Nebraska LB 253: Adopt the Redistricting Act

Bill Text

LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED SIXTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 253
 
Introduced by McCollister, 20.
Read first time January 14, 2019
Committee: Executive Board
A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to redistricting; to amend section 49-1499.03,1
Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, and section 49-1493, Revised2
Statutes  Cumulative  Supplement,  2018;  to  adopt  the  Redistricting3
Act;  to  require  statements  of  financial  interest  and  conflict  of4
interest  statements  as  prescribed;  to  harmonize  provisions;  to5
provide severability; and to repeal the original sections.6
Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,7
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Section 1.  Sections 1 to 34 of this act shall be known and may be1
cited as the Redistricting Act.2
Sec. 2.  (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to recognize that3
decennial  redistricting  is  a  significant  part  of  the  legislative  and4
political  process  and  must  be  administered  in  an  equitable  and5
transparent manner to ensure citizen confidence in government.6
(2)  It  is  the  intent  of  the  Legislature  to  create  and  approve7
districts that have an equal distribution of population, as directed by8
Article I, section 2, of the Constitution of the United States and the9
Constitution of Nebraska. It is the responsibility of the Legislature to10
ensure that districts are composed of compact and contiguous territory,11
to protect the existing boundaries of counties, political subdivisions,12
core communities, and communities of interest when practicable, to place13
precincts  wholly  within  a  single  legislative  district  and  to  place14
legislative districts wholly within a single congressional district when15
practicable, and to ensure that the drawing of the boundaries of a single16
district does not result in cracking, packing, or otherwise diluting the17
voting  rights  of  any  voting  majority  or  minority  based  on  race  or18
language.19
(3)  It  is  the  intent  of  the  Legislature  to  create  the  Independent20
Redistricting Citizen's Advisory Commission for the purpose of assisting21
the Legislature in the process of redistricting in 2021 and thereafter.22
Sec.  3.   Nothing  in  the  Redistricting  Act  shall  be  construed  or23
understood  as  altering  the  rules  or  procedures  of  the  Legislature  that24
apply after any bill, including a bill developed and introduced pursuant25
to the Redistricting Act, has been placed on General File.26
Sec. 4.  For purposes of the Redistricting Act, the definitions in27
sections 5 to 23 of this act apply.28
Sec. 5.  Base map means a map drawn by the director for purposes of29
developing  a  redistricting  plan  which  serves  as  a  template  for  the30
commission in order to draw an initial map for each district.31
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Sec. 6.  Census data means the adopted official population figures1
and  maps  from  the  Census  Redistricting  Data  (Public  Law  94-171)  TIGER/2
Line  Shapefiles  for  the  most  recent  federal  census  published  by  the3
United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, or the most4
recent  official  population  figures  and  maps  published  by  the  Bureau  of5
the Census for the most recent federal census.6
Sec.  7.   Commission  means  the  Independent  Redistricting  Citizen's7
Advisory Commission.8
Sec.  8.   Constitutional  officer  means  any  individual  elected  or9
appointed to an office enumerated in Article III, section 5, Article IV,10
section  1  or  20,  or  Article  VII,  section  3,  10,  or  13,  of  the11
Constitution of Nebraska during his or her term of office.12
Sec. 9.  County apportionment formula means dividing the population13
of the county by the ideal district population, dropping the remainder,14
and the whole number is the number of districts entirely contained within15
the county.16
Sec.  10.   Cracking  means  dividing  the  electoral  strength  of  a17
particular group by a redistricting plan.18
Sec. 11.  Director means the Director of Research of the office of19
Legislative Research or his or her designee.20
Sec. 12.  District means any United States House of Representatives21
district,   legislative   district,   Supreme   Court   judicial   district,22
University  of  Nebraska  Board  of  Regents  district,  Public  Service23
Commission district, or State Board of Education district.24
Sec.  13.   Federal  census  means  the  decennial  census  required  by25
federal law to be conducted by the United States Department of Commerce,26
Bureau of the Census, in every year ending in zero.27
Sec.  14.   Final  map  means  a  map  drawn  by  the  commission,  with28
assistance from the director, which may or may not make alterations to an29
initial map based on recommendations from public hearings.30
Sec.  15.   Ideal  district  population  means  the  population  of  the31
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State of Nebraska divided by the total number of districts.1
Se