As Introduced

127th General Assembly Regular Session 2007-2008

H. J. R. No. 1

Representative DeWine 

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A JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing to amend Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15 of Article XI, to amend, for the purpose of adopting new Section numbers as indicated in parentheses, Sections 5 (4), 6 (5), 7 (6), 8 (7), 10 (8), 11 (9), 12 (11), 13 (12), and 15 (13) of Article XI, to enact new Section 10 of Article XI, and to repeal Sections 4, 9, and 14 of Article XI of the Constitution of Ohio to revise the redistricting process for General Assembly and Congressional districts.

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 4, 2008, a proposal to amend Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15 of Article XI, to amend, for the purpose of adopting new Section numbers as indicated in parentheses, Sections 5 (4), 6 (5), 7 (6), 8 (7), 10 (8), 11 (9), 12 (11), 13 (12), and 15 (13) of Article XI, and to enact new Section 10 of Article XI of the Constitution of Ohio to read as follows:

1.  The governor, auditor of state, secretary of state, one person chosen by the speaker of the house of representatives and the leader in the senate of the political party of which the speaker is a member, and one person chosen by the legislative leaders in the two houses of the major political party of which the speaker is not a member shall be the persons responsible for the apportionment of this state for members of the general assembly.

Such persons, or a majority of their number, shall meet and establish in the manner prescribed in this Article the boundaries for each of ninety-nine house of representatives districts and thirty-three senate districts. Such meeting shall convene on a date designated by the governor between August 1 and October 1 in the year one thousand nine hundred seventy-one and every tenth year thereafter.(A) The Ohio redistricting commission shall consist of seven members and shall be responsible for the redistricting of this state for congress and the general assembly. Beginning with the year 2011, after the first day of February but before the first day of March of each year ending in the numeral one, four members shall be appointed to the commission in the following manner:

(1) One member shall be appointed by the speaker of the Ohio house of representatives;

(2) One member shall be appointed by the legislative leader of the largest minority political party in the Ohio house of representatives;

(3) One member shall be appointed by the president of the Ohio senate;

(4) One member shall be appointed by the legislative leader of the largest minority political party in the Ohio senate.

(B)(1) All meetings of the Ohio redistricting commission shall be open to the public. The governor shall give such personsthe four commission members appointed by the leaders in the general assembly, and the public, at least two weeks advance notice of the date, time, and place of suchthe first meeting.

The governorof the commission, which shall be held after the first day of March but before the sixteenth day of March of the year ending in the numeral one. At that first meeting, the four members appointed under division (A) of this section, shall convene and select co-chairpersons. Those four members shall then proceed with a process of appointing, by unanimous vote of the four members, the remaining three members of the commission. If additional meetings are required for the process of selecting the remaining three members of the commission, the meetings shall be called by the commission co-chairpersons with at least two days prior notice.

In selecting the three additional appointments under this division, the four commission members appointed by the leaders in the general assembly shall give due consideration to the diversity of the state.

(2) If the four commission members appointed by the leaders in the general assembly are unable to unanimously appoint one or more of the required three additional members under division (B)(1) of this section by the fifteenth day of April of the year ending in the numeral one, each position on the commission that remains unfilled on that date shall be filled as follows:

(a) Each member of the commission appointed by the leaders in the general assembly shall submit the name of one proposed commission member to the governor. No two members of the commission shall submit the name of the same proposed commission member to the governor under this division.

(b) The governor shall randomly select a member of the commission from the four proposed members submitted under division (B)(2)(a) of this section.

(c) The submission of names of proposed commission members and the selection process established under divisions (B)(2)(a) and (b) of this section shall be repeated for each position on the commission that remains unfilled. The name of any proposed commission member submitted under division (B)(2)(a) of this section who is not selected as a member of the commission under division (B)(2)(b) of this section may be resubmitted for each position on the commission that remains unfilled.

