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| PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 17 | PRINTER'S NO. 975 |
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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY PILEGGI, SCARNATI, MELLOW, ALLOWAY, ORIE, RAFFERTY, FERLO, FOLMER, ROBBINS, O'PAKE, TARTAGLIONE, EARLL, KASUNIC, TOMLINSON, PICCOLA, McILHINNEY, STACK, PIPPY, LOGAN, YAW, WARD, WASHINGTON, BOSCOLA AND D. WHITE, JANUARY 20, 2009 |
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| AS AMENDED ON SECOND CONSIDERATION, MAY 4, 2009 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), entitled |
2 | "An act concerning elections, including general, municipal, |
3 | special and primary elections, the nomination of candidates, |
4 | primary and election expenses and election contests; creating |
5 | and defining membership of county boards of elections; |
6 | imposing duties upon the Secretary of the Commonwealth, |
7 | courts, county boards of elections, county commissioners; |
8 | imposing penalties for violation of the act, and codifying, |
9 | revising and consolidating the laws relating thereto; and |
10 | repealing certain acts and parts of acts relating to |
11 | elections," further providing for restrictions on alteration |
12 | of boundaries of election districts. |
13 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
14 | hereby enacts as follows: |
15 | Section 1. Section 536 of the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, |
16 | No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code, amended May |
17 | 16, 2002 (P.L.310, No.44), is amended to read: |
18 | Section 536. Restrictions on Alteration.--(a) Except as |
19 | provided in subsection (b), there shall be no power to |
20 | establish, abolish, divide, consolidate or alter in any manner |
21 | an election district during the period [June 1, 2000] June 1, |
22 | 2009, through [June 30, 2002] November 30, 2012, or through |
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1 | resolution of all judicial appeals to the [2002] 2012 |
2 | Congressional [Reapportionment] Redistricting Plan, whichever |
3 | occurs later. |
4 | (b) During the period from [June 1, 2000] June 1, 2009, |
5 | through December 31, [2000] 2010, an election district may be |
6 | divided or election districts may be combined if the following |
7 | are met: |
8 | (1) In the case of the division of an election district, the |
9 | boundary of each resulting district is composed entirely of |
10 | clearly visible physical features conforming with the census |
11 | block lines or portions of the original boundary of the election |
12 | district which was divided. |
13 | (2) In the case of the combination of election districts, |
14 | the boundary of each resulting district is composed entirely of |
15 | portions of the original boundaries of the election districts |
16 | which were combined. |
17 | (c) If an alteration of an election district under |
18 | subsection (b) is sought, the following shall apply: |
19 | (1) The county board of elections shall notify the [bureau] |
20 | secretary, in writing, of the proposed alteration. The notice |
21 | shall include a map and a description of the proposed boundary |
22 | of any new or altered district or districts. The [bureau] |
23 | secretary shall forward a copy of any notice of proposed |
24 | alteration to the Legislative Data Processing Center within |
25 | seven (7) days of receipt. |
26 | (2) Before a county board of elections may petition the |
27 | court for a change in the boundary of an election district under |
28 | this [act] section, the secretary must make a determination that |
29 | the board has complied with subsection (b). Any of the following |
30 | constitute evidence of the determination under this clause: |
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1 | (i) A certification by the secretary that the determination |
2 | has been made. |
3 | (ii) A certification by the board that notice under this |
4 | clause has been given to the [bureau] secretary and that the |
5 | secretary has not acted within forty-five (45) days of the |
6 | notice. |
7 | (3) The board shall forward a copy of the order approving |
8 | any alteration to the secretary and the Legislative Data |
9 | Processing Center within seven (7) days of the issuance of that |
10 | order. |
11 | Section 2. To facilitate effective reapportionment and | <-- |
12 | redistricting processes following the 2010 United States Census, |
13 | no later than August 15, 2009, the Secretary of the Commonwealth |
14 | shall submit to the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau |
15 | of the Census, any corrections to municipal boundaries and |
16 | election district boundaries as depicted on the maps maintained |
17 | by the Bureau which may be necessary to conform the boundaries |
18 | to the official municipal boundaries and election district |
19 | boundaries of the Commonwealth. If the Secretary of the |
20 | Commonwealth determines that no corrections are necessary, the |
21 | secretary shall so notify the Majority Leader and the Minority |
22 | Leader of the Senate and the Majority Leader and the Minority |
23 | Leader of the House of Representatives. |
24 | Section 2 3. This act shall take effect immediately. | <-- |
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