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AN ACT relating to election districts and making an appropriation therefor. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 3
READ AS FOLLOWS: 4
As used in Sections 1 to 12 of this Act: 5
(1) "Commission" means the Advisory Redistricting Commission; 6
(2) "Commissioner" means a person who is selected or appointed as a member of the 7
Advisory Redistricting Commission; 8
(3) "Local government" means any of the following: 9
(a) City government; 10
(b) County government; 11
(c) Urban-county government; 12
(d) Charter county government; 13
(e) Consolidated local government; or 14
(f) Unified local government; 15
(4) "Major political party" means either of the two (2) political parties with the 16
largest representation in the General Assembly; 17
(5) "Population" means the most recent United States Census data collected under 18
Pub. L. No. 94-171; and 19
(6) "Redistricting" means the drawing of boundary lines for election districts in 20
order to achieve, as nearly as possible, equal population among the election 21
districts. 22
SECTION 2. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 23
READ AS FOLLOWS: 24
(1) The Advisory Redistricting Commission is hereby created as a permanent 25
commission for the purpose of drawing and adopting redistricting plans after 26
each decennial census, or as required by law, for each of the following districts: 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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(a) State senatorial districts; 1
(b) State representative districts; and 2
(c) Congressional districts. 3
(2) The commission shall consist of fifteen (15) commissioners. Each commissioner 4
shall: 5
(a) Be registered and eligible to vote in the Commonwealth of Kentucky; 6
(b) Not currently, nor in the past six (6) years, have been any of the following: 7
1. A declared candidate for any partisan elective office; 8
2. A partisan elected official or person appointed to fill a vacancy in any 9
partisan elective office; 10
3. An officer or member of the governing body of any national, state, or 11
local political party; 12
4. A paid partisan consultant or an employee of any partisan elected 13
official or partisan political candidate, part of a partisan political 14
candidate's campaign, or a political action committee; 15
5. An employee of the General Assembly, including employees of the 16
Legislative Research Commission; or 17
6. A legislative agent as defined in KRS 6.611, legislative agent employer 18
as defined in KRS 6.611, executive agency lobbyist, or any other 19
person employed as a lobbyist as defined in KRS 11A.010; 20
(c) Be neither the parent, stepparent, child, stepchild, sibling, nor spouse of any 21
individual who is disqualified from serving as a commissioner under 22
paragraph (b) of this subsection; 23
(d) Not otherwise be ineligible for appointed or elective office; 24
(e) Have voted in at least two (2) of the last three (3) statewide elections; 25
(f) Not have donated more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), in sum and for 26
the same election, to an elected candidate, a candidate's political action 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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committee or permanent committee, a caucus campaign committee, or an 1
executive committee; 2
(g) Not have switched political party affiliation within the five (5) years 3
preceding the appointment; 4
(h) Not have lived in the same household, nor shared the same residential 5
address with any individual who is disqualified from serving as a 6
commissioner under paragraph (b) of this subsection; and 7
(i) Attest under oath that he or she meets the qualifications set forth in this 8
section. 9
SECTION 3. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 10
READ AS FOLLOWS: 11
(1) In accordance with the requirements of this section and Section 2 of this Act, not 12
later than July 15 of the year of the federal decennial census, and decennially 13
thereafter, commissioners shall be appointed through the following process: 14
(a) Two (2) members appointed by the President of the Senate; 15
(b) Two (2) members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; 16
(c) Two (2) members appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; and 17
(d) Two (2) members appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of 18
Representatives. 19
(2) Commissioners appointed by the members of the General Assembly pursuant to 20
subsection (1) of this section shall include representation of at least one (1) 21
commissioner from each congressional district of this state. If the appointing 22
authority cannot mutually agree to this requirement, the President of the Senate 23
shall appoint commissioners who reside in the First and Second Congressional 24
Districts, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint 25
commissioners who reside in the Third and Fourth Congressional Districts, the 26
Minority Leader of the Senate shall appoint one (1) of his or her two (2) 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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appointees to be a commissioner who resides in the Fifth Congressional District, 1
and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives shall appoint one (1) of 2
