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S. J. R. No. 5 As Introduced
As Introduced
| 128th General Assembly | | Regular Session | | 2009-2010 |
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Cosponsors:
Senators Patton, Niehaus, Wagoner, Goodman, Widener, Schuring, Stewart, Schaffer, Seitz, Grendell
A JOINT RESOLUTION
| Proposing to amend Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10,
11, 12, 13, and 15 of Article XI, to amend, for
the purpose of adopting new Section numbers as
indicated in parentheses, Sections 5 (4), 6 (5), 7
(6), 8 (7), 10 (8), 11 (9), 12 (11), 13 (12), and
15 (13) of Article XI, to enact new Section 10 of
Article XI, and to repeal Sections 4, 9, and 14 of
Article XI of the Constitution of Ohio to revise
the redistricting process for General Assembly and
Congressional districts.
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| Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio,
three-fifths of the members elected to each house concurring
herein, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the
state, in the manner prescribed by law at the general election to
be held on November 3, 2009, a proposal to amend Sections 1, 2, 3,
5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15 of Article XI, to amend, for
the purpose of adopting new Section numbers as indicated in
parentheses, Sections 5 (4), 6 (5), 7 (6), 8 (7), 10 (8), 11 (9),
12 (11), 13 (12), and 15 (13) of Article XI, and to enact new
Section 10 of Article XI of the Constitution of Ohio to read as
follows: |
1. The governor, auditor of state, secretary of
state, one person
chosen by the speaker of the house of
representatives and the leader in the
senate of the political
party of which the speaker is a member, and one person
chosen by
the legislative leaders in the two houses of the major political
party of which the speaker is not a member shall be the persons
responsible
for the apportionment of this state for members of the
general assembly. |
Such persons, or a majority of their number, shall meet and
establish in the
manner prescribed in this Article the boundaries
for each of ninety-nine house
of representatives districts and
thirty-three senate districts. Such meeting
shall convene on a
date designated by the governor between August 1 and
October 1 in
the year one thousand nine hundred seventy-one and every tenth
year thereafter.(A) The Ohio redistricting commission shall
consist of seven members and shall be responsible for the
redistricting of this state for congress and the general assembly.
Beginning with the year 2011, after the first day of February but
before the first day of March of each year ending in the numeral
one, four members shall be appointed to the commission in the
following manner: |
| (1) The legislative leader of each of the two largest
political parties in the Ohio
house of representatives shall each
appoint one member. |
| (2) The legislative leader of each of the two largest
political parties in the Ohio senate shall each appoint one
member. |
(B)(1) All meetings of the Ohio redistricting commission
shall be open to the public. The governor shall give such personsthe four commission members appointed by the leaders in the
general assembly, and the public, at least two weeks advance
notice of the date, time, and place of suchthe first meeting. |
The governorof the commission, which shall be held after the
first day of March but before the sixteenth day of March of the
year ending in the numeral one. At that first meeting, the four
members appointed under division (A) of this section shall
convene, select co-chairpersons, and adopt procedural rules for
the operation of the commission. Those four members shall then
proceed with a process of appointing, by unanimous vote of the
four members, the remaining three members of the commission. If
additional meetings are required for the process of selecting the
remaining three members of the commission, the meetings shall be
called by the commission co-chairpersons with at least two days
prior notice. |
| In selecting the three additional appointments under this
division, the four commission members appointed by the leaders in
the general assembly shall give due consideration to the diversity
of the state. |
| (2) If the four commission members appointed by the leaders
in the general assembly are unable to unanimously appoint the
required three additional members under division
(B)(1) of this
section by the fifteenth day of April of the year
ending in the
numeral one, the positions of the three additional members shall
be filled as follows not later than the twentieth day of April: |
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(a) Each member of the commission appointed by the leaders in
the general assembly shall submit the name of one proposed
commission member to the governor. No two members of the
commission shall submit the name of the same proposed commission
member to the governor under this division. |
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(b) The governor shall, in the public view, randomly select
