OK
Oklahoma House Bill HJR1024

Oklahoma 2023 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HJR1024 Compare Versions

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2828 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2929
3030 1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
3131
3232 HOUSE JOINT
3333 RESOLUTION 1024 By: Dollens
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3838 AS INTRODUCED
3939
4040 A Joint Resolution directing the Secretary of S tate
4141 to refer to the people for their approval or
4242 rejection of proposed new sections to Article V of
4343 the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma; providing
4444 for House and Senate districts; specifying power of
4545 redistricting; defining terms; creating the Citizens'
4646 Independent Redistricting Commission; providing for
4747 composition and qualification of the Commission;
4848 providing for application and selection of
4949 Commissioners; providing for funding of the
5050 Commission; providing for duties of the Commission
5151 and the Secretary; providing for redistricting
5252 criteria; providing for judicial review; re pealing
5353 sections related to legislative apportionment;
5454 providing ballot title; and directing filing.
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6060 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE OF T HE
6161 1ST SESSION OF THE 59TH OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE:
6262 SECTION 1. The Secretary of State shall refer to the people for
6363 their approval or rejection, as and in the manner provided by law,
6464 the following proposed amendment to the Const itution of the State of
6565 Oklahoma by adding a new S ection 12A to Article V thereof, to read
6666 as follows:
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9393 Section 12A. The state shall be divided into forty -eight (48)
9494 Senatorial districts. Each Senatorial district shall be entitled to
9595 one Senator, who shall hold office for four (4) years; provided that
9696 any Senator, serving at the time of the ado ption of this amendment,
9797 shall serve the full time for which he or she was elected.
9898 Vitalization of Senatorial districts shall provide for one -half
9999 (1/2) of the Senators to be elected at each General Election.
100100 SECTION 2. The Secretary of S tate shall refer to the people for
101101 their approval or rejection, as and in the manner provided by law,
102102 the following proposed amendment to the Constitution of the Sta te of
103103 Oklahoma by adding a new Section 12B to Article V thereof, to read
104104 as follows:
105105 Section 12B. The state shall be divided into one hundred one
106106 (101) districts for the House of Representatives. Each district
107107 shall be entitled to one Representative. Each Representative
108108 elected shall hold office for two (2) years.
109109 SECTION 3. The Secretary of State shall refer to the people for
110110 their approval or rejection, as and in the manner provided by law,
111111 the following proposed amendment to the Const itution of the State of
112112 Oklahoma by adding a new Section 12C to Article V thereof, to read
113113 as follows:
114114 Section 12C. A. The power to redistrict the State of
115115 Oklahoma's House of Representative s and Senatorial districts is
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142142 henceforth vested in th e Citizens' Independent Redistrictin g
143143 Commission.
144144 B. The power to redistrict Oklahoma's Federal Congressional
145145 Districts is henceforth vested in the C itizens' Independent
146146 Redistricting Commission .
147147 SECTION 4. The Secretary of State shall refer to the people for
148148 their approval or rejection, as and in the manner provided by law,
149149 the following proposed amendment to the Constitution of the S tate of
150150 Oklahoma by adding a new Section 12D to Article V thereof, to read
151151 as follows:
152152 Section 12D. A. Definitions.
153153 1. "Federal Congressional Districts" shall refer to Oklahoma's
154154 United States Congressional Districts.
155155 2. "Groups" shall refer to the g roups of candidates for
156156 Commissioners that have been sorte d by their partisan affiliation or
157157 unaffiliation as determine d by their registration o r non-
158158 registration with a party with ballot access at the time of the most
159159 recent General Election.
160160 3. "Affiliated" shall refer to citizens who, as of the date of
161161 their application to serve as Commissioner, have been continuously
162162 registered with the same party with ballot access for the last four
163163 (4) years.
164164 4. "Unaffiliated" shall refer to citizens who, as of the d ate
165165 of their application to serve as Commissioner, have not been
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192192 registered with either of the two largest parties wit h ballot access
193193 for any of the last four (4) years.
194194 5. "Plan" shall refer to any proposed or approved Redistricting
195195 Plan for the districts for Representatives in the U.S. Congress, for
196196 Oklahoma State Representatives, or for Oklahoma State Senators.
197197 6. "Pool" shall refer to a gro up of applicants selected by the
198198 Panel.
199199 7. "Panel" shall refer to the group of retired Judges or
200200 Justices chosen by the Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court
201201 to oversee the creation of the Commission.
