STATE OF NEW YORK
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8521
IN SENATE
December 3, 2010
___________
Introduced by Sen. DILAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY
proposing an amendment to article 3 of the constitution, in relation to
senate, assembly and congressional districts, and to repeal sections
2, 3, 4, 5, 5-a and 7 of such article relating thereto
1 Section 1. RESOLVED (if the Assembly concur), That sections 2, 3, 4,
2 5, 5-a and 7 of article 3 of the constitution are REPEALED and six new
3 sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 7-a are added to read as follows:
4 § 2. Number and terms of senators and assembly members. The senate
5 shall consist of sixty-one members. The assembly shall consist of one
6 hundred and fifty members. The members of the senate and assembly shall
7 be elected in even-numbered years for terms of two years.
8 § 3. Establishment and alteration of senate, assembly and congression-
9 al districts. a. There shall be a districting commission to draw
10 senate, assembly and congressional districts, so that all the people of
11 New York may be fairly represented. The districting commission shall
12 consist of nine members. No person shall be a member of the districting
13 commission who is not a registered voter in the state of New York, and
14 who has not been, at the time of appointment, a resident of the state of
15 New York for five years. No member of the senate or assembly, no member
16 of congress, and no person holding judicial office, shall be a member of
17 the districting commission. The temporary president of the senate, the
18 minority leader of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, and the
19 minority leader of the assembly shall each appoint two members for a
20 term of ten years commencing on the first day of April of the year
21 preceding the year in which the federal decennial census is taken,
22 except that, if this subdivision shall become effective after such date,
23 the terms of the members shall commence on the fifteenth day of January
24 of the year in which this subdivision shall become effective. If a seat
25 on the commission shall fall vacant, the officer of the legislature who
26 appointed the original member shall appoint a member to complete the
27 unexpired term; except that, if more than two members appointed by the
28 officers of either house would then have been appointed by an officer of
29 the same party, then the other officer of the same house shall appoint a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD89213-02-0
S. 8521 2
1 member to fill the vacancy. The ninth member, who shall be the chair of
2 the commission, shall be appointed, subject to the assent of the gover-
3 nor, by a vote of at least six of the other eight members, including at
4 least one appointed by each appointing authority, to a term that shall
5 expire at the same time as the terms of the other members.
6 b. The senate, assembly, and congressional districts shall be estab-
7 lished by a vote of at least five members of the districting commission,
8 including the affirmative vote of the chair of the commission. The plans
9 of senate, assembly, and congressional districts established by the
10 districting commission shall have the effect of law. The districting
11 commission shall establish the senate, assembly, and congressional
12 districts at the same time, and no later than the last day of March of
13 the second year following the year in which the federal decennial census
14 is taken, and shall at that time issue a report explaining how the
15 districts comply with the requirements of section five of this article.
16 Such districts shall become effective for the next ensuing general
17 election of senators, assembly members, and members of congress. The
18 senate, assembly, and congressional districts shall remain unaltered
19 until after the subsequent federal decennial census, except that, if an
20 alteration of such districts shall be ordered by a court of competent
21 jurisdiction, or if such districts shall be prevented from taking effect
22 pursuant to this article or to any provision of the constitution and
23 laws of the United States, the districting commission shall make the
24 alterations necessary to provide a remedy. All votes of the commission
25 shall be taken at public meetings, and the commission shall cause tran-
26 scripts of all meetings and hearings, including all testimony submitted
27 in writing, to be made publicly available. The commission shall promote
28 informed public understanding of, and participation in, the process of
29 redistricting, by such means as providing information to the public,
30 holding hearings, and encouraging submission of proposals.
31 c. The legislature shall make necessary appropriations for the
32 expenses of the districting commission, provide for compensation and
33 reimbursement of expenses for the members and staff of the commission,
34 assign to the commission any additional duties that the legislature may
35 deem necessary to the performance of the duties stipulated in this arti-
36 cle, and require other agencies and officials of the state of New York
37 and its political subdivisions to provide such information and assist-
38 ance as the commission may require to perform its duties.
39 d. Subject to such reasonable regulations as the legislature shall
40 enact, the districting commission shall, as may be necessary to perform
41 its duties, hire staff, enter into contracts, conduct research, hold
42 hearings, and communicate with the public; shall assemble and maintain
43 such geographic, demographic, election, and voter registration data as
44 may be necessary for the analysis and evaluation of proposed and estab-
45 lished plans of senate, assembly, and congressional districts, includ-
46 ing, but not limited to, the compliance of such plans with the
47 provisions of this article and with the constitution and laws of the
48 United States; and shall cause all such data, and all expert reports,
49 results of any other research conducted under a contract entered into by
50 the commission, and proposals for districts submitted by the public, to
51 be made publicly available.
52 § 4. Judicial review of districts. The senate, assembly, and congres-
53 sional districts shall be subject to review by the supreme court, at the
54 suit of any citizen, under such reasonable regulations as the legisla-
55 ture may prescribe. Any court before which a cause may be pending
56 involving the establishment and alteration of such districts, shall give
S. 8521 3
1 precedence thereto over all other causes and proceedings, and if said
2 court be not in session it shall convene promptly for the disposition of
3 the same. Such court shall have authority to appoint referees, to engage
4 the assistance of experts, and to compel the assistance of the district-
5 ing commission and its staff, as it may deem necessary to the disposi-
6 tion of a suit brought under this section. If the districting commission
7 shall fail to establish senate, assembly, or congressional districts by
8 the date specified in subdivision b of section three of this article, or
9 if a court reviewing districts pursuant to this section finds the estab-
10 lishment or alteration of any such districts to be clearly erroneous
11 under any provision of this article, or of the constitution and laws of
12 the Untied States, the court shall order the commission to establish
13 such districts or make such alterations as necessary to provide a reme-
14 dy, within such time as the court may require, or shall itself establish
15 such districts or make such alterations as the court deems necessary.
