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Sub. S. J. R. No. 8 As Reported by the Senate State Government Oversight and Reform CommitteeAs Reported by the Senate State Government Oversight and Reform Committee 130th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2013-2014 |
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Cosponsors: Senators Widener, Patton, Obhof, Oelslager, Peterson
A JOINT RESOLUTION | Proposing to enact new Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of Article XI and to repeal
Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,
13, 14, and 15 of Article XI of the Constitution
of the State of Ohio to revise the redistricting
process for General Assembly 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, 2015, a proposal to enact new Sections 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of Article XI of the
Constitution of the State of Ohio to read as follows: |
1. (A) The Ohio redistricting commission shall be
responsible for the redistricting of this state for the general
assembly. The commission shall consist of the following seven
members: |
(2) The auditor of state; |
(3) The secretary of state; |
(4) One person appointed by the speaker of the house of
representatives; |
(5) One person appointed by 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; |
(6) One person appointed by the president of the senate; and |
(7) One person appointed by the legislative leader of the
largest political party in the senate of which the president of
the senate is not a member. |
No appointed member of the commission shall be a current
member of congress. |
(B) Unless otherwise specified in this Article, a simple
majority of the commission members shall be required for any
action by the commission. Except as otherwise provided in Section
10 of this Article, the affirmative vote of four members of the
commission, including at least one member of the commission who is
a member of each of the two largest political parties represented
in the general assembly, shall be required to adopt a general
assembly district plan. |
(C) At the first meeting of the commission, which the
governor shall convene only in a year ending in the numeral one,
except as provided in Sections 10 and 11 of this Article, the
members of the commission shall select two members to be
co-chairpersons, one of whom shall be a member of the largest
political party represented in the general assembly and one of
whom shall be a member of the second largest political party
represented in the general assembly, and set a schedule for the
adoption of procedural rules for the operation of the commission. |
Not later than the fifteenth day of September of a year
ending in the numeral one, the commission shall release to the
public a proposed general assembly district plan for the
boundaries for each of the ninety-nine house of representatives
districts and the thirty-three senate districts. The commission
shall draft the proposed plan in the manner prescribed in this
Article. After introducing a general assembly district plan but
before adopting a final general assembly district plan, the
commission shall conduct a minimum of three public hearings across
the state to present the proposed plan and shall seek public input
regarding the proposed plan. All meetings of the commission shall
be open to the public. Meetings shall be broadcast by electronic
means of transmission using a medium readily accessible by the
general public, subject to the discretion of the commission. |
The commission shall adopt a final general assembly district
plan not earlier than the last week of October of a year ending in
the numeral one but not later than the thirty-first day of October
of a year ending in the numeral one. After the commission adopts a
final general assembly district plan, the commission shall file
the plan with the secretary of state. Upon filing with the
secretary of state, the plan shall become effective. |
Not more than four weeks after the adoption of a general
assembly district plan, the co-chairpersons of the commission
shall jointly dissolve the commission. |
(D) The general assembly shall be responsible for making the
appropriations it determines necessary in order for the commission
to perform its duties under this Article. |
2. Each house of representatives district shall be
entitled to a single representative in each general assembly. Each
senate district shall be entitled to a single senator in each
general assembly. |
3. (A) 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 by the number
"thirty-three" and the quotients shall be the ratio of
representation in the house of representatives and in the senate,
respectively, for ten years next succeeding such redistricting. |
(B) The population of each house of representatives district
shall be substantially equal to the ratio of representation in the
house of representatives, and the population of each senate
district shall be substantially equal to the ratio of
representation in the senate, as provided in division (A) of this
section. In no event shall any district contain a population of
less than ninety-five per cent nor more than one hundred five per
cent of the applicable ratio of representation, except as
otherwise provided in division (B) of Section 6 of this Article. |
4. (A) Every house of representatives district shall
be compact and composed of contiguous territory, and the boundary
of each district shall be a single nonintersecting continuous
line. |
(B) The commission shall avoid splitting political
subdivisions. As used in this section and Sections 8 and 10 of
this Article, "political subdivision" means a county, a municipal
corporation, or a township. |
(1) Dividing a noncontiguous political subdivision shall not
be considered splitting the political subdivision if its
noncontiguous portions are included in separate districts.
