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S. J. R. No. 4 As Introduced
As Introduced
| 129th General Assembly | | Regular Session | | 2011-2012 |
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A JOINT RESOLUTION
| Proposing to amend Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 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), 10 (7), 11 (8), 12 (9), 13 (10), and 15 (11)
of Article XI, and to repeal Sections 4, 8, 9, and
14 of Article XI of the Constitution of the State
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 6, 2012, a proposal to amend Sections 1, 2, 3,
5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15 of Article XI and to amend, for
the purpose of adopting new section numbers as indicated in
parentheses, Sections 5 (4), 6 (5), 7 (6), 10 (7), 11 (8), 12 (9),
13 (10), and 15 (11) of Article XI of the Constitution of the
State 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)(1) The Ohio redistricting commission shall
consist of the following seven members and shall be responsible
for the redistricting of this state for congress and the general
assembly: |
| (b) The auditor of state; |
| (c) The secretary of state; |
| (d) The speaker of the house of representatives; |
| (e) The legislative leader of the largest political party in
the house of representatives of which the speaker of the house of
representatives is not a member; |
| (f) The president of the senate; and |
| (g) The legislative leader of the largest political party in
the senate of which the president of the senate is not a member. |
| The members of the commission, or their designees, shall
conduct all business of the commission, as described in this
article. Only commission members shall participate in a vote to
adopt a redistricting plan. No designees shall participate in such
a vote. |
| (2) The redistricting information services office, which
shall be a nonpartisan office under the auspices of the general
assembly, shall do all of the following: |
| (a) Gather and make available to the commission and to the
public, in a form that facilitates data analysis and the drawing
of legislative and congressional districts, thorough and accurate
census data and information detailing the boundaries of political
subdivisions that are required to be considered in establishing a
redistricting plan; |
| (b) Provide to the commission any additional data or election
information the commission requests in the form requested; |
| (c) Provide all map-production and data services the
commission requires in completing its duties under this article; |
| (d) Establish and maintain electronic resources that are
accessible to the public and that permit members of the public to
prepare legislative and congressional redistricting plans for
consideration by the commission. |
(B) All meetings of the Ohio redistricting commission shall
be open to the public and shall be broadcast by electronic means
of transmission using a medium readily accessible by the general
public. The governor shall give such personsthe commission
members 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 in a year
ending in the numeral one on the first business day occurring two
weeks after the day on which the decennial census data is released
regarding the state of Ohio. At that first meeting, the members
shall convene, select co-chairpersons, at least one of whom shall
be a member of a political party other than the largest one
represented on the commission, and adopt procedural rules for the
operation of the commission. |
| (C)(1) Not later than four weeks after the day on which the
decennial census data is released regarding the state of Ohio, 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
twenty weeks after the release of that data, 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. |
| (2) Unless otherwise specified in this article, a vote of at
least five of its members shall be required for any action by the
Ohio redistricting commission. The affirmative vote of five
members of the commission, including votes from at least two
members of the commission who are members of a political party
other than the largest one represented on the commission, shall be
required to adopt any plan. |
| (D) If the commission is unable to adopt a legislative plan,
congressional plan, or both, by the end of the twentieth week
after the day on which the decennial census data is released
regarding the state of Ohio pursuant to division (C) of this
article, all of the following shall apply: |
| (1) For each type of plan that has not been adopted, members
of the commission who are affiliated with the two largest
political parties in the state shall each have one week to develop
their last, best offer of a redistricting plan, which plans shall
be submitted to the secretary of state to be placed on the ballot
at the general election conducted in that year. |
| During that same one week period, members of the commission
who are affiliated with the two largest political parties in the
state each shall select one of their members, and those two
selected members shall select a third person, who is not a member
of the commission. The two selected commission members, and the
third person they select, shall, by majority vote, choose from
among the publicly submitted plans the single plan that is the
most competitive, that splits the fewest number of political
subdivisions, and that, to the best of their belief, meets all the
other requirements of this article, including, but not limited to,
federal statutory provisions dealing specifically with the
protection of minority voting rights. That plan shall be submitted
to the secretary of state to be placed on the ballot at the
general election conducted in that year. |
| Of the three plans submitted to the secretary of state for
placement on that ballot at the general election under this
division, the plan receiving the highest number of favorable votes
at that election shall be adopted. |
| (2) If a primary election was scheduled to occur prior to the
first Tuesday after the first Monday in May of the following
even-numbered year, that primary election, and any special
election scheduled to be held on the day of that primary election,
shall be conducted on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
May, unless the general assembly specifies a later date by law. |
| (3) Every primary election conducted during the ten-year
period preceding the next redistricting to nominate candidates for
representatives for the applicable districts shall be conducted as
a nonpartisan primary. The name of each candidate shall be placed
on the ballot without reference to party affiliation. The two
candidates receiving the highest number of votes in each district
at that election shall be nominated, and the names of those
candidates shall appear on the ballot at the general election,
regardless of their political party affiliation. |
| (E) 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 Ohio elector 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 through the redistricting
information services office all relevant data and information
necessary for the submission of a potential congressional plan and
a potential general assembly plan by any Ohio elector. |
