HB1666 (2018) Detail

Relative to redistricting.


HB 1666 - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

2018 SESSION

18-2700

03/01

 

HOUSE BILL 1666

 

AN ACT relative to redistricting.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. Knirk, Carr. 3; Rep. Read, Rock. 17; Rep. Somssich, Rock. 27; Rep. Rand, Graf. 8; Sen. Woodburn, Dist 1

 

COMMITTEE: Election Law

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill requires additional redistricting if election results exceed a specified efficiency gap.

 

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

18-2700

03/01

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eighteen

 

AN ACT relative to redistricting.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

1  New Chapter; Fairness in Redistricting.  Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 662-A the following new chapter:

CHAPTER 662-B

FAIRNESS IN REDISTRICTING

662-B:1  Fairness in Redistricting.  Within one month following the first election following decennial redistricting or any other redistricting, the efficiency gap, cited in Whitford v. Gill, 218 F. Supp. 3d 837 (W.D. Wis. 2016), shall be calculated for the New Hampshire house of representatives, the New Hampshire senate, the executive council, and the congressional districts.  If the efficiency gap exceeds 8 percent for the New Hampshire house of representatives, the New Hampshire senate, the executive council, or the congressional districts, the redistricting plan of the elected body in question shall be submitted to the computer simulation using the method of Jowei Chen, The Impact of Political Geography on Wisconsin Redistricting: An Analysis of Wisconsin’s Act 43 Assembly Districting Plan, 16 Election L.J. (forthcoming 2017).  If the efficiency gap of the redistricting plan exceeds 50 percent more than the highest efficiency gap in the simulations, the redistricting for that elected body shall be deemed to be gerrymandered and therefore not valid and the following actions shall be taken:

I.  The districts shall be redrawn for the gerrymandered body under RSA 662-B:2.

II.  The new districts drawn by the commission shall be used at the next general election.

III.  The same process of testing with the efficiency gap shall be performed after the next election with the same actions to be taken if the efficiency gap demonstrates gerrymandering.  If these redrawn districts again fail the efficiency gap metric, the districts shall again be redrawn by the independent commission.

662-B:2  Redrawing Gerrymandered Districts.

I.  Districts deemed gerrymandered under RSA 662-B:1 shall be redrawn for by an independent commission composed of the following:

(a)  The speaker of the house of representatives.

(b)  The minority leader of the house of representatives.

(c)  The senate majority leader.

(d)  The senate minority leader.

(e)  The chairperson of the house standing committee with jurisdiction over election law.

(f)  The ranking minority party member of the house standing committee with jurisdiction over election law.

(g)  The chairperson of the senate standing committee with jurisdiction over election law.

(h)  The ranking minority party member of the senate standing committee with jurisdiction over election law.

II.  The commission shall forward a plan containing the redrawn districts to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate before April 1 of the year following the general election for which the redistricting was declared to be invalid.  It is the intent of this chapter that the general court shall vote on the plan in either the house of representatives or the senate expeditiously, but not less than 7 days after the plan is received and made available to the members of the general court, under a procedure or rule permitting no amendments except those of a purely corrective nature.  It is further the intent of this chapter that if the bill is approved by the first house in which it is considered, it shall expeditiously be brought to a vote in the second house under a similar procedure or rule.

III.  If the plan fails to be approved by a constitutional majority in either the house of representatives or the senate, the clerk of the house of representatives or the senate, as the case may be, shall at once transmit to the commission reasons why the plan was not approved.  The commission shall then prepare a second plan taking into account the reasons cited by the house of representatives or senate for its failure to approve the plan insofar as it is possible to do so.  The second plan shall be delivered to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate not later than May 1 of the year following the general election for which the redistricting was declared to be invalid, or 21 days after the date of the vote by which the house of representatives or the senate fails to approve the plan submitted under paragraph II, whichever date is later.  It is the intent of this chapter that, if a second plan is necessary, it shall be brought to a vote not less than 7 days after the plan is made available to the members of the general court, in the same manner as prescribed for the plan under paragraph II.

IV.  If the second plan submitted by the commission fails to be approved by a constitutional majority in either the house of representatives or the senate, the same procedure as prescribed by paragraph III shall be followed.  If a third plan is required, it shall be delivered to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate not later than June 1 of the year following the general election for which the redistricting was declared to be invalid, or 21 days after the date of the vote by which the house of representatives or the senate fails to approve the second plan submitted under paragraph III, whichever date is later.  It is the intent of this chapter that, if it is necessary to submit a plan under this paragraph, the plan be brought to a vote within the same time period after its delivery to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate as is prescribed for the plan submitted under paragraph III, but shall be subject to amendment in the same manner as other bills.

2  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect upon its passage.

Links


Date Body Type
Jan. 18, 2018 House Hearing
Feb. 13, 2018 House Exec Session
House Floor Vote
March 6, 2018 House Floor Vote

Bill Text Revisions

HB1666 Revision: 2314 Date: Nov. 13, 2017, 1:04 p.m.

Docket


March 6, 2018: Inexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 03/06/2018 HJ 6 P. 31


: Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate (Vote 20-0; CC)


March 6, 2018: Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate for 03/06/2018 (Vote 20-0; CC) HC 9 P. 17


Feb. 13, 2018: Executive Session: 02/13/2018 11:00 AM LOB 308


Jan. 18, 2018: Public Hearing: 01/18/2018 10:00 AM LOB 308


Jan. 3, 2018: Introduced 01/03/2018 and referred to Election Law HJ 1 P. 19