his or her two (2) appointees to be a commissioner who resides in the Sixth 3
Congressional District. 4
(3) In accordance with the requirements of this section and subsection (2) of Section 5
2 of this Act, not later than September 1 of the year of the federal decennial 6
census, and decennially thereafter, the process for the random selection of 7
additional commissioners by the Secretary of State, and then the appointment of 8
seven (7) additional commissioners by commissioners previously appointed by the 9
General Assembly, shall be complete. 10
(4) Not later than July 15 of the year of the federal decennial census, and 11
decennially thereafter, the Secretary of State shall: 12
(a) Issue a call to convene the commission; 13
(b) Prescribe and furnish applications for the position of redistricting 14
commissioner to be made available to residents of this state by publishing 15
notice of the commission, with application forms, on the internet and in two 16
(2) or more newspapers of general circulation in the state. The Secretary of 17
State shall also issue press releases to various media outlets, which shall 18
include radio and television stations servicing residents of this state. The 19
applications, publications, and press release shall provide the residents of 20
this state with information on the commission's objectives and obligations, 21
the requirements of Section 2 of this Act, the process for how residents of 22
this state can apply, and a point of contact where residents of this state can 23
direct questions; 24
(c) Mail additional applications as prescribed under paragraph (b) of this 25
subsection, to five thousand (5,000) registered voters of this state, selected at 26
random and witnessed by a classified employee of the Secretary of State's 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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office, from which one thousand (1,000) registered voters shall be registered 1
with one (1) major political party, one thousand (1,000) registered voters 2
shall be registered with a different and contrasting major political party, 3
and three thousand (3,000) registered voters shall not be registered with 4
either major political party; 5
(d) Require applicants to attest, under the validity of signature and penalty of 6
perjury, whether they are registered with one (1) of the two (2) major 7
political parties or whether they are not registered with either major 8
political party; and 9
(e) Require applicants to attest, under the validity of signature and penalty of 10
perjury, that they meet the qualifications set forth in subsection (2) of 11
Section 2 of this Act. 12
(5) Not later than August 15, but no sooner than August 10 of the year of the federal 13
decennial census, and decennially thereafter, from all applications submitted, the 14
Secretary of State shall: 15
(a) Eliminate incomplete applications and applications of persons who do not 16
meet the requirements of commissioner under subsection (4) of this section 17
and subsection (2) of Section 2 of this Act, based solely on the information 18
contained within the applications; and 19
(b) 1. Randomly select forty (40) qualifying applicants, of which ten (10) 20
applicants shall be selected from one (1) pool of applicants registered 21
with one (1) of the two (2) major political parties, ten (10) applicants 22
shall be selected from the pool of applicants who are registered from 23
the different and contrasting major political party, and twenty (20) 24
applicants shall be selected from the pool of applicants who are not 25
registered with either of the two (2) major political parties. The 26
random selection shall be witnessed by a classified employee of the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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Secretary of State's Office. 1
2. The Secretary of State shall inform the forty (40) qualifying applicants 2
that they have been randomly selected and that their applications will 3
be delivered to the eight (8) commissioners appointed by the General 4
Assembly for potential appointment as a commissioner. The Secretary 5
of State shall deliver the applications of the qualifying forty (40) 6
applicants to the eight (8) commissioners appointed by the General 7
Assembly for a decision on appointment to become commissioners. 8
(6) Not later than September 1 of the year of the federal decennial census, and 9
decennially thereafter, the eight (8) commissioners appointed by the General 10
Assembly shall appoint an additional seven (7) commissioners from the forty (40) 11
applicants referred by the Secretary of State. Two (2) commissioners shall be 12
appointed from one (1) pool of applicants registered with one (1) of the two (2) 13
major political parties, two (2) commissioners shall be appointed from the pool of 14
applicants from the different and contrasting major political party, and three (3) 15
applicants shall be appointed from the pool of applicants who are not registered 16
with either of the two (2) major political parties. Each of the seven (7) 17
commissioners appointed under this subsection shall be appointed with the 18
affirmative roll-call vote of no less than five (5) of the commissioners appointed 19
by the General Assembly. As part of the appointment process of the additional 20