the additional three members of the
commission from the four
proposed members submitted under division
(B)(2)(a) of this
section. |
| (3) The chief justice of the supreme court or, if the chief
justice is unavailable, another justice of the supreme court shall
administer the oath of office to each commission member. The oath
shall require the commissioner to support the constitution of the
United States and this constitution and to faithfully perform all
duties of office with fairness to all Ohioans. The oath also shall
require, in fulfilling duties under this article, the commissioner
to place the duties of the office of commission member before any
party or other affiliation. The chief justice, or other justice,
as the case may be, shall transmit a certificate of oath, signed
by the chief justice or justice administering the oath, to the
secretary of state. If the certificate of oath is not transmitted
to the secretary of state within twenty days after the
commencement of the commissioner's term, that commissioner is
deemed to have refused to accept the office, and that office shall
be considered vacant. |
| (C)(1) During a commission member's tenure on the Ohio
redistricting commission, no commission member shall: |
| (a) Hold a state or federal elective public
office for which
candidates may be nominated by political parties; |
| (b) Be a candidate for a state or federal
elective office
for which candidates may be nominated by political
parties. |
| (2) During the ten-year period in which a
congressional plan
or a general assembly plan is in effect, no commission
member
shall be a candidate for or a member of the Ohio general assembly. |
| (D) Not later than the first day of May of a year ending in
the numeral one, the Ohio redistricting commission shall convene,
public notice being given, to establish a schedule that it
determines appropriate to carry out the duties set forth in this
article. Not later than the first day of October of a year ending
in the numeral one, the commission shall adopt, in the manner
prescribed in this article, the boundaries for each of the
ninety-nine house of representatives districts, thirty-three
senate districts, and the prescribed number of congressional
districts as apportioned to the state pursuant to Section 2 of
Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States. After the
commission adopts each plan, the commission shall file that plan
with the secretary of state. Upon filing with the secretary of
state, the plan shall become effective. |
| Immediately after the adoption of a plan under this division,
the commission shall prepare a report that explains the basis on
which the commission made its decisions to achieve the districting
criteria specified in this article. The commission promptly shall
deliver a copy of the report to the governor, the speaker of the
house of representatives, the minority leader of the house of
representatives, the president of the senate, and the minority
leader of the senate. |
| (E) Unless otherwise specified in this article, a simple
majority of its members shall be required for any action by the
Ohio redistricting commission. The affirmative vote of five
members of the commission, including at least one member of each
political party who was appointed to the commission by the leaders
in the general assembly and at least one of the three members not
appointed to the commission by the leaders in the general
assembly, shall be required to adopt any plan. |
| (F) The Ohio redistricting commission shall make the
necessary provisions to allow for public comment at public
hearings and in writing and to allow for any resident of Ohio to
submit a congressional plan or a general assembly plan for
consideration. The commission shall develop and implement a plan
to make available to the public all relevant data and information
necessary for the submission of a potential congressional plan and
a potential general assembly plan by any resident of Ohio. |
| (G) If, by the fifteenth day of September of a year ending
in the numeral one, the commission is unable to adopt a general
assembly redistricting plan, a congressional redistricting plan,
or both, then the following shall apply: |
| (1) If the four commission members appointed by the leaders
of the general assembly unanimously selected the three additional
commission members under division (B)(1) of this section, all of
the following shall occur: |
| (a) For each type of redistricting plan that the commission
was unable to adopt, the seven commission members shall determine,
by majority vote, the redistricting plans under consideration that
meet the minimum standards established by this Article, the
Constitution of the United States, and applicable federal
statutory provisions. |
| (b) Each member of the commission shall, for each type of
redistricting plan that the commission was unable to adopt, rank
the plans identified under division (G)(1)(a) of this section in
