1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to redistricting; establishing districting 
  1.3             principles for legislative and congressional plans; 
  1.4             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.5             chapter 2. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [2.025] [DISTRICTING PRINCIPLES.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [APPLICATION.] The principles in this 
  1.9   section apply to legislative and congressional districts. 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [EQUAL POPULATION.] (a) Legislative districts 
  1.11  must be substantially equal in population.  The population of a 
  1.12  legislative district must not deviate from the ideal by more 
  1.13  than two percent, plus or minus.  
  1.14     (b) Congressional districts must be as nearly equal in 
  1.15  population as practicable. 
  1.16     Subd. 3.  [CONTIGUITY; COMPACTNESS.] The districts must be 
  1.17  composed of convenient contiguous territory.  To the extent 
  1.18  consistent with the other principles in this section, districts 
  1.19  should be compact.  Contiguity by water is sufficient if the 
  1.20  water is not a serious obstacle to travel within the district. 
  1.21     Subd. 4.  [NUMBERING.] (a) The legislative districts must 
  1.22  be numbered in a regular series, beginning with house district 
  1.23  1A in the northwest corner of the state and proceeding across 
  1.24  the state from west to east, north to south, but bypassing the 
  1.25  seven-county metropolitan area until the southeast corner has 
  2.1   been reached; then to the seven-county metropolitan area outside 
  2.2   the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul; then in Minneapolis and 
  2.3   St. Paul. 
  2.4      (b) The congressional district numbers must begin with 
  2.5   district one in the southeast corner of the state and end with 
  2.6   district eight in the northeast corner of the state. 
  2.7      Subd. 5.  [MINORITY REPRESENTATION.] The districts must not 
  2.8   dilute the voting strength of racial or language minority 
  2.9   populations.  Where a concentration of a racial or language 
  2.10  minority makes it possible, and where it can be done in 
  2.11  compliance with the other principles in this section, the 
  2.12  districts must increase the probability that members of the 
  2.13  minority will be elected.  
  2.14     Subd. 6.  [PRESERVING POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.] A county, 
  2.15  city, or town must not be divided into more than one district 
  2.16  except as necessary to meet equal-population requirements or to 
  2.17  form districts that are composed of convenient contiguous 
  2.18  territory. 
  2.19     Subd. 7.  [COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST.] The districts should 
  2.20  attempt to preserve communities of interest where that can be 
  2.21  done in compliance with the preceding principles.  For purposes 
  2.22  of this principle, "communities of interest" include, but are 
  2.23  not limited to, political subdivisions, neighborhoods, or other 
  2.24  geographic areas where there are clearly recognizable 
  2.25  similarities of social, political, cultural, ethnic, or economic 
  2.26  interests.  
  2.27     Subd. 8.  [POLITICAL COMPETITIVENESS.] The districts should 
  2.28  be politically competitive, where that can be done in compliance 
  2.29  with the preceding principles.  The districts must not be 
  2.30  created to unduly favor any political party. 
  2.31     Subd. 9.  [INCUMBENTS.] The districts must not be drawn for 
  2.32  the purpose of protecting or defeating an incumbent. 
  2.33     Subd. 10.  [DATA TO BE USED.] The geographic areas and 
  2.34  population counts used in maps, tables, and legal descriptions 
  2.35  of the districts must be those used by the geographic 
  2.36  information systems office of the legislative coordinating 
  3.1   commission.  The population counts will be the block population 
  3.2   counts provided under Public Law Number 94-171, subject to 
  3.3   correction of any errors acknowledged by the United States 
  3.4   Census Bureau. 
  3.5      Subd. 11.  [DATA READY; PLANS POSTED.] The director of 
  3.6   geographic information systems shall notify the president of the 
  3.7   senate and the speaker of the house of representatives when the 
  3.8   necessary census data has been received from the United States 
  3.9   Census Bureau, loaded into the legislature's computerized 
  3.10  redistricting system, and verified as ready for use in 
  3.11  redistricting.  A redistricting plan must not be considered for 
  3.12  adoption by the senate or house of representatives until: 
  3.13     (1) the notice has been given; 
  3.14     (2) a block equivalency file showing the district to which 
  3.15  each census block has been assigned, in a form prescribed by the 
  3.16  director of geographic information systems, has been filed with 
  3.17  the director; and 
  3.18     (3) a copy of the plan has been posted on the Web site of 
  3.19  the geographic information systems office. 
  3.20     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.21     This act is effective the day following final enactment.