seven (7) commissioners, the eight (8) commissioners appointed by the General 21
Assembly may request essays and letters of recommendation from, and interview 22
any or all of, the forty (40) applicants for a determination of appointment. 23
(7) The commission membership shall be inclusive of any person or group of people 24
representing a political party, those without affiliation to a political party, rural 25
or urban, and include persons of racial and linguistic minorities. 26
SECTION 4. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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READ AS FOLLOWS: 1
(1) The terms of the commissioners shall expire once the commission has completed 2
its obligations for a census cycle or as otherwise required by law. Commissioners 3
may be reappointed or selected for the subsequent decennial census to serve as 4
commissioners. If vacancies occur, appointments to fill a vacancy shall occur not 5
more than fourteen (14) calendar days after the vacancy of a commissioner's 6
seat. 7
(2) If a commissioner who was appointed by members of the General Assembly has 8
his or her seat on the commission vacated, the appointing authority of each 9
commission member, as established in subsection (1) of Section 3 of this Act, 10
shall fill the vacancy in accordance with the requirements of subsection (2) of 11
Section 2 of this Act and subsections (2) and (7) of Section 3 of this Act. 12
(3) (a) If a vacancy occurs in a seat held by a commissioner who was selected at 13
random and appointed by the eight (8) original commissioners appointed by 14
the General Assembly, then the vacancy shall be filled by the Secretary of 15
State. 16
(b) The Secretary of State shall adhere to subsection (7) of Section 3 of this Act 17
in his or her appointment authority. 18
(c) A commissioner appointed shall be selected from any of the original forty 19
(40) applicants who were randomly selected but not appointed. 20
(d) The person to be appointed to the vacant position shall be derived from the 21
same pool of applicants who are registered with a major political party, or 22
lack thereof, as that of the original commissioner. 23
(e) The Secretary of State may request essays and letters of recommendation 24
from, and interview any or all of, the remaining applicants who were not 25
appointed from the original forty (40) for a determination of appointment. 26
(4) A commissioner's seat shall become vacant upon the occurrence of any of the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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following: 1
(a) Death or mental incapacity of the commissioner; 2
(b) The Secretary of State's receipt of the commissioner's written resignation, 3
which shall be forwarded to the commission; 4
(c) The commissioner's violation of subsection (3) of Section 6 of this Act or 5
Section 11 of this Act; 6
(d) The commissioner ceases to be qualified to serve as a commissioner under 7
Sections 1 to 12 of this Act; or 8
(e) The commissioner is removed from service after written notice and an 9
opportunity for the commissioner to respond, by an affirmative roll-call vote 10
of nine (9) of the commissioners finding substantial neglect of duty, gross 11
misconduct in office, or inability to discharge the duties of the office. 12
SECTION 5. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 13
READ AS FOLLOWS: 14
(1) The commission shall be attached to the Legislative Research Commission. If 15
funds are not available for the purpose of Sections 1 to 12 of this Act, the costs 16
shall be deemed a necessary government expense and shall be paid from the 17
general fund surplus account under KRS 48.700 or the budget reserve trust fund 18
under KRS 48.705. 19
(2) The commission may carry out the following functions, operations, and activities 20
in fulfillment of Sections 1 to 12 of this Act, which activities shall include but not 21
be limited to: 22
(a) Retaining or contracting independent and nonpartisan subject matter 23
experts and legal counsel; 24
(b) Conducting hearings and meetings; 25
(c) Publishing notices and maintaining a record of the commission's 26
proceedings; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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(d) Purchasing equipment and computer software; 1
(e) Hiring administrative staff; and 2
(f) Any other activity necessary for the commission to conduct its business. 3
(3) The commission shall furnish reports of expenditures on a quarterly basis to the 4
secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet and to the Legislative 5
Research Commission and shall be subject to annual audit as provided by law. 6
(4) For each day that there is a commission meeting or hearing, and each day during 7
which the commissioner is working in fulfillment of his or her obligations, each 8
commissioner shall receive as compensation not more than two hundred dollars 9
($200) per eight (8) hour work day. If a commissioner works less than eight (8) 10
hours in a day, the two hundred dollars ($200) compensation shall be prorated to 11
correspond with the number of hours worked by the commissioner. In addition to 12
compensation as a member of the commission, each commissioner shall be 13
reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses directly related to meetings and 14