order of preference. Each commissioner shall assign a numerical
value equal to the total number of plans identified under division
(G)(1)(a) of this section to the plan that the commissioner most
prefers. The commissioner's next preferred plan shall be assigned
a numerical value that is one less than the previous plan,
continuing until each commissioner has assigned a numerical value
to each plan, with the commissioner's least preferred plan
assigned the numerical value of one. |
| (c) The overall rank score for each plan identified under
division (G)(1)(a) of this section shall be determined by totaling
the numerical values assigned to that plan by each member of the
commission under division (G)(1)(b) of this section. The plan with
the highest overall rank score shall be selected as the winning
plan. |
| (d) If more than one plan receives the same highest overall
rank score under division (G)(1)(c) of this section, the process
specified in divisions (G)(1)(b) and (c) of this section shall be
repeated, except that the commissioners shall assign numerical
values only to those plans that received the same highest overall
rank score in the previous round. This process shall be repeated
until a single winning plan is selected for each type of
redistricting plan that the commission was unable to adopt. |
| (2) If the governor randomly selected the three additional
commission members under division (B)(2) of this section, all of
the following shall occur: |
| (a) The positions of the three additional members of the
commission who were selected by the governor shall immediately be
deemed vacant. |
| (b) For each type of redistricting plan that the commission
was unable to adopt, the four commission members appointed by the
leaders of the general assembly shall determine, by majority vote,
the redistricting plans under consideration that meet the minimum
standards established by this article, the Constitution of the
United States, and applicable federal statutory provisions. |
| (c) Each of the four commission members appointed by
the
leaders of the general assembly promptly shall submit the name
of
one proposed commission member to the governor. No two members
of
the commission shall submit the name of the same proposed
commission member to the governor under this division. No
commission member may submit the name of any of the individuals
whose positions on the commission were deemed vacant under
division (G)(2)(a) of this section. Promptly after receiving the
four names, the governor
shall, in the public view, randomly
select three new additional
members of the commission from the
four proposed members submitted
under this division. |
| (d) Each of the four commission members appointed by the
leaders of the general assembly and each of the three additional
members selected by the governor under division (G)(2)(c) of this
section shall, for each type of redistricting plan that the
commission was unable to adopt, rank the plans identified under
division (G)(2)(b) of this section in order of preference. Each
commissioner shall assign a numerical value equal to the total
number of plans identified under division (G)(2)(b) of this
section to the plan that the commissioner most prefers. The
commissioner's next preferred plan shall be assigned a numerical
value that is one less than the previous plan, continuing until
each commissioner has assigned a numerical value to each plan,
with the commissioner's least preferred plan assigned the
numerical value of one. |
| (e) The overall rank score for each plan identified under
division (G)(2)(b) of this section shall be determined by totaling
the numerical values assigned to that plan by each member of the
commission under division (G)(2)(d) of this section. The plan with
the highest overall rank score shall be selected as the winning
plan. |
| (f) If more than one plan receives the same highest overall
rank score under division (G)(2)(e) of this section, the process
specified in divisions (G)(2)(d) and (e) of this section shall be
repeated, except that the commissioners shall assign numerical
values only to those plans that received the same highest overall
rank score in the previous round. This process shall be repeated
until a single winning plan is selected for each type of
redistricting plan that the commission was unable to adopt. |
| (H) The attorney general shall be responsible for defending a
plan adopted by the members of the Ohio redistricting commission
in any legal action arising from the process described in this
article. |
| (I) The general assembly shall be responsible for making the
appropriations it determines necessary in order for the Ohio
redistricting commission to perform its duties under this article
and to defend against any lawsuit arising from the performance of
the duties set forth in this article. |
| (J) Any vacancy on the Ohio redistricting commission shall be
filled in the same manner as the original appointment not later
than thirty days after the vacancy occurs, or in such shorter time
as needed to meet the requirements of this article. |