202202 8. "Census Block" shall refer to a census block used by the
203203 United States Bureau of the Census in the most recent Federal
204204 Decennial Census.
205205 9. "Immediate family member" shall refer to, with respect to an
206206 individual, a father, stepfather, mother, stepmother, son, stepson,
207207 daughter, stepdaughter, brothe r, stepbrother, sister, s tepsister,
208208 husband, wife, father -in-law, or mother-in-law.
209209 B. The Citizens' Independent Redistricting Commission ( "the
210210 Commission")
211211 1. Composition. The Commission shall consist of nine (9)
212212 Commissioners: three Commissioners for each Group representing o ne
213213 of the two largest parties with ballot access at the time of the
214214 most recent General E lection based on total registration, and three
215215 Commissioners for the Group representing those that are unaffiliated
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242242 with either of the state 's two largest political pa rties with ballot
243243 access at the time of t he most recent General Election.
244244 2. Qualifications. Each Commissioner shall possess all the
245245 following qualificatio ns:
246246 a. be a citizen who has been continuously dom iciled in
247247 Oklahoma for five (5) years immediately preceding the
248248 date of appointment to the Commission and whose
249249 registered political affili ation has not changed in
250250 the four (4) years immediately preceding the dat e of
251251 appointment to the Commission ,
252252 b. has not held, and does not hav e an immediate family
253253 member who has held, partisan elective offic e at the
254254 federal, state or political subdivision level in this
255255 state in the five (5) years immediately preceding the
256256 date of appointment to the Commission ,
257257 c. has not registered, and does no t have an immediate
258258 family member who has registered, as a federal, state
259259 or local lobbyist in the five (5) years immediately
260260 preceding the date of appointment to the Co mmission,
261261 d. has not held office or served, and does not have an
262262 immediate family membe r who has held office or served,
263263 as a paid staff member for a poli tical party in the
264264 five (5) years immediately preceding the date of
265265 appointment to the Commission,
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292292 e. has not been nominated, and does not have an immediate
293293 family member who has been nomina ted, as a candidate
294294 for elective office by a political party in the five
295295 (5) years immediately preceding the date of
296296 appointment to the Commission, and
297297 f. has not been and does not have an immediate family
298298 member who has been an employee or paid consultant of
299299 the Oklahoma State Legislature or U.S. Congress in the
300300 five (5) years immediately preceding the date of
301301 appointment to the Commission.
302302 3. Failure to Possess Qualifications :
303303 a. If it is found during the work of the Commission that
304304 a member did not possess at the time of selection to
305305 the Commission all of the qualifications in paragraph
306306 2 of this subsection, that member shall be removed and
307307 replaced with a member from the same Group using the
308308 process described in paragraph 5 of this subsection.
309309 b. If it is found after the completion of the
310310 Commission's activities that any member did not
311311 possess all of the qualificat ions in paragraph 2 of
312312 this subsection, this shall not create a sufficient
313313 cause of action to challenge any Plan.
314314 4. Application and Selection of Commissioners.
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341341 a. No later than December 1 of the year 2030, or October
342342 1 of each subsequent year ending in zero, the Chief
343343 Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court shall appoint
344344 the director or an employee of its Administrative
345345 Office or, if no director or employee of such office
346346 is able and willing to serve in this capacity, then
347347 another public employee to serve as a Special Master
348348 to act as a disinterested party to oversee the
349349 application process and th e training of Commissioners,
350350 and to report the Commission's progress to the Panel.
351351 The Special Master shall possess all the
352352 qualifications in paragraph 2 of this subsection.
353353 b. No later than December 15 of 20 30, and no later than
354354 December 1 of each subseq uent year ending in zero, the
355355 Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court shall
356356 designate a Panel to review the applications. The
357357 Panel shall consist of three (3) Judges or Justices
358358 who have retired from the Oklahoma Supreme Court or
359359 the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals or the Oklahoma
360360 Court of Civil Appeals, and who are able and willing
361361 to serve on the Panel, select ed by random drawing. If
362362 fewer than three state appellate Judges or Justices
363363 who are able and willing to serve have been
364364 identified, then the Chief Justice shall appoint a
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391391 retired Oklahoma Federal District Court Judge who
392392 accepts such appointment .
393393 c. Application to serve as a member of the Commission
394394 shall be filed with, and on a form developed by, the
395395 Special Master indicating thereon evidence of his or
396396 her qualifications as provided by this subsection.