(C)(1) During a commission member's tenure on the Ohio redistricting commission and during the ten years preceding appointment to the commission, no commission member shall:

(a) Hold or have held a state or federal elective public office for which candidates may be nominated by political parties;

(b) Be or have been a candidate for a state or federal elective office for which candidates may be nominated by political parties.

(2) At the first general election after the adoption of a new congressional plan or a new general assembly plan, no commission member shall be a candidate for the Ohio general assembly.

(D) Not later than the first day of May of a year ending in the numeral one, the Ohio redistricting commission shall convene, public notice being given, to establish a schedule that it determines appropriate to carry out the duties set forth in this article. Not later than the first day of October of a year ending in the numeral one, the commission shall adopt, in the manner prescribed in this article, the boundaries for each of the ninety-nine house of representatives districts, thirty-three senate districts, and the prescribed number of congressional districts as apportioned to the state pursuant to Section 2 of Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States. After the commission adopts each plan, the commission shall file that plan with the secretary of state. Upon filing with the secretary of state, the plan shall become effective.

(E) Unless otherwise specified in this article, a simple majority of its members shall be required for any action by the Ohio redistricting commission. The affirmative vote of five members of the commission, including at least one member of each political party who was appointed to the commission by the leaders in the general assembly and at least one of the three members not appointed to the commission by the leaders in the general assembly, shall be required to adopt any plan or to change the definition of a "competitive district" in Section 6 of this article.

(F) The Ohio redistricting commission shall make the necessary provisions to allow for public comment at public hearings and in writing and to allow for any resident of Ohio to submit a congressional plan or a general assembly plan for consideration. The commission shall develop and implement a plan to make available to the public all relevant data and information necessary for the submission of a potential congressional plan and a potential general assembly plan by any resident of Ohio.

(G) The attorney general shall be responsible for defending a plan adopted by the members of the Ohio redistricting commission in any legal action arising from the process described in this article.

(H) The general assembly shall be responsible for making the appropriations it determines necessary in order for the Ohio redistricting commission to perform its duties under this article and to defend against any lawsuit arising from the performance of the duties set forth in this article.

(I) Any vacancy on the Ohio redistricting commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment not later than thirty days after the vacancy occurs.

(J) All appointments to the Ohio redistricting commission shall be made anew for each successive decennial redistricting of this state. Prior service on the commission shall not exclude a person from being appointed to and serving on the commission.

(K) After the adoption of a congressional plan and a general assembly plan and the completion of any necessary administrative functions, the cochairpersons of the Ohio redistricting commission shall jointly dissolve the commission.

(L) The secretary of state shall cause the apportionmentredistricting plans to be published no later than the fifth day ofOctober 5 of the year in which it isthey are made, in such manner as provided by law.

Section 2.   The apportionmentredistricting of this state for members of congress and the general assembly shall be made in the following manner: The

(A) The whole population of the state, as determined by the federal decennial census, shall be divided by the number of congressional districts apportioned to the state pursuant to Section 2 of Article I of the Constitution of the United States, and the quotient shall be the ratio of representation in the congress for ten years next succeeding such apportionment.

(B) 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 the quotient shall be the ratio of representation in the house of representatives for ten years next succeeding such apportionmentredistricting. The

(C) 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 "thirty-three" and the quotient shall be the ratio of representation in the senate for ten years next succeeding such apportionmentredistricting.

Section 3.  (A) The population of each congressional district shall be as equal to the ratio of representation in the congress as practicable, as provided in Section 2 of this article.

(B) The population of each house of representatives district shall be substantially equal to the ratio of representation in the house of representatives, as provided in sectionSection 2 of this Articlearticle, and in no event shall any house of representatives district contain a population of less than ninety-five percentper cent nor more than one hundred five percentper cent of the ratio of representation in the house of representatives, except in those instances where reasonable effort is made to avoid dividing a county in accordance with section 9as otherwise provided in division (B) of Section 8 of this Articlearticle.

(C) The population of each senate district shall be substantially equal to the ratio of representation in the senate, as provided in Section 2 of this article, and in no event shall any senate district contain a population of less than ninety-five per cent nor more than one hundred five per cent of the ratio of representation in the senate as determined pursuant to this article.