hearings of the commission. 15
(5) The commission shall inform the Legislative Research Commission if the 16
commission determines that funds or other resources provided for operation of 17
the commission are not adequate. 18
(6) The Legislative Research Commission shall furnish, under the direction of the 19
commission, all technical services that the commission deems necessary. 20
SECTION 6. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 21
READ AS FOLLOWS: 22
(1) Each commissioner shall perform his or her duties in a manner that is impartial 23
and reinforces public confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process. 24
(2) The commissioners, staff, attorneys, and consultants shall not discuss 25
redistricting matters with members of the public outside of an open meeting or 26
hearing of the commission, except that a commissioner may communicate about 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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redistricting matters with members of the public to gain information relevant to 1
the performance of his or her duties, if communication occurs in writing, or at a 2
previously publicly noticed forum, hearing, or any other meeting held open to the 3
general public. 4
(3) Commissioners, staff, attorneys, experts, and consultants shall not directly or 5
indirectly solicit or accept any gift or loan of money, goods, services, or other 6
thing of value greater than twenty dollars ($20) for the benefit of any person or 7
organization, which may influence the manner in which the commissioner, staff, 8
attorney, expert, or consultant performs his or her duties. 9
(4) On or before September 1 during the year of the decennial census, a quorum of 10
the commission shall consist of eight (8) commissioners. After September 1 of the 11
year of the federal decennial census, and decennially thereafter, nine (9) 12
commissioners shall constitute a quorum. All meetings and hearings shall require 13
a quorum. A meeting or hearing of the commission shall not be held without 14
twenty-four (24) hour notice to all members of the commission. All votes cast by 15
the commission shall be recorded through a roll-call vote. 16
(5) The commission shall conduct its meetings and hearings in a manner that invites 17
wide public participation throughout the state. The commission shall use 18
technology to provide public observation and meaningful public participation in 19
the redistricting process during all meetings and hearings. 20
(6) The commission shall adopt Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure, Newest 21
Edition, as the source of rules of decisions and procedures in all cases not 22
otherwise provided for in the operations of its respective duties and obligations in 23
accordance with Sections 1 to 12 of this Act. 24
(7) All records of the commission shall be considered open records under KRS 25
61.870 to 61.884. All records and other information generated by the commission 26
pursuant to Section 5 of this Act shall be made available to the public on the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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website established in KRS 7.505. The commission shall conduct all of its 1
business in open meetings and open hearings under KRS 61.805 to 61.850. 2
(8) A decision on the dismissal or retention of paid staff or consultants requires the 3
affirmative roll-call vote of at least nine (9) commissioners. 4
(9) The commission shall have the authority to be included as the recipient of the 5
census data as supplied by the United States Census Bureau. 6
(10) The commission shall elect its own chair, who is a then-current voting 7
commissioner, by an affirmative roll-call vote of at least nine (9) commissioners. 8
The chair shall have the authority to select his or her vice-chair, who shall also 9
be a then-current voting member of the commission. 10
(11) The commission shall select a secretary, who is a nonvoting member, by an 11
affirmative roll-call vote of at least eight (8) commissioners, who shall keep a 12
public record of all proceedings of the commission. 13
(12) The commission shall have the authority to consult and work with staff of the 14
Legislative Research Commission, which shall include the sharing of any data or 15
software. 16
SECTION 7. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 17
READ AS FOLLOWS: 18
(1) Not later than September 15 in the year immediately following the federal 19
decennial census, and decennially thereafter, the commission shall adopt 20
redistricting plans as required by Sections 1 to 12 of this Act for each of the 21
following types of districts: 22
(a) State senatorial districts; 23
(b) State representative districts; and 24
(c) Congressional districts. 25
(2) (a) Before the commissioners draft any proposed plans, the commission may 26
provide testimony and hold hearings before the Interim Joint Committee on 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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State Government. 1
(b) Once the commission receives the census data as described in subsection (5) 2
of Section 1 of this Act, the commission shall hold at least twelve (12) public 3
hearings throughout the state for the purpose of informing the public about 4