397397 The form must request information sufficient to all ow
398398 the Panel to adequately review and assess each
399399 candidate's qualifications and experience to serve on
400400 the Commission. The form shall include language that
401401 requires the applicant to affirmatively declare that
402402 the information submitted is accurate and shall also
403403 contain an advisory that providing false information
404404 may lead to perjury charges. The Special Master shall
405405 advertise the opportunit y to apply as a member of the
406406 Commission in the major news outlets in Oklah oma,
407407 including print, television, radio a nd social media
408408 outlets. Such advertising shall be at a level to
409409 reasonably expose registered voters in Oklahoma to the
410410 opportunity to serve on the Commission.
411411 d. No later than January 31 of the redistricting year
412412 ending in one, the Special Master shall notify the
413413 Panel that the application deadline is closed and
414414 submit the applications to the Panel .
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441441 e. All decisions of the Panel regarding t he selection of
442442 applicants pursuant to this subsection require the
443443 affirmative approval of all three (3) members of the
444444 Panel.
445445 f. In one or more public meetings conducted on or before
446446 February 7 of the redistricting year endin g in one,
447447 after reviewing the applications of the applicants,
448448 the Panel shall identify Pools of twenty (2 0)
449449 applicants who are affiliated with the state's largest
450450 political party, twenty (20) applicants who are
451451 affiliated with the state 's second largest political
452452 party, and twenty (20) applicants who are unaffiliated
453453 with either of the two largest political p arties, or
454454 such lesser number as there ar e available, and who in
455455 the view of the Panel best demonstrate:
456456 (1) experience in organizing, representing ,
457457 advocating for, adjudicating the interests of, or
458458 actively participating in groups, organizations,
459459 or associations in Oklahoma, and
460460 (2) relevant analytical skills, the ability to be
461461 impartial, and the ability to promote consensus
462462 on the Commission. The Panel shall achieve
463463 geographic balance by ensuring, to the extent
464464 practicable, that there are no fewer than t hree
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491491 (3) applicants from each current Con gressional
492492 District within each Pool. The Panel shall also,
493493 to the extent practicable, ensure that each Pool
494494 reflects the state's diversity. If there are not
495495 sufficient numbers of applicants to allow for
496496 three (3) Commissioners and one (1) Alternate to
497497 be selected from any group, as required by this
498498 section, then the Fallback Mechanism shall take
499499 effect.
500500 g. No later than Februar y 7 of the redistricting year
501501 ending in one, from the Pools of applicants identified
502502 in subparagraph f of this paragraph, the Pan el shall
503503 choose by lot, in random drawing, nine (9) applicants
504504 to serve on the Commission as follows:
505505 (1) three Commissioners who are unaffiliated with
506506 either of the state's two largest political
507507 parties,
508508 (2) three Commissioners who are affiliated with the
509509 state's largest political party , and
510510 (3) three Commissioners who are affiliated with the
511511 state's second largest political party,
512512 h. after the initial nine Commissioners have been
513513 appointed pursuant to subparagraph g of this
514514 paragraph, from the remaining P ools of applicants
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541541 identified in subparagraph f of this paragraph, the
542542 Panel shall choose by lot one Commissioner from each
543543 Pool to serve as Alternates in order to f ill vacancies
544544 on the Commission.
545545 5. Removal of a member and vacancies on the Commission shall be
546546 subject to the following:
547547 a. a commissioner's office shall become vacant upon the
548548 occurrence of any of the following:
549549 (1) death or mental incapacity of the Commissioner,
550550 (2) the Secretary of State's receipt of the
551551 Commissioner's written resignation,
552552 (3) the Commissioner ceases to be qualified to serve
553553 as a Commissioner under paragraph 2 of this
554554 subsection, or
555555 (4) after written notice and an opportunity for the
556556 Commissioner to respond, a vote of two-thirds
557557 (2/3) of the Commissioners finding substantia l
558558 neglect of duty, gross misconduct in office, or
559559 inability to discharge the duties of office ,
560560 b. any vacancy in the Commission shall be filled within
561561 seven (7) days from the time the Commission is
562562 notified of the vacancy. The vacancy shall be filled
563563 by the Alternate from the corresponding Group chosen
564564 in subparagraph h of paragraph 4 of this subsection.