Section 5 4.  Each(A) Each congressional district shall be entitled to a single representative in the United States house of representatives in each congress.

(B) Each house of representatives district shall be entitled to a single representative in each General Assemblygeneral assembly. Every

(C) Each senate district shall be entitled to a single senator in each General Assemblygeneral assembly.

Section 6 5.   District boundaries established pursuant to this Articlearticle shall not be changed until the ensuing federal decennial census and the ensuing apportionmentredistricting or as provided in section 13this section and Section 12 of this Articlearticle, notwithstanding the fact that boundaries of political subdivisions or citymunicipal wards within the district may be changed during that time. District boundaries shall be created by using the boundaries of political subdivisions and citymunicipal wards as they exist at the time of the federal decennial census on which the apportionmentredistricting is based, or, if unavailable, on such other basis as the general assembly has directed.

If the currently applicable redistricting plan is determined to be invalid by an unappealed final order of a court of competent jurisdiction, the court shall convene the Ohio redistricting commission to adopt a new plan that is in compliance with the law, including the provisions of this article. In convening the commission under this section, the court may adjust the timelines established in this article as necessary for the timely adoption of a new plan. In such a circumstance, the leaders in the general assembly at the time shall each make a new appointment in the manner specified in division (A) of Section 1 of this article. Those four commission members shall then select the remaining three commission members in the manner specified in division (B) of Section 1 of this article.

No court shall, in any circumstance, order the implementation or enforcement of any plan that has not been approved by the Ohio redistricting commission in the manner prescribed by this article.

Section 7 6.   (A) Any plan adopted by the Ohio redistricting commission shall comply with all applicable Ohio and federal constitutional provisions and all applicable federal statutory provisions, including, but not limited to, those dealing specifically with the protection of minority voting rights.

(B) Every house of representativescongressional and general assembly district shall be compact and composed of contiguous territory, and the boundary of each district shall be a single nonintersecting continuous line. To the extent consistent with the requirements of section 3 of this Articlearticle, the boundary lines of districts shall be so drawn as to delineate an area containing one or more whole counties.

(B)(C) Where the requirements of section 3 of this Articlearticle cannot feasibly be attained by forming a district from a whole county or counties, such district shall be formed by combining the whole areas of governmental units giving preference in the order named to counties, townships, municipalities, and citymunicipal wards.

(C)(D) Where the requirements of section 3 of this Articlearticle cannot feasibly be attained by combining the areas of governmental units as prescribed in division (B)(C) of this section, only onetwo such unitunits may be divided between two districts, giving preference inper house of representatives district. In the case of congressional districts, the number of units divided per district may be more than two, but not more than necessary to achieve the ratio of representation in the congress as required by this article. In the selection of a unit for division under division (D) of this section, preference shall be given to a township, a city ward, a citycontiguous municipality, and a village in the order named.

(D) In making a new apportionment, district boundaries established by the preceding apportionment shall be adopted to the extent reasonably consistent with the requirements of section 3 of this Article.

(E) Where their formation does not conflict with the other principles established by this article, the Ohio redistricting commission shall make its best efforts to maximize the number of competitive districts using the following criteria:

(1) The commission shall determine the three closest general elections by percentage for nonjudicial statewide state or federal office, including the elections of a president and vice president of the United States, where the candidates receiving the highest and second highest number of votes were the nominees of political parties held in the three previous even-numbered years immediately preceding the year in which the commission meets to adopt new plans, provided that the two partisan candidates combined received at least ninety-five per cent of the total votes cast.

(2) Using the three closest elections selected under division (E)(1) of this section, the commission shall determine the average partisan indexes for each proposed district by doing the following:

(a) Taking the percentage of the vote received in the district for each of the two partisan candidates who received the highest vote totals counting only the votes cast for those two partisan candidates, then

(b) Averaging together the three voting percentages for the candidates with the same partisan affiliation by dividing the sum of the percentages by the number three to yield the average partisan indexes for that district.

