SB 150

Adjustment of municipal wards to accommodate redistricting plans

The bill requires municipal ward plans, and the aldermanic and supervisory

districts upon which they are based, to reflect municipal boundaries on April 1 of the

year of each federal decennial census. Currently, ward plans must reflect municipal

boundaries on August 1 of the year following the year of the federal decennial census.

The change applies retroactively to ward plans and aldermanic and supervisory

districts created in response to the 2010 federal decennial census.

The bill also amends the laws governing municipal ward division to ensure that

if municipal wards do not accommodate a congressional or legislative redistricting

act on its date of enactment, the affected municipalities must change their wards so

that their ward divisions enable the election of members of congress and members

of the legislature under the redistricting act. Currently, the laws only partially

accommodate this process.

Local ward division and redistricting timeline

Currently, within 60 days after the decennial population count, by block,

becomes available from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, but no later than July 1 of

each year following the year of the census, each county board of supervisors must

submit to each municipality having territory in the county a tentative supervisory

district plan or a description of boundary requirements for such a plan. Within 60

days after the receipt of this information from the county board of each county in

which a municipality is located, each municipality having a population of 1,000 or

more must adopt or readjust wards in accordance with statutory population

parameters. In enacting or adopting its plan, a municipality must make a good faith

effort to reflect the county's requirements in enacting a supervisory district plan.

Within 60 days after every municipality having territory within a county enacts or

adopts a ward division plan, the county must enact a final supervisory district plan

combining contiguous whole wards to form supervisory districts.

This bill shortens the maximum time specified for action at each of the above

stages of the redistricting process to 45 days, effective beginning with ward divisions

and redistricting in response to the 2020 federal decennial census.

Municipal ward plan revisions

Currently, under the state constitution, the legislature is directed to redistrict

legislative districts according to the number of inhabitants at its next session

following each federal census. At the same intervals, the legislature also

reapportions congressional districts in this state pursuant to federal law. Under

current state law, following each decennial federal census, most municipalities are

also required to divide their territory into wards, and counties and cities are required

to redistrict supervisory and aldermanic districts so that the districts contain, as

nearly as practicable, an equal number of inhabitants according to the census

results. With limited exceptions, wards are required to consist of one or more whole,