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591591 If more alternates are needed, they may be selected by
592592 the Panel from the applicants previously selected in
593593 subparagraph f of paragraph 4 this subsectio n.
594594 6. Prohibitions. A Commissioner shall waive his or her right
595595 to run for any elected office in a district created by the work of
596596 the Commission on which the member served.
597597 7. Compensation. The Commissioners sh all be compensated for
598598 their service in the same manner as the current per diem and travel
599599 reimbursement for members of the State Legislature.
600600 8. Funding.
601601 a. There is hereby created in the State Treasury a
602602 revolving fund for the Citizens' Independent
603603 Redistricting Commission to be designated as the
604604 "Citizens' Independent Redistricting Commission
605605 Revolving Fund". The fund shall be a continuing f und,
606606 not subject to fiscal year limitations, and shall
607607 consist of all monies apportioned to the fund or
608608 monies received by the Commission as prescribed by
609609 law. All monies accruing to the credit of said fund
610610 are hereby appropriated and may be budgeted and
611611 expended by the Oklahoma Redistricting Commission to
612612 perform duties as prescribed by law. Expenditures
613613 from said fund shall be made upon warrants issued by
614614 the State Treasurer against claims filed as prescribed
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641641 by law with the Dire ctor of the Office of Management
642642 and Enterprise Services for approval and payment.
643643 b. On or before February 25 each year, the Commission
644644 shall receive an appropriation by the Legislature
645645 sufficient to enable the Commission to perform its
646646 duties as set forth in this Article.
647647 9. Record Keeping. All Commission votes must be taken by roll
648648 call and published on the Commission's website, along with meeting
649649 transcripts or minutes including details of any Plan vote d on.
650650 10. Public Notice. The Commission shall provide the public at
651651 least forty-eight (48) hours' notice for all public meetings and
652652 hearings. The Commission shall make each notice wh ich is required
653653 to be posted and publishe d under this section available in any
654654 language in which the state or any jurisdiction in the state is
655655 required to provide election materials under federal law. All
656656 meetings and hearings except for executive session shall be
657657 livestreamed over the Internet, and transcripts made publicly
658658 available via electronic archive. The Commissioners shall not
659659 discuss redistricting matters with members of the public outside of
660660 an open meeting of the Commission, except that a Commissioner may
661661 communicate about redistricting matters with members of the public
662662 to gain information relevant to the performance of his or her duties
663663 if such communication occurs in writing available to the public or
664664 at a previously publicly noticed forum or town hall open to the
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691691 general public. This paragraph does not prohibit communication
692692 between Commissioners and staff, legal counsel, or c onsultants
693693 retained by the Commission.
694694 C. Duties of the Commissi on and the Secretary:
695695 1. After the Commissioners are appointed, the Commission shall:
696696 a. select a Secretary. The Special Master shall nominate
697697 a Secretary. The nominee must meet all the cr iteria
698698 of paragraph 2 of subsection B of this section, and be
699699 approved by a majority vote of Commissioners. If the
700700 Commissioners cannot reach the needed votes, the
701701 Special Master shall make another nomination.
702702 2. The Secretary. The duties of the Secretary include the
703703 following:
704704 a. assist in the running and convening of Commission
705705 meetings, including the drafting of Plans and
706706 approving expenditures necessary for the Commission to
707707 fulfill its duties,
708708 b. publicize and hold regional field hearings in each
709709 Congressional District to seek public input relevant
710710 to redistricting,
711711 c. gather precinct-level shapefiles and data on voter
712712 registration and election returns for general and
713713 primary elections for the preceding decade, and make
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740740 the data available for public download by the date of
741741 the first public hearing,
742742 d. disaggregate and reaggregate the electoral data to
743743 correspond to the Census Block that will be used to
744744 assemble Districts,
745745 e. gather information from the Department of Corrections
746746 about the home address of state and federal inmates,
747747 f. begin analyzing election return s from recent Primary
748748 and General Elections to help ensure that the
749749 Commission's redistricting Plans will not have the
750750 effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on
751751 account of race, eth nicity, or membership in a
752752 language minority group,
753753 g. hire and manage staff to assist in the Commission and
754754 Secretary's duties,
755755 h. assist the Special Maste r in training Commissio ners,
756756 and
757757 i. develop and maintain a website that creates a public
758758 Plan drawing system and allows members of the public
759759 to:
760760 (1) monitor and comment on the Commission's work,
761761 (2) access the data sets and utilize the tools
762762 necessary to draw Plans,
763763 (3) view prior district maps for comparison , and
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790790 (4) submit proposed Plans and maps indi cating
791791 communities of interest.