(3) Unless the Ohio redistricting commission adopts a different definition, a "competitive district" is a district where the average partisan indexes determined by this section are not more than five per cent apart.

Section 8 7.   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 sectionSection 2 of this Articlearticle.

Section 10 8.   The standards prescribed in sectionsthis section and Sections 3, 6, and 7, 8, and 9 of this Articlearticleshall 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 sectionSection 2 of this Articlearticle, but in no event less than ninety-five percentper cent of the ratio nor more than one hundred five percentper cent of the ratio shall be designated a representative district.

(B) Each county containing population between ninety and ninety-five percentper cent of the ratio or between one hundred five and one hundred ten percentper cent of the ratio may be designated a representative district.

(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.

Section 11 9.   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 sectionSection 2 of this Articlearticle.

Senate districts shall be numbered from one through thirty-three and as provided in section 12Section 11 of this Articlearticle.

10.  The standards prescribed in this section and Sections 3 and 6 of this article shall govern the establishment of congressional districts, which shall be created in the following order to the extent that such order is consistent with the foregoing standards:

(A) 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 congress determined under Section 2 of this article.

(B) Proceeding in succession from the largest to the smallest, each county containing more than one whole ratio of representation shall be divided into the appropriate number of congressional districts. Any fraction of the county population in excess of a whole ratio of representation shall be included in one congressional district by combining it with adjoining territory outside the county.

(C) The remaining territory of the state shall be combined into congressional districts.

Section 12 11.   At any time the boundaries of senate districts are changed in any plan of apportionmentredistrictingmade pursuant to any provision of this Articlearticle, a senator whose term will not expire within two years of the time the plan of apportionmentredistricting is made shall represent, for the remainder of the term for which hethe senator was elected, the senate district which contains the largest portion of the population of the district from which hethe 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 persons responsible for apportionment, by a majority of their number,Ohio redistricting commission 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.

Section 13 12.   The supreme court of Ohio or an applicable federal court shall have exclusive, original jurisdiction in all cases arising under this Articlearticle. In the event that any section of this Constitution relating to apportionmentredistricting or any plan of apportionmentredistricting made by the persons responsible for apportionment, by a majority of their number,apportionment, by a majority of their number,Ohio redistricting commission is determined to be invalid by either the supreme court of Ohio, or the supreme court of the United Statesan unappealed final order of a court of competent jurisdiction, then notwithstanding any other provisions of this Constitution, the persons responsible for apportionment by a majority of their numberOhio redistricting commission shall ascertain and determine a plan of apportionmentredistricting in conformity with such provisions of this Constitution 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 apportionmentredistricting in conformity with such provisions of this Constitution as are then valid.

Notwithstanding any provision of this Constitution or any law regarding the residence of senators and representatives, a plan of apportionmentredistricting made pursuant to this section shall allow thirty days for persons to change residence in order to be eligible for election.

The governor shall give the persons responsible for apportionment two weeks advance written notice of the date, time, and place of any meeting held pursuant to this section.

Section 15 13.   The various provisions of this Article XIarticle 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

If adopted by a majority of the electors voting on this proposal, Sections 1, 2, 3, 5 (4), 6 (5), 7 (6), 8 (7), 10 (8), 11 (9), 12 (11), 13 (12), and 15 (13) of Article XI amended or amended and renumbered by this proposal and new Section 10 of Article XI enacted by this proposal shall take effect on January 1, 2009, and existing sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15 of Article XI and Sections        Section 4.  ,        Section 9.  , and        Section 14.   of Article XI of the Constitution of Ohio are repealed from that effective date.

SCHEDULE

The amendments to Section 12 (11) of Article XI of the Ohio Constitution in part substitute gender neutral for gender specific language. These gender neutralizing amendments are not intended to make a substantive change in the Ohio Constitution. The gender neutral language is to be construed as a restatement of, and substituted in a continuing way for, the corresponding gender specific language existing prior to adoption of the gender neutralizing amendments.