| (K) All appointments to the Ohio redistricting commission
shall be made anew for each successive decennial redistricting of
this state. Prior service on the commission shall not exclude a
person from being appointed to and serving on the commission. |
| (L) After the adoption of a congressional plan and a general
assembly plan and the completion of any necessary administrative
functions, the co-chairpersons of the Ohio redistricting
commission
shall jointly dissolve the commission. Upon the
dissolution of the commission, the co-chairs shall arrange for all
records of the commission to be delivered to the Ohio historical
society for preservation. |
(M) The secretary of state shall cause the apportionmentredistricting plans to be published no later than
the fifth day of
October 5 of the year in which it isthey are made, in such manner
as provided by law. |
Section 2. The apportionmentredistricting of this state for
members of congress and the general
assembly shall be made in the
following manner: The |
| (A) The whole population of the state, as determined by the
federal decennial census, shall be divided by the number of
congressional districts apportioned to the state pursuant to
Section 2 of Article I of the Constitution of the United States,
and the quotient shall be the ratio of representation in the
congress for ten years next succeeding such apportionment. |
(B) The whole population of the
state, as determined by the
federal decennial census or, if such is
unavailable, such other
basis as the general assembly may direct, shall be
divided by the
number "ninety-nine" and the quotient shall be the ratio of
representation in the house of representatives for ten years next
succeeding
such apportionmentredistricting. The |
(C) The whole population of the state as determined by the
federal decennial census or, if such is unavailable, such other
basis as the
general assembly may direct, shall be divided by the
number "thirty-three" and
the quotient shall be the ratio of
representation in the senate for ten years
next succeeding such apportionmentredistricting. |
| Section 3. (A) The population of each congressional district
shall be as equal to the ratio of representation in the congress
as practicable, as provided in Section 2 of this article. |
(B) The population of each house of representatives district
shall be
substantially equal to the ratio of representation in the
house of
representatives, as provided in sectionSection 2 of this Articlearticle, and in no event
shall any house of
representatives district contain a population of less than
ninety-five percentper cent nor more than one hundred five percentper cent of the ratio of
representation in the house of
representatives, except in those instances
where reasonable effort
is made to avoid dividing a county in accordance with
section 9as
otherwise provided in division (B) of Section 8 of this Articlearticle. |
| (C) The population of each senate district shall be
substantially equal to the ratio of representation in the senate,
as provided in Section 2 of this article, and in no event shall
any senate district contain a population of less than ninety-five
per cent nor more than one hundred five per cent of the ratio of
representation in the senate as determined pursuant to this
article. |
Section 5 4. Each(A) Each congressional district shall be
entitled to a single representative in the United States house of
representatives in each congress. |
(B) Each house of representatives district shall be entitled
to a
single representative in each General Assemblygeneral
assembly. Every |
(C) Each senate district shall
be entitled to a single
senator in each General Assemblygeneral assembly. |
Section 6 5. District boundaries established pursuant to
this Articlearticle shall not
be changed until the ensuing
federal decennial census and the ensuing
apportionmentredistricting or as provided in section 13this section and
Section 12 of this Articlearticle, notwithstanding
the fact that
boundaries of political subdivisions or citymunicipal wards
within the
district may be changed during that time. District
boundaries shall be
created by using the boundaries of political
subdivisions and citymunicipal wards as
they exist at the time of
the federal decennial census on which the
apportionmentredistricting is based, or, if unavailable, on such other basis as
the general assembly has
directed. |
| If the currently applicable redistricting plan is determined
to be invalid by an unappealed final order of a court of competent
jurisdiction, the court shall convene the Ohio redistricting
commission to adopt a new plan that is in compliance with the law,
including the provisions of this article. In convening the
commission under this section, the court may adjust the timelines
established in this article as necessary for the timely adoption
of a new plan. In such a circumstance, the leaders in the general
assembly at the time shall each make a new appointment in the
manner specified in division (A) of Section 1 of this article.