792792 3. Data Preparation. After the United States Bureau of the
793793 Census releases the Fe deral Decennial Census Data, the Commissi on
794794 shall:
795795 a. add the data gathered under subparagraph e of
796796 paragraph 2 of this subsection to the Federal
797797 Decennial Census data so that incarcerated people are
798798 counted in their home communities,
799799 b. update the analysis begun under subparagraph f of
800800 paragraph 2 of this subsection ,
801801 c. promptly post on the Commission 's website Federal
802802 Decennial Census data, e lectoral data, and boundary
803803 maps in digitally readable format, at district and
804804 precinct levels of detail for general and primary
805805 elections for each Plan submitted by a Commissioner,
806806 d. develop and publish pu blicly no more than two (2)
807807 preliminary Plans for the redistricting of the
808808 Oklahoma House of Representatives, Oklahoma State
809809 Senate and Federal Congressional Distri cts,
810810 e. approve final Plans for State House of Representatives
811811 and Senatorial and Federal Congressional
812812 redistricting, as set forth in subsect ion D of this
813813 section, and
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840840 f. release all proposed maps for c omment in formats that
841841 are easily accessible and readable by members of the
842842 public, such as PDF, machine-readable comma-separated
843843 values, shapefile, and on the same interactive the
844844 Secretary is required to create for public submission
845845 of maps.
846846 D. Plan Criteria and Consideration. The Commission shall
847847 simultaneously conduct separate processes for d rawing and submitting
848848 Plans for the redistricting of the State House of Representative s
849849 and Senatorial and Federal Congressional Districts. The Commission
850850 shall consider both Commissioner-submitted draft Plans and publicly
851851 submitted draft Plans.
852852 1. Redistricting Criteria.
853853 a. Federal law. The redistricting Plan must comply with
854854 the United States Constitu tion and all applicable
855855 federal law, including the requiremen t that it
856856 equalize total population.
857857 b. Contiguity. Each district must be contiguous. The
858858 term "contiguous" means that the district is bounded
859859 by one unbroken line and is not divided into two o r
860860 more discrete pieces. A district is not contiguous if
861861 pieces of the district touch at only a single point;
862862 nor is a district contiguous if it includes pieces of
863863 land entirely separated by a body of water but does
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890890 not include any bridges, tunnels, or pub lic ferries
891891 connecting those pieces of land.
892892 c. The Commission shall also seek to maximize compliance
893893 with each of the following criteria, set forth in th e
894894 following order of priority:
895895 (1) Communities of interest. Districts shall
896896 minimize the division of communities of interest
897897 to the extent practicable. A community of
898898 interest is defined as an area with recognized
899899 similarities of interests, including but not
900900 limited to, racial, ethnic, economic, social,
901901 cultural, geographic, tribal, linguistic, or
902902 historic identities. Communities of interest
903903 shall not include common relationships with
904904 political parties, officehold ers, or political
905905 candidates.
906906 (2) Racial and ethnic fairness. No redistricting
907907 Plan should be drawn to have the effect of
908908 denying or abridging the equal opportunity of
909909 racial or ethnic minority group s to participate
910910 in the political process or to diminish their
911911 ability to elect representatives o f their choice,
912912 whether alone or in coalition with others .
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939939 (3) Political fairness. No Plan should, when
940940 considered on a statewide basis, unduly favor or
941941 disfavor a political party. Undue favor to a
942942 political party shall be determined using the
943943 proposed map, data from the last ten (10) years
944944 of statewide elections, and the best available
945945 statistical methods on identifying inequality of
946946 opportunity to elect .
947947 (4) Districts shall respect the geographic integrity
948948 of political subdivision boundaries to the exte nt
949949 preceding criteria ha ve been satisfied.
950950 (5) Compactness. A draft Plan should be compact to
951951 the extent preceding criteria have been
952952 satisfied.
953953 2. A Plan shall not take into consideration any of the
954954 following factors, except to the extent necessary to c omply with the
955955 criteria described in paragraph 1 of this subsection, and to enable
956956 the Plan to be measured against the external metrics described in
957957 paragraph 5 of subsection E of this section:
958958 a. the residence of any member or candidate of the
959959 Oklahoma House of Representatives, Oklahoma State
960960 Senate, or U.S. Congress, and
961961 b. the political party a ffiliation or voting history of
962962 the population of a district .