| (F) 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. |
| (G) The general assembly shall be responsible for making the
appropriations necessary in order for the Ohio redistricting
commission and the redistricting information services office to
perform their duties under this article and to defend against any
lawsuit arising from the performance of the duties set forth in
this article. |
| (H) 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, or to a functionally equivalent entity providing state
archival services, for preservation. |
(I) Except as otherwise provided in this division, the
secretary of state shall cause the apportionmentredistricting
plans to be published no later than
October 5 of the year in
which it is madetwenty-two weeks after the day on which the
decennial census data is released regarding the state of Ohio, in
such manner as provided by law. If the legislative plan,
congressional plan, or both are adopted by a vote of the people
under division (D) of this section, the secretary of state shall
cause the applicable plan or plans to be published not later than
five days after the certification of the vote establishing the
plan. |
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 9 of
this Article. |
| (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. (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 13Section 10 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. |
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) Where the requirements of section 3 of this Article
cannot feasibly be attained by forming a district from a whole
county or counties, such district shall be formed by combining thewhole areas of governmental units giving preference
in the order
named to counties,the smallest governmental units, as determined
by population, of municipal wards, villages, townships,
and
municipalities, and city wards. |
(C) Where the requirements of section 3 of this Articlearticle cannot feasibly be attained by combining the areas of whole governmental units as prescribed in division (B) of this
section, only one such unitthose units may be divided between two
districts,
giving preference in the selection of a unit for
division tobut with a preference for retaining whole the smallest
governmental units, as determined by population, of a township, a citymunicipal ward, a
citymunicipality, 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.When the formation of competitive districts does not
conflict with the other principles established by this article,
the Ohio redistricting commission shall maximize the number of
competitive districts using the following criteria: |
| (1) The commission shall determine the average partisan
indexes for each proposed district by averaging together the
percentage of the vote received by each nonjudicial statewide
candidate with the same political party affiliation who received
votes within the district during the prior ten years, taking into
account only the votes received by candidates affiliated with the
two political parties with the largest population in the state
over that ten-year period. |
| (2) A "competitive district" is a district where the average
partisan indexes determined by this section are not more than five
per cent apart. |
| (E) For the purpose of this section, any noncontiguous
portion of a political subdivision shall be considered to be a
separate governmental unit. |
Section 10 7. The standards prescribed in sectionsthis
section and Sections 3, 7, 8, and 96 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) EachIf a county containingcontains 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, the Ohio redistricting commission shall
make its best efforts to designate that county a representative
district. |
(B) Each county containing population between ninety and
ninety-five percent of the ratio or between one hundred five and
one hundred ten percent 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 8. 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 section
2 of this Article. |
Senate districts shall be numbered from one through
thirty-three and as provided in section 12Section 9 of this Articlearticle. |
Section 12 9. 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 ofapportionmentredistricting 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 10. (A) 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 numbercourt shall convene
the Ohio redistricting commission, which 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. 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. |
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. |
| (B) No court shall order, in any circumstance, the
implementation or enforcement of any redistricting plan that has
not been approved by the Ohio redistricting commission in the
manner prescribed by this article. |
Section 15 11. 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
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| If adopted by a majority of the electors voting on this
proposal, Sections 1, 2, 3, 5 (4), 6 (5), 7 (6), 10 (7), 11 (8),
12 (9), 13 (10), and 15 (11) of Article XI amended or amended and
renumbered by this proposal shall take effect on January 1, 2019,
and existing Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15 of
Article XI and Sections 4, 8, 9, and 14 of Article XI of the
Constitution of the State of Ohio are repealed from that effective
date. |
| This amendment takes effect January 1, 2019, for the purpose
of allowing time to establish and staff the Redistricting
Information Services Office and for the purpose of allowing the
newly established Redistricting Information Services Office time
to complete its required preparatory tasks for the 2021
redistricting. |
| During the period from January 1, 2019, through March 15,
2021, if the legislative redistricting plan then in effect is
determined to be invalid by an unappealed final order of a court
of competent jurisdiction, the persons responsible for
apportionment, as specified in the version of Section 1 of Article
XI, Ohio Constitution, that was in effect prior to the effective
date of this amendment, shall convene and ascertain a legislative
redistricting plan that shall continue in effect until a
legislative redistricting plan is adopted in accordance with the
requirements of this amendment, in 2021. |
| During the period from January 1, 2019, through March 15,
2021, if the congressional redistricting plan then in effect is
determined to be invalid by an unappealed final order of a court
of competent jurisdiction, the Ohio General Assembly shall convene
and ascertain a congressional redistricting plan that shall
continue in effect until a congressional redistricting plan is
adopted in accordance with the requirements of this amendment, in
2021. |
| Beginning March 15, 2021, if any legislative or congressional
redistricting plan then in effect is determined to be invalid by
an unappealed final order of a court of competent jurisdiction,
the Ohio Redistricting Commission shall convene and ascertain a
redistricting plan in accordance with the requirements of this
amendment. |
| The amendments to Section 12 (9) 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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