the redistricting process and the purpose and responsibilities of the 5
commission, and to solicit information from the public about potential 6
plans. 7
(c) The commission shall hold: 8
1. One (1) of the public hearings in each of the following jurisdictions: 9
Hodgenville, Paducah, Owensboro, Bowling Green, Lexington, 10
Covington, Ashland, Pikeville, Somerset, and Hazard; and 11
2. Two (2) of the public hearings in Louisville. 12
(d) The commission shall receive for consideration written submissions of 13
proposed redistricting plans from any resident of the Commonwealth. The 14
submission of plans shall include all of the supporting documents described 15
in subsection (1) of Section 8 of this Act. These written submissions shall be 16
public records and shall be readily available to the public. 17
(3) (a) Each commissioner shall be limited to proposing one (1) redistricting plan 18
for each type of district, which may include those plans submitted by 19
residents of the Commonwealth under subsection (2) of this section. 20
(b) Each proposed plan shall be submitted to the secretary of the commission 21
no later than July 1 in the year immediately following the federal decennial 22
census, and decennially thereafter. 23
(c) After all proposed redistricting plans for each type of district are submitted, 24
the commission shall publish, for notice and comment, the proposed 25
redistricting plans with the required supporting materials pursuant to 26
subsection (1) of Section 8 of this Act. The commission shall respond to all 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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comments in an official capacity of record that is readily available to the 1
public before voting to adopt any proposed plan. In addition, the proposed 2
redistricting plans with the required supporting materials shall be published 3
on the internet and the commission shall issue press releases to two (2) or 4
more newspapers of general circulation in the state, and radio and 5
television stations servicing residents of this state, announcing the 6
availability of the redistricting plans and required materials for public 7
review. 8
(d) Before voting to adopt any proposed plan, the commission shall hold at least 9
twelve (12) public hearings throughout this state for the purpose of 10
soliciting comments from the public about the proposed plans. Each of the 11
proposed plans shall include the required supporting materials pursuant to 12
subsection (1) of Section 8 of this Act. 13
(e) The commission shall hold: 14
1. One (1) of the public hearings in each of the following jurisdictions: 15
Hodgenville, Paducah, Owensboro, Bowling Green, Lexington, 16
Covington, Ashland, Pikeville, Somerset, Hazard; and 17
2. Two (2) of the public hearings in Louisville. 18
SECTION 8. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 19
READ AS FOLLOWS: 20
(1) Each proposed redistricting plan shall include but not be limited to the following: 21
(a) Census data to verify the population of each district, which shall include 22
percentage deviation from the average district population for every district 23
with a justification of any deviation; 24
(b) Reference materials; 25
(c) Maps and legal descriptions that include the political subdivisions of local 26
governments; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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(d) Man-made features, and features such as waterways, which form the 1
boundaries of the districts; 2
(e) Programming information used to produce and test the plan; and 3
(f) Any other supporting materials or underlying data that was used in the 4
formation of each plan as required by subsection (2) of this section. 5
(2) The commission shall abide by the following criteria in proposing and adopting 6
each plan: 7
(a) Districts shall be of equal population, with minimum percentages of 8
deviation, as mandated by the United States Constitution and Section 33 of 9
the Constitution of Kentucky, and shall comply with the Voting Rights Act 10
of 1965, as amended, applicable federal laws, and applicable state laws; 11
(b) Districts shall accommodate for relative rates for future growth such that 12
districts in growth areas have a population in the lower range of the ideal 13
population; 14
(c) Districts shall be geographically contiguous; 15
(d) Districts shall reflect the state's diverse population and communities of 16
interest. Communities of interest may include but not be limited to 17
populations that share cultural and historical characteristics, and social 18
and economic interests. Communities of interest shall not include 19
relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates; 20
(e) Districts shall not provide a disproportionate advantage to any political 21
party; 22
(f) 1. Districts shall not favor or disfavor an incumbent elected official or 23
any candidate. 24
2. A district shall not be drawn in a way that would move an incumbent 25
out of his or her district. 26
3. If there is a conflict between subparagraphs 1. and 2. of this 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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paragraph, subparagraph 2. shall prevail; 1
(g) Districts shall reflect consideration of local governments' boundaries; 2