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989989 E. Approval of the Plans.
990990 1. Approval or Rejection of Plans. Each Commissioner has one
991991 vote. An affirmative vote of at least six of the nine (9)
992992 Commissioners is required to approve a Plan, including at least one
993993 Commissioner affiliated with each of the two largest political
994994 parties in the state and one Commissioner who is unaffiliated with
995995 either of the two largest political parti es in the state.
996996 2. Preliminary Plan. Prior to developing a final Plan, t he
997997 Commission shall develop and publish a preliminary Plan as follows:
998998 a. prior to developing a preliminary P lan under this
999999 subsection, the Commission shall hold no fewer than
10001000 one (1) public hearing in each Congressional District
10011001 at which members of the pu blic may provide input
10021002 relevant to redistricting ,
10031003 b. the Commission shall develop and publish the
10041004 preliminary Plan publicly, including digitally
10051005 downloadable maps and Census blo ck equivalency
10061006 assignments of each district, and accept public
10071007 comment on the preliminary Plan for no fewer than
10081008 fourteen (14) days.
10091009 3. To hold a vote, the Commission must convene a votin g
10101010 meeting, open to the public, at which t he Commission may vote on a
10111011 preliminary Plan. If the Commissioners vote to approve a Plan, it
10121012 shall become law.
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10391039 4. Upon approval of a Plan by the Commission , the Special
10401040 Master shall submit the Plan to the State Election Board, the
10411041 Governor, the Secretary of State, the President Pro Tempore of the
10421042 Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives as wel l as
10431043 make the Plan publicly available.
10441044 5. The Commission shall issue with all preliminary and final
10451045 Plans written evaluations that measure the maps a gainst external
10461046 metrics. These metrics shall cover all criteria set forth in
10471047 paragraph 1 of subsection D of this section.
10481048 6. The Commission shall have one hundred twenty (120) days from
10491049 the release of the Federal Decennial Census data in which to approve
10501050 final Plans for State House of Represen tatives and Senatorial and
10511051 Federal Congressional Districts.
10521052 F. Fallback Mechanism. If the Commission does not approve a
10531053 State House of Representatives, Senatorial, or Federal Congressional
10541054 Plan within one hundred twenty (120) days of the release of the
10551055 Federal Decennial Census Data, the following procedure shall be
10561056 followed to create that Plan only.
10571057 1. The Special Master shall create a report to be submitted to
10581058 the Oklahoma Supreme Court that advises the Court of t he available
10591059 Plans and provides enoug h information for the Court to approve a
10601060 Plan. The Court shall then ha ve thirty (30) days to approve a Plan.
10611061 2. The Court shall approve a Plan that is consistent with the
10621062 criteria listed in subsection D of this section.
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10891089 3. If the approval process is not complete by the minimum
10901090 residency requirement deadline for candidates to the state office,
10911091 such requirements shall be suspended and not apply for any affected
10921092 election so long as:
10931093 a. the candidate resided in one legisl ative district but,
10941094 through the process of redistricting, his or her
10951095 residence has been redistricted out of the former
10961096 district and into an adjacent district, and
10971097 b. the candidate either files for state office in hi s or
10981098 her new district or moves his or her residence into
10991099 the newly adjacent district and registers as a voter
11001100 by the time of candidate filing for sta te office.
11011101 G. Judicial Review.
11021102 1. Supreme Court Jurisdic tion. The Oklahoma Supreme Court has
11031103 original and exclusive state-court jurisdiction to he ar and decide
11041104 all challenges to the Commission's actions and final Plans. The
11051105 Court's jurisdiction is limited to remedy only the specific
11061106 violation alleged on the s pecific Plan challenged.
11071107 2. Petitions for Review. Within thirty (30) days after a
11081108 Plan's approval, any aggrieved residen t of the State may petition
11091109 the Oklahoma Supreme Court to invalidate that Pla n. The Court shall
11101110 consolidate all petitions challengin g a Plan, give the consolidated
11111111 petitions precedence over other civil proceedings, conduct expedited
11121112 hearings, and enter i ts judgment promptly.