Those four commission members shall then select the remaining
three commission members in the manner specified in division (B)
of Section 1 of this article. |
| No court shall, in any circumstance, order the implementation
or enforcement of any plan that has not been approved by the Ohio
redistricting commission in the manner prescribed by this article. |
Section 7 6. (A) Any plan adopted by the Ohio redistricting
commission shall comply with all applicable Ohio and federal
constitutional provisions and all applicable federal statutory
provisions, including, but not limited to, those dealing
specifically with the protection of minority voting rights. |
(B) Every house of representativescongressional and general
assembly district shall be compact and
composed of contiguous
territory, and the boundary of each district shall be a
single
nonintersecting continuous line. To the extent consistent with the
requirements of section 3 of this Articlearticle, the boundary
lines of districts
shall be so drawn as to delineate an area
containing one or more whole
counties. |
(B)(C) Where the requirements of section 3 of this Articlearticle cannot feasibly be
attained by forming a district from a
whole county or counties, such district
shall be formed by
combining the whole areas of governmental units giving preference
in the order named to counties, townships, municipalities, and citymunicipal wards. |
(C)(D) Where the requirements of section 3 of this Articlearticle cannot feasibly be
attained by combining the areas of
governmental units as prescribed in
division (B)(C) of this
section, only onetwo such unitunits may be divided between two
districts, giving preference inper house of representatives
district. In the case of congressional districts, the number of
units divided per district may be more than two, but not more than
necessary to achieve the ratio of representation in the congress
as required by this article. In the selection of a unit for
division under division (D) of this section, preference shall be
given to a contiguous
township, a city ward, a citycontiguous
municipality,
and a village in the order named. |
(D) In making a new apportionment, district boundaries
established by the
preceding apportionment shall be adopted to the
extent reasonably consistent
with the requirements of section 3 of
this Article. |
|
(E)
When the formation of competitive districts does not
conflict with the other
principles established by this article,
the Ohio redistricting
commission shall make its best efforts to
maximize the number of
competitive districts using the following
criteria: |
| (1) The commission shall determine the three most competitive
general
elections by percentage for nonjudicial statewide state
or federal
office, including the elections of a president and
vice president
of the United States, in which the candidates
receiving the
highest
and second highest number of votes were
the nominees of
political
parties, held in the three previous
even-numbered years
immediately
preceding the year in which the
commission meets to
adopt new
plans, provided that the two
partisan candidates
combined received
at least ninety-five per
cent of the total
votes cast. |
| (2) Using the three most competitive elections selected under
division
(E)(1) of this section, the commission shall determine
the average
partisan indexes for each proposed district by doing
the
following: |
| (a) Taking the percentage of the vote received in the
district for each of the two partisan candidates who received the
highest vote totals counting only the votes cast for those two
partisan candidates, then |
| (b) Averaging together the three voting percentages for the
candidates with the same partisan affiliation by dividing the sum
of the percentages by the number three to yield the average
partisan indexes for that district. |
| (3) A "competitive district" is a district where
the average
partisan indexes determined by this section are not
more than
five per cent apart. |
Section 8 7. A county having at least one house of
representatives ratio of
representation shall have as many house
of representatives districts wholly
within the boundaries of the
county as it has whole ratios of representation.
Any fraction of
the population in excess of a whole ratio shall be a part of
only
one adjoining house of representatives district. |
The number of whole ratios of representation for a county
shall be determined
by dividing the population of the county by
the ratio of representation for
the house of representatives
determined under sectionSection 2 of this Articlearticle. |
Section 10 8. The standards prescribed in sectionsthis
section and Sections 3, 6, and 7, 8, and 9 of this
Articlearticle
shall govern the establishment of house of representatives
districts,
which shall be created and numbered in the following
order to the extent that
such order is consistent with the
foregoing standards: |
(A) Each county containing population substantially equal to
one ratio of
representation in the house of representatives, as
provided in sectionSection 2 of
this Articlearticle, but in no
event less than ninety-five percentper cent of the ratio nor
more
than one hundred five percentper cent of the ratio shall be
designated a
representative district. |
(B) Each county containing population between ninety and
ninety-five percentper cent of the ratio or between one hundred
five and one hundred ten percentper cent of the
ratio may be
designated a representative district. |
| (C) Proceeding in succession from the largest to the
smallest, each remaining
county containing more than one whole
ratio of representation shall be divided
into house of
representatives districts. Any remaining territory within such
county containing a fraction of one whole ratio of representation
shall be
included in one representative district by combining it
with adjoining
territory outside the county. |
