of their term or terms. | 335 |
Section 13 12. The supreme court of Ohio or an applicable | 336 |
federal court shall have exclusive, original jurisdiction in all | 337 |
cases arising under this Articlearticle. In the event that any | 338 |
section of this Constitution relating to apportionment | 339 |
redistricting or any plan of
apportionmentredistricting made by | 340 |
the persons responsible for apportionment, by a majority of their | 341 |
number,Ohio redistricting commission is determined to be invalid | 342 |
by either the supreme court of Ohio, or the supreme court of the | 343 |
United Statesan unappealed final order of a court of competent | 344 |
jurisdiction, then notwithstanding any other provisions of this | 345 |
Constitution, the persons responsible for apportionment by a | 346 |
majority of their numberOhio redistricting commission shall | 347 |
ascertain and determine a plan of apportionmentredistricting in | 348 |
conformity with such provisions of this Constitution as are then | 349 |
valid, including establishing terms of office and election of | 350 |
members of the general assembly from districts designated in the | 351 |
plan, to be used until the next regular apportionment | 352 |
redistricting in conformity with such provisions of this | 353 |
Constitution as are then valid. | 354 |
If adopted by a majority of the electors voting on this | 368 |
proposal, Sections 1, 2, 3, 5 (4), 6 (5), 7 (6), 8 (7), 10 (8), 11 | 369 |
(9), 12 (11), 13 (12), and 15 (13) of Article XI amended or | 370 |
amended and renumbered by this proposal and new Section 10 of | 371 |
Article XI enacted by this proposal shall take effect immediately | 372 |
and existing Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15 | 373 |
of Article XI and Sections Section 4. , Section 9. , and | 374 |
Section 14. of Article XI of the Constitution of the State of | 375 |
Ohio are repealed from that effective date. | 376 |
The amendments to Section 12 (11) of Article XI of the Ohio | 378 |
Constitution in part substitute gender neutral for gender specific | 379 |
language. These gender neutralizing amendments are not intended to | 380 |
make a substantive change in the Ohio Constitution. The gender | 381 |
neutral language is to be construed as a restatement of, and | 382 |
substituted in a continuing way for, the corresponding gender | 383 |
specific language existing prior to adoption of the gender | 384 |
neutralizing amendments. | 385 |