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11391139 3. Remedial Plans. If the Oklahoma Supreme Court conc ludes
11401140 that a Plan approved by the Commission is invalid, the Fallback
11411141 Mechanism in subsection F of this section shall be used to create a
11421142 new Plan. If the Court finds a violation in a Plan produc ed under
11431143 the Fallback Mechanism, then the Court 's remedy shall be constrained
11441144 by the criteria in subsection D of this section.
11451145 4. Legal Representation. The Commission has standing in all
11461146 legal proceedings concerning its actions and has sole authority to
11471147 determine whether it will be represented by the State Attorn ey
11481148 General or by legal counsel selec ted and hired by the Commission.
11491149 5. Communications made in the course of the Commission's,
11501150 Secretary's, or Special Master's work under this Article may not be
11511151 shielded from the public on the basis of legislative privile ge.
11521152 This provision shall not be construed to abrogate or otherwise
11531153 affect legislative immunity.
11541154 H. Cessation of the Commission's Operations. Within thirty
11551155 (30) days after the Plans have taken effect and all pend ing legal
11561156 challenges to the Plans and the Commission's actions have conclude d,
11571157 the Commission must be dissolved, and any unexpended money must
11581158 revert to the State's General Revenue Fund .
11591159 SECTION 5. The Secretary of State shall refer to the people for
11601160 their approval or rejection, a s and in the manner provided by law,
11611161 the following propos ed amendment to the Constitution of the State of
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11881188 Oklahoma by adding a new Section 12E to Article V thereof, to read
11891189 as follows:
11901190 Section 12E. For purposes of interpreting this Article, the
11911191 people declare that the powers granted to the Commission herein are
11921192 legislative functions not subject to the control or approval of the
11931193 Legislature, and are exclusively reserved to the Commission. The
11941194 Commission and all of its r esponsibilities, operations, functions,
11951195 contractors, consultants , and employees are not subject to change,
11961196 transfer, reorganization, or reassign ment, and shall not be altered
11971197 or abrogated in any manner whatsoever, by the Legislature. No other
11981198 body shall be established by the Legislature to perform functions
11991199 that are the same or similar t o those granted to the Commission in
12001200 this section. This provision does not and shall not be construe d to
12011201 limit the people's power of initiative.
12021202 SECTION 6. The Secretary of State shall refer to the people for
12031203 their approval or rejection, as and in the manner provided by law,
12041204 the repeal of Section s 10A, 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D and 11 E of Article V
12051205 of the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma which relate to
12061206 legislative apportionment.
12071207 SECTION 7. The Ballot Title for the proposed Cons titutional
12081208 amendments as set forth in SECTIONS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of this
12091209 resolution shall be in the following form :
12101210 BALLOT TITLE
12111211 Legislative Referendum No. ____ State Question No. ____
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12381238 THE GIST OF THE PROPOSITION IS AS FOLLOWS:
12391239 This proposed amendment t o the Oklahoma Constitution is intended
12401240 to prevent political gerrymandering. It creates an independent
12411241 redistricting Commission, and vest s the power to redistrict the
12421242 state's House, Senatorial, and federal Congressional districts
12431243 in the Commission, rather than the Legislature. The Commission
12441244 is composed of three members from each of three groups: the
12451245 state's largest political party, its second-largest party, and
12461246 those unaffiliated with either party. A panel of retired judges
12471247 designated by the Chief Justice would select pools of applicants
12481248 from each group, then choose by lot three Commissioners from
12491249 each. The amendment establishes qualificat ions for
12501250 Commissioners designed to avoid conflicts of interest . It
12511251 establishes a process for redistricting after each decennial
12521252 census, and establishes new redistric ting criteria. The
12531253 Commission may not consider candidates' residences or a
12541254 population's political affiliation or voting history except as
12551255 needed for these criteria. The Supreme Court wo uld select a
12561256 plan if the Commission cannot. The amendment provides f or
12571257 funding and judicial review, repeals const itutional provisions,
12581258 and reserves powers to the Commission rather than the
12591259 Legislature.
12601260 SHALL THE PROPOSAL BE APPROVED?
12611261 FOR THE PROPOSAL — YES _____________
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12881288 AGAINST THE PROPOSAL — NO _____________
12891289 SECTION 8. The Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives,
12901290 immediately after the passage of this resolut ion, shall prepare and
12911291 file one copy thereof, including the Ballot Title set forth in
12921292 SECTION 7 hereof, with the Secretary of State and one copy with the
12931293 Attorney General.
12941294
12951295 59-1-5489 LRB 01/04/23