16 § 5. Criteria for districts. a. The difference in population between
17 the most and least populous senate districts shall not exceed two
18 percent of the mean population of all senate districts, and the differ-
19 ence in population between the most and least populous assembly
20 districts shall not exceed two percent of the mean population of all
21 assembly districts.
22 b. All congressional districts shall be as nearly equal in population
23 as is practicable.
24 c. Each district shall consist of contiguous territory; no district
25 shall consist of parts entirely separated by the territory of another
26 district of the same body, whether such territory be land or water,
27 populated or unpopulated. A populated census block shall not be divided
28 by a district boundary, unless it can be determined that the populated
29 part of such block is within a single district.
30 d. The whole number of persons reported in the federal decennial
31 census shall be the basis for determining populations for the purposes
32 of this article, except that, for the purpose of determining the popu-
33 lations of senate and assembly districts, no person shall be deemed to
34 have gained or lost a residence by reason of conviction and incarcera-
35 tion in a federal or state correctional facility.
36 e. Senate, assembly, or congressional districts shall not be estab-
37 lished that result in a denial to members of racial and linguistic
38 minority groups of an equal opportunity with other citizens to partic-
39 ipate in the political process and to elect the representatives of their
40 choice. The principles stated in subdivision f of this section shall be
41 used to create districts that will afford fair representation to the
42 members of those racial and linguistic minority groups who are suffi-
43 ciently numerous and whose residential patterns afford the opportunity
44 of creating districts in which they will be able to elect represen-
45 tatives of their choice.
46 f. Subject and subsidiary to the requirements of subdivisions a, b, c,
47 d and e of this section, the following principles shall be followed in
48 the creation of senate, assembly, and congressional districts. A princi-
49 ple with a lower number shall have precedence over a principle with a
50 higher number.
51 1. To the extent practicable, counties shall not be divided in the
52 formation of districts, except to create districts wholly within a coun-
53 ty. Where such division of counties is unavoidable, more populous coun-
54 ties shall be divided in preference to the division of less populous
55 counties.
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1 2. To the extent practicable, county subdivisions shall not be divided
2 in the formation of districts, except to create districts wholly within
3 a county subdivision. For the purposes of this article, a county subdi-
4 vision shall be a city, except the city of New York, a town, or an Indi-
5 an reservation whose territory is exclusive of the territory of any city
6 or town. County subdivisions with larger populations shall be divided in
7 preference to division of those with smaller populations.
8 3. To the extent practicable, incorporated villages shall not be
9 divided in the formation of districts.
10 4. The senate, assembly, and congressional districts shall be as
11 compact in form as is practicable.
12 5. To the extent practicable, a senate, assembly, or congressional
13 district shall unite communities defined by actual shared interests,
14 taking account of geographic, social, economic, and other factors that
15 indicate commonality of interest, and districts shall be formed so as to
16 promote the orderly and efficient administration of elections.
17 6. To the extent practicable, the residences of two or more incumbent
18 members of the same body shall not be placed in the same district of
19 such body, and the residences of incumbent legislators and members of
20 congress shall be included in the district with the largest number of
21 their existing constituents, but the requirements of subdivisions a, b,
22 c, d and e of this section, and of paragraphs one, two, three, four and
23 five of this subdivision, shall always take precedence over, and shall
24 never be subordinated to, the requirements of this paragraph or the
25 preservation of the cores of existing districts.
26 § 7. Qualifications of members of the legislature. No person shall
27 serve as a member of the legislature unless he or she is a citizen of
28 the United States and has been a resident of the state of New York for
29 five years and, except if elected a senator or member of the assembly at
30 the first election in which a readjustment or alteration of the senate
31 or assembly districts becomes effective, of the senate or assembly
32 district for the twelve months immediately preceding his or her
33 election. No member of the legislature shall, during the time for which
34 he or she was elected, receive any civil appointment from the governor,
35 the governor and the senate, the legislature or from any city govern-
36 ment, to an office which shall have been created, or the emoluments
37 whereof shall have been increased during such time. If a member of the
38 legislature be elected to congress, or appointed to any office, civil or
39 military, under the government of the United States, the state of New
40 York, or under any city government except as a member of the national
41 guard or naval militia of the state, or of the reserve forces of the
42 United States, his or her acceptance thereof shall vacate his or her
43 seat in the legislature, providing, however, that a member of the legis-
44 lature may be appointed commissioner of deeds or to any office in which
45 he or she shall receive no compensation.
46 § 7-a. The senate, assembly and congressional districts in use at the
47 time that this section takes effect shall continue in use at the general
48 election of the year two thousand twelve and at any special election
49 held during the year two thousand twelve, at which a vacancy arising
50 within any such district is to be filled.
51 § 2. RESOLVED (if the Assembly concur), That the foregoing amendment
52 be referred to the first regular legislative session convening after the
53 next succeeding general election of members of the assembly, and, in
54 conformity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be
55 published for 3 months previous to the time of such election.