| (D) The remaining territory of the state shall be combined
into
representative districts. |
Section 11 9. Senate districts shall be composed of three
contiguous house of
representatives districts. A county having at
least one whole senate ratio of
representation shall have as many
senate districts wholly within the
boundaries of the county as it
has whole senate ratios of representation. Any
fraction of the
population in excess of a whole ratio shall be a part of only
one
adjoining senate district. Counties having less than one senate
ratio of
representation, but at least one house of representatives
ratio of
representation shall be part of only one senate district. |
The number of whole ratios of representation for a county
shall be determined
by dividing the population of the county by
the ratio of representation in the
senate determined under sectionSection 2 of this Articlearticle. |
Senate districts shall be numbered from one through
thirty-three and as
provided in section 12Section 11 of this Articlearticle. |
| 10. The standards prescribed in this section and
Sections 3 and 6 of this article shall govern the establishment of
congressional districts, which shall be created in the following
order to the extent that such order is consistent with the
foregoing standards: |
| (A) The number of whole ratios of representation for a county
shall be determined by dividing the population of the county by
the ratio of representation in the congress determined under
Section 2 of this article. |
| (B) Proceeding in succession from the largest to the
smallest, each county containing more than one whole ratio of
representation shall be divided into the appropriate number of
congressional districts. Any fraction of the county population in
excess of a whole ratio of representation shall be included in one
congressional district by combining it with adjoining territory
outside the county. |
| (C) The remaining territory of the state shall be combined
into congressional districts. |
Section 12 11. At any time the boundaries of senate
districts are changed in any
plan of apportionmentredistricting
made pursuant to any provision of this Articlearticle, a
senator
whose term will not expire within two years of the time the plan
of
apportionmentredistricting is made shall represent, for the
remainder of the term for which
hethe senator was elected, the
senate district which contains the largest portion of the
population of the district from which hethe senator was elected,
and the district shall
be given the number of the district from
which the senator was elected. If
more than one senator whose term
will not so expire would represent the same
district by following
the provisions of this section, the persons responsible
for
apportionment, by a majority of their number,Ohio redistricting
commission shall designate which
senator shall represent the
district and shall designate which district the
other senator or
senators shall represent for the balance of their term or
terms. |
Section 13 12. The supreme court of Ohio or an applicable
federal court shall have exclusive, original
jurisdiction in all
cases arising under this Articlearticle. In the event that any
section of this Constitution relating to apportionmentredistricting or any plan of
apportionmentredistricting made by
the persons responsible for apportionment, by a majority
of their
number,Ohio
redistricting commission is determined to be invalid
by either the
supreme court of
Ohio, or the supreme court of the
United Statesan unappealed final order of a court of competent
jurisdiction,
then notwithstanding any
other provisions of this
Constitution,
the persons responsible for apportionment by a
majority of their
numberOhio redistricting commission shall
ascertain and determine
a
plan of apportionmentredistricting in
conformity with such
provisions of this Constitution
as are then
valid, including
establishing terms of office and election of
members of the
general assembly from districts designated in the
plan, to be
used
until the next regular apportionmentredistricting in conformity
with such provisions
of this
Constitution as are then valid. |
Notwithstanding any provision of this Constitution or any law
regarding the
residence of senators and representatives, a plan of apportionmentredistricting made
pursuant to this section shall
allow thirty days for persons to change
residence in order to be
eligible for election. |
The governor shall give the persons responsible for
apportionment
two weeks advance written notice of the date, time,
and place of any meeting
held pursuant to this section. |
Section 15 13. The various provisions of this Article XIarticle are intended to be
severable, and the invalidity of one or
more of such provisions shall not
affect the validity of the
remaining provisions. |
| EFFECTIVE DATE AND REPEAL
|
| If adopted by a majority of the electors voting on this
proposal, Sections 1, 2, 3, 5 (4), 6 (5), 7 (6), 8 (7), 10 (8), 11
(9), 12 (11), 13 (12), and 15 (13) of Article XI amended or
amended and renumbered by this proposal and new Section 10 of
Article XI enacted by this proposal shall take effect on January
1, 2010, and existing Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12,
13, and 15 of Article XI and Sections 4, 9,
and 14 of Article XI of the Constitution of Ohio are
repealed from that effective date. |
| The amendments to Section 12 (11) of Article XI of the Ohio
Constitution in part substitute gender neutral for gender specific
language. These gender neutralizing amendments are not intended to
make a substantive change in the Ohio Constitution. The gender
neutral language is to be construed as a restatement of, and
substituted in a continuing way for, the corresponding gender
specific language existing prior to adoption of the gender
neutralizing amendments. |
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