(h) Districts shall consider arterial highways and other corridors when defining 3
district boundaries; 4
(i) Districts shall be reasonably compact; 5
(j) Consideration of political party affiliation and voting history of citizens of 6
the Commonwealth may be used as an available source, but shall not be an 7
established criteria from which districts are drawn; and 8
(k) Previous election results may be used as an available source, but shall not 9
be an established criteria from which districts are drawn. 10
(3) The commission shall adhere to the following procedure in adopting each plan: 11
(a) Not later than September 15 of the year immediately after the federal 12
decennial census, and decennially thereafter, the commission shall adopt a 13
redistricting plan for each type of district. Before voting to adopt any 14
proposed plan, the commission shall ensure that each proposed plan is 15
tested, using appropriate technology, for compliance with the criteria 16
described in subsection (2) of this section. Each proposed plan that will be 17
voted on shall include the required supporting materials under subsection 18
(1) of this section; 19
(b) Before voting to adopt any proposed plan, the commission shall allow not 20
less than seven (7) calendar days' public notice of each proposed plan that 21
will be voted on, and the date, time, and location the vote will occur; 22
(c) A final decision of the commission to adopt a redistricting plan shall require 23
the affirmative roll-call vote of nine (9) of the commissioners. If no plan 24
satisfies this requirement for a type of district, the commission shall use the 25
following procedure to adopt a plan for that type of district: 26
1. Each commissioner may submit one (1) proposed redistricting plan for 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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each type of district to the full commission for consideration, which 1
may include those plans submitted by residents of this state under 2
subsection (2) of Section 7 of this Act; and 3
2. Each commissioner shall rank each plan submitted according to 4
preference. Each plan shall be assigned a point value inverse to its 5
ranking among the number of choices, giving the lowest-ranked plan 6
one (1) point and the highest-ranked plan a point value equal to the 7
number of plans submitted. The commission shall then adopt the 8
redistricting plans receiving the highest total points. If plans are tied 9
for the highest point total, the plan receiving the lowest total points 10
shall not be considered and the process of adoption shall repeat, in 11
accordance with this subsection, until a plan is adopted. 12
(4) Not later than October 1 in the year immediately after the federal census, and 13
decennially thereafter, the commission shall: 14
(a) Publish the adopted plans on the internet, which shall include the required 15
supporting materials pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. In addition, 16
the commission shall issue a press release to two (2) or more newspapers of 17
general circulation in the state, and radio and television stations servicing 18
residents of this state, announcing availability of the plans, explaining 19
where they can be located on the internet, and describing how the 20
legislature will consider the plans; and 21
(b) Issue a report that is delivered to the Legislative Research Commission, 22
which shall explain the basis on which the commission made its decisions in 23
achieving compliance with plan requirements and shall include but not be 24
limited to the required supporting materials pursuant to subsection (1) of 25
this section. A commissioner who votes against a redistricting plan may 26
submit a dissenting report which shall be issued with the commission's 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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report. 1
SECTION 9. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 2
READ AS FOLLOWS: 3
(1) The Legislative Research Commission shall refer the adopted redistricting plans 4
to the Interim Joint Committee on State Government for its review and 5
consideration at its October or November meeting, and the Interim Joint 6
Committee on State Government may hold additional meetings as deemed 7
necessary. The Interim Joint Committee on State Government may recommend 8
enactment or rejection of the commission's adopted redistricting plans to the 9
General Assembly during the next regular session or extraordinary session called 10
by the Governor for the purposes of redistricting. 11
(2) Following the review of the Interim Joint Committee on State Government, and 12
during the regular session of the General Assembly or an extraordinary session 13
called by the Governor for the purposes of redistricting, the General Assembly 14
shall consider the commission's redistricting plans for enactment into law. The 15
General Assembly may enact or reject the commission's redistricting plans, but 16
may not alter or amend the plans except for technical amendments, which do not 17
alter or amend the substance of the plans. 18
(3) The Committee on Committees of both the House of Representatives and the 19
Senate shall refer the redistricting plans to the House Standing Committee on 20
State Government and the Senate Standing Committee on State and Local 21
Government, respectively. 22
