SB 163

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 decennial 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. With limited exceptions, wards are

required to consist of one or more whole, contiguous census blocks (the smallest

geographic units for which census results are available). Traditionally, the

legislature has used municipal wards to construct legislative and congressional

districts, although the legislature may adjust the boundaries of a municipal ward

and use the revised ward boundaries instead. Legislative and congressional

redistricting plans enacted pursuant to this procedure are used to elect members of

the legislature and members of Congress in the fall of the second year following the

year of the census.

This bill creates a new procedure for the preparation of legislative and

congressional redistricting plans. The bill directs the Legislative Reference Bureau

(LRB) to draw redistricting plans based upon standards specified in the bill and

establishes a Redistricting Advisory Commission to perform certain tasks in the

redistricting process. The bill also makes various other changes to the laws

governing redistricting. Significant aspects of the bill include:

Redistricting standards

Under the bill, a redistricting plan drawn by the LRB must satisfy several

criteria, including:

1. The plan must be based on population requirements imposed under the

Wisconsin Constitution and the U.S. Constitution and requirements imposed under

Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act, which, among other things, generally

prohibits redistricting plans from abridging the right to vote on account of race or

color or because a person is a member of a language minority group.

2. The senate and assembly districts established in the plan must satisfy equal

population standards specified in the bill. Among other things, no senate district

may have a population which exceeds that of any other senate district by more than

ten percent and no assembly district may have a population which exceeds that of

any other assembly district by more than ten percent, unless necessary to maintain

compliance with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Congressional districts

established in the plan must each have a population as nearly equal as practicable

to the ideal population for such districts, while maintaining compliance with Section

2 of the Voting Rights Act.

3. District boundaries under the plan must coincide with municipal ward

boundaries and, to the extent consistent with the Wisconsin Constitution, the U.S.

Constitution, and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, must coincide with the