1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to elections; providing for redistricting; 
  1.3             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 204B.14, 
  1.4             subdivision 4; 204B.146, by adding a subdivision; and 
  1.5             205.84. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 204B.14, 
  1.8   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 4.  [BOUNDARY CHANGE PROCEDURE.] Any change in the 
  1.10  boundary of an election precinct shall be adopted at least 90 
  1.11  days before the date of the next election and, for the state 
  1.12  primary and general election, no later than June 1 in the year 
  1.13  of the state general election.  The precinct boundary change 
  1.14  shall not take effect until notice of the change has been posted 
  1.15  in the office of the municipal clerk or county auditor for at 
  1.16  least 60 days.  
  1.17     The county auditor must publish a notice illustrating or 
  1.18  describing the congressional, legislative, and county 
  1.19  commissioner district boundaries in the county in one or more 
  1.20  qualified newspapers in the county at least 14 days prior to the 
  1.21  first day to file affidavits of candidacy for the state general 
  1.22  election in the year ending in two. 
  1.23     Alternate dates for adopting changes in precinct 
  1.24  boundaries, posting notices of boundary changes, and notifying 
  1.25  voters affected by boundary changes pursuant to this 
  2.1   subdivision, and procedures for coordination of precinct 
  2.2   boundary changes with reestablishment of local government 
  2.3   election district boundaries may be established in the manner 
  2.4   provided in the rules of the secretary of state. 
  2.5      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 204B.146, is 
  2.6   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.7      Subd. 3.  [CORRECTION TO ELECTION DISTRICT BOUNDARIES.] 
  2.8   When a municipal boundary that is coterminous with a 
  2.9   congressional, legislative, or county commissioner district 
  2.10  boundary has changed and the affected territory contains 50 or 
  2.11  fewer registered voters, the secretary of state may order 
  2.12  corrections so that the affected election district boundaries 
  2.13  are again coterminous with the municipal boundary.  The election 
  2.14  district boundary change is effective 28 days after the date 
  2.15  that the order is issued.  The secretary of state shall 
  2.16  immediately notify the municipal clerk and county auditor 
  2.17  affected by the boundary change and the legislative coordinating 
  2.18  commission.  The municipal clerk shall send a nonforwardable 
  2.19  notice stating the location of the polling place to every 
  2.20  household containing a registered voter affected by the boundary 
  2.21  change at least 25 days before the next election. 
  2.22     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 205.84, is 
  2.23  amended to read: 
  2.24     205.84 [REDISTRICTING; CITIES WITH WARDS ~~IN CERTAIN~~ 
  2.25  ~~CITIES~~.] 
  2.26     Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL PROVISIONS.] In a ~~statutory~~ city 
  2.27  electing council members by wards, wards shall be as equal in 
  2.28  population as practicable and each ward shall be composed of 
  2.29  compact, contiguous territory.  Each council member shall be a 
  2.30  resident of the ward for which elected, but a change in ward 
  2.31  boundaries does not disqualify a council member from serving for 
  2.32  the remainder of a term.  
  2.33     Subd. 2.  [~~REDEFINING WARD BOUNDARIES~~ EFFECTIVE DATE.] ~~The~~ 
  2.34  ~~governing body of the city may by ordinance redefine ward~~ 
  2.35  ~~boundaries after a municipal general election.  The council~~ 
  2.36  ~~shall hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance before its~~ 
  3.1   ~~adoption.  One week's published notice of the hearing shall be~~ 
  3.2   ~~given.  After the official certification of the federal~~ 
  3.3   ~~decennial or special census, the governing body of the city~~ 
  3.4   ~~shall either confirm the existing ward boundaries as conforming~~ 
  3.5   ~~to the standards of subdivision 1 or redefine ward boundaries to~~ 
  3.6   ~~conform to those standards as provided in section 204B.135,~~ 
  3.7   ~~subdivision 1.  If the governing body of the city fails to take~~ 
  3.8   ~~either action within the time required, no further compensation~~ 
  3.9   ~~shall be paid to the mayor or council member until the wards of~~ 
  3.10  ~~the city are either reconfirmed or redefined as required by this~~ 
  3.11  ~~section.~~  An ordinance establishing new ward boundaries pursuant 
  3.12  to section 204B.135, subdivision 1, becomes effective on the 
  3.13  date of the state primary election in the year ending in 
  3.14  two.  ~~Ward boundaries established at other times become~~ 
  3.15  ~~effective 90 days after the adoption of the ordinance.~~  
  3.16     Subd. 3.  [TRANSITION SCHEDULE.] The governing body of a 
  3.17  city electing more than one council member in each ward may 
  3.18  adopt an orderly transition schedule to biennial November 
  3.19  elections in which only one council member in each ward is 
  3.20  elected in any municipal general election.