(4) If the General Assembly does not enact the commission's adopted redistricting 23
plans, with each plan being separately considered, by the first Tuesday after the 24
fourth Monday of the year following the commission's submission of the plans to 25
the Legislative Research Commission, the General Assembly or either chamber 26
rejecting the plans, shall return the rejected plans to the commission and request 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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development of new plans for the redistricting of the districts. Each chamber of 1
the General Assembly that rejects the plans shall communicate to the commission 2
its reasons for not enacting the adopted redistricting plans, and may provide 3
recommendations. 4
(5) After the return of the redistricting plans, the commission shall then draft a 5
second set of plans for the redistricting of districts within fourteen (14) business 6
days of the General Assembly's return of the first set of plans, which shall include 7
the reasons why, if applicable, for not including the recommendations of the 8
General Assembly. 9
(6) If the General Assembly does not enact the commission's second set of 10
redistricting plans within fourteen (14) business days of the commission's 11
submission of the second set of redistricting plans, the General Assembly or 12
either chamber rejecting shall, within seven (7) business days, return the second 13
set of plans to the commission and communicate to the commission its reasons 14
for not enacting the second set of redistricting plans. The General Assembly is 15
then permitted to enact its own legislation regarding the redistricting of districts. 16
(7) The General Assembly shall separately consider enactment or rejection of the 17
commission's redistricting plans for the House and Senate state legislative 18
districts, and the United States Congressional districts. 19
SECTION 10. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 20
READ AS FOLLOWS: 21
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an employer shall not discharge, 22
threaten to discharge, intimidate, coerce, or retaliate against any employee 23
because of the employee's membership on the commission as a commissioner, 24
attendance or scheduled attendance, or any other personal obligation that 25
requires the employee to be absent from any services or employment in which he 26
or she is then engaged, for a reasonable time, while in service of the commission. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
Page 19 of 20
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(2) The commission, and all of its responsibilities, operations, functions, contractors, 1
consultants, and employees, shall not be subject to change, transfer, 2
reorganization, or reassignment and shall not be altered or abrogated in any 3
manner whatsoever by the General Assembly. No other body shall be established 4
by law to perform functions that are the same or similar to those granted to the 5
commission in Sections 1 to 12 of this Act. 6
SECTION 11. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 7
READ AS FOLLOWS: 8
(1) No person shall influence or attempt to influence a commissioner by coercion, 9
bribe, favor, promise, inducement, or otherwise, related to any duty undertaken 10
by a commissioner in his or her capacity as a commissioner of the commission. 11
(2) Commission members, staff, attorneys, experts, and consultants shall not directly 12
or indirectly solicit or accept any gift or loan of money, goods, services, or other 13
thing of value greater than twenty dollars ($20) for the benefit of any person or 14
organization, which may influence the manner in which the commission, staff, 15
attorney, expert, or consultant performs his or her duties. 16
(3) Any person found guilty of violating this section shall be guilty of a violation and 17
shall be subject to a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000). 18
(4) Comments or suggestions at public hearings or public meetings shall not be 19
considered a violation under this section. 20
SECTION 12. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 21
READ AS FOLLOWS: 22
If any provision of Sections 1 to 12 of this Act or the application thereof to any person 23
or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or 24
applications of Sections 1 to 12 of this Act that can be given effect without the invalid 25
provision or application, and to this end the provisions of Sections 1 to 12 of this Act 26
are severable. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1283
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Section 13. KRS 5.005 is amended to read as follows: 1
(1) An action challenging the constitutionality of any legislative district created by this 2
chapter shall be brought in the Circuit Court of the county where the plaintiff 3
resides. 4
(2) The Advisory Redistricting Commission[Secretary of State] shall be named as a 5
defendant in any action challenging the constitutionality of any legislative district 6
created by this chapter. 7
(3) The Legislative Research Commission may intervene as a matter of right in any 8
action challenging the constitutionality of any legislative district created by this 9
chapter. 10
Section 14. This Act may be cited as the Fair Maps Act. 11