However, dividing a noncontiguous political subdivision shall be
considered splitting the political subdivision if any
noncontiguous portion is itself divided into separate districts. |
(2) Dividing, along a county line, a political subdivision
that has territory in more than one county shall not be considered
splitting the political subdivision. |
(C) To the extent consistent with the requirements of Section
3 of this Article, the boundary lines of house of representatives
districts shall be so drawn as to delineate an area containing one
or more whole counties. |
(D) Where the requirements of Section 3 of this Article
cannot feasibly be attained by forming a house of representatives
district from a whole county or counties, such district shall be
formed by combining the areas of whole political subdivisions,
other than a county. |
(E) Where the requirements of Section 3 of this Article
cannot feasibly be attained by combining the areas of whole
political subdivisions, other than a county, as prescribed in
division (D) of this section, only one such political subdivision
may be divided between two house of representatives districts. |
(F) In making a new general assembly district plan, district
boundaries established by the preceding general assembly district
plan shall be adopted to the extent reasonably consistent with the
requirements of Section 3 of this Article. |
5. 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 Section 3 of this Article. |
6. The standards prescribed in this section and
Sections 3, 4, and 5 of this Article 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 Section 3 of this Article, but in no event less than
ninety-five per cent of the ratio nor more than one hundred five
per cent of the ratio, shall be designated a representative
district. |
(B) In those instances where the population of a county is
not less than ninety per cent nor more than one hundred ten per
cent of the ratio of representation in the house of
representatives, reasonable effort shall be made to create a house
of representatives district consisting of the whole county. |
(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. |
7. 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
3 of this Article. |
Senate districts shall be numbered from one through
thirty-three and as provided in Section 9 of this Article. |
8. District boundaries established pursuant to this
Article shall not be changed until the ensuing federal decennial
census and the ensuing redistricting or as provided in Section 10
or 11 of this Article, notwithstanding the fact that boundaries of
political subdivisions or city wards within a district may be
changed during that time. District boundaries shall be created by
using the boundaries of political subdivisions and city wards as
they exist at the time of the federal decennial census on which
the redistricting is based, or such other basis as the general
assembly has directed. |
9. At any time the boundaries of senate districts are
changed in any plan of redistricting made pursuant to any
provision of this Article, a senator whose term will not expire
within two years of the time the plan of redistricting is made
shall represent, for the remainder of the term for which the
senator was elected, the senate district which contains the
largest portion of the population of the district from which the
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
commission, by a majority vote, 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. |
10. (A) If the Ohio redistricting commission fails
to adopt a final general assembly district plan not later than the
thirty-first day of October of a year ending in a numeral one, in
accordance with Section 1 of this Article, the governor, the
auditor of state, and the secretary of state, acting independently
of the commission, shall adopt a general assembly district plan by
a simple majority vote of their number not later than the first
day of December of that year. The governor shall file the plan
with the secretary of state not later than the next business day.
Upon filing with the secretary of state, the plan shall become
effective. |
(B) A redistricting plan adopted under division (A) of this
section shall be effective for elections occurring in the year
following the year in which the plan was adopted. At the general
election conducted in that year, the following question shall be
submitted to the electors of the state: |
"Shall the Ohio Redistricting Commission reconvene to draw
new General Assembly districts?" |
(C) If a majority of the electors vote in favor of
reconvening the commission to adopt a new general assembly
district plan, the commission shall reconvene to adopt a new
general assembly district plan in accordance with this Article.
The commission shall draw the new plan using the same population
and political subdivision and city ward boundary data as were used
to draw the plan adopted under division (A) of this section. |
(D) If a majority of the electors vote against reconvening
the commission to adopt a new general assembly district plan, the
district plan adopted under division (A) of this section shall
remain in effect until the next year ending in the numeral one,
except as otherwise provided in Section 11 of this Article. |
11. (A) The supreme court of Ohio shall have
exclusive, original jurisdiction in all cases arising under this
Article. |
(B) In the event that any section of this Article relating to
redistricting or any plan of redistricting made by the Ohio
redistricting commission is determined to be invalid by an
unappealed final order of a court of competent jurisdiction then,
notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article, the
commission shall reconvene to ascertain and determine a general
assembly district plan in conformity with such provisions of this
Article 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
redistricting in conformity with such provisions of this Article
as are then valid. |
(C) Notwithstanding any provision of this Article or any law
regarding the residence of senators and representatives, a general
assembly district plan made pursuant to this section shall allow
thirty days for persons to change residence in order to be
eligible for election. |
(D) No court shall order, in any circumstance, the
implementation or enforcement of any plan that has not been
approved by the commission in the manner prescribed by this
Article. |
12. The various provisions of this Article 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, new Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12
of Article XI take effect January 1, 2021 and Sections 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 of
Article XI of the Constitution of the State of Ohio are repealed
from that effective date. |
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