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PRINTER'S NO. 377
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
401
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY DALEY, FREEMAN, McCLINTON, SCHLOSSBERG, HILL-
EVANS, WARREN, OTTEN, SAPPEY AND DeLUCA, FEBRUARY 6, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 6, 2019
AN ACT
Providing for congressional redistricting plan; establishing the
Congressional Redistricting Commission; and making an
appropriation.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Congressional
Redistricting Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Census." The Federal decennial census.
"Commission." The Congressional Redistricting Commission
established under section 4. The term includes members and staff
of the commission unless context indicates otherwise.
"District." A congressional district in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania created under a plan.
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"Immediate family." A parent, spouse, child or sibling.
"Member." A member of the Congressional Redistricting
Commission.
"Plan." A plan for congressional districts in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania drawn under this act.
"Redistricting." The process of redrawing the boundaries of
congressional districts in this Commonwealth by the commission.
"Secretary." The Secretary of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
"Supreme Court." The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Section 3. Redistricting.
(a) Timing.--Unless otherwise directed by a court order,
redistricting shall be permitted only once in the decade
following a census.
(b) Prohibited considerations.--The following shall apply:
(1) A district shall not be drawn for the purpose of
favoring or discriminating against an incumbent, political
candidate or political party.
(2) Information regarding the location of the residence
of an individual shall not be used in the creation of a plan.
(3) No political or election data shall be utilized in
the creation of any plan, however, the commission shall have
the right to use the data to test the responsiveness of any
created plan.
(4) Districts shall not be drawn with the intent or
result of denying or abridging the equal opportunity of a
racial or language minority to participate in the political
process or diminish the ability of a racial or language
minority to elect the representatives of the minority's
choice.
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Section 4. Congressional Redistricting Commission.
Not later than December 31 of each year ending in zero, the
Congressional Redistricting Commission shall be established for
the purpose of redistricting. The commission shall:
(1) conduct an open and transparent process enabling full
public consideration of and comment on the drawing of
district lines; and
(2) conduct itself with integrity and fairness.
Section 5. Commission composition, selection and
qualifications.
(a) Composition.--The commission shall consist of the
following members:
(1) five members who are registered with the largest
political party in this Commonwealth based on registration;
(2) five members who are registered with the second-
largest political party in this Commonwealth based on
registration; and
(3) four members who are not registered with either of
the two largest political parties in this Commonwealth based
on registration.
(b) Qualifications.--In addition to any other qualification
prescribed by law, each member shall be a voter who has:
(1) been continuously registered as a voter in this
Commonwealth for 10 years and whose political affiliation has
not changed in the three years immediately preceding the date
of appointment to the commission;
(2) voted in two of the last three Statewide general
elections immediately preceding the date of appointment to
the commission;
(3) not held or does not have an immediate family member
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who has held elective public office at the Federal, State or
municipal level or Federal judicial office or State judicial
office in this Commonwealth in the five years immediately
preceding the date of appointment to the commission;
(4) not served or does not have an immediate family
member who has served as a paid staff member or paid
consultant to Congress, the General Assembly or staff
appointed by the Governor in the five years immediately
preceding the date of appointment to the commission;
(5) not registered or does not have an immediate family
member who has registered as a Federal lobbyist or State
lobbyist in this Commonwealth in the five years immediately
preceding the date of appointment to the commission; and
(6) not been nominated or does not have an immediate
family member who has been nominated as a candidate for
elective office by a political party or political body or
served or does not have a spouse who has served as a paid
staff member or officer of a political party, political body,
political committee or political action committee in the five
years immediately preceding the date of appointment to the
commission.
(c) Application and selection of members.--The following
shall apply:
(1) An application to serve as a member shall be filed
with the secretary, who shall develop the application, and
shall indicate the applicant's qualifications as required
under this section.
(2) The secretary shall verify the qualifications of
each applicant. If the secretary finds that an applicant is
not qualified, the secretary shall not include the
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applicant's name in the pool of applicants.
(3) The secretary shall separate all qualified
applicants into three groups consisting of those who are:
(i) registered with the largest political party in
this Commonwealth based on registration;
(ii) registered with the second-largest political
party in this Commonwealth based on registration; and
(iii) not registered with either of the two largest
political parties in this Commonwealth based on
registration.
(4) The secretary shall select, on a random basis, 40
qualified applicants from each of the three groups provided
under paragraph (3).
(5) The Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the
Senate and the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the
House of Representatives may each strike up to two applicants
from each group under paragraph (3). Each leader shall have
no more than six strikes.
(6) After the legislative leaders have exercised the
permitted strikes under paragraph (5), the secretary shall
randomly select for appointment as members from the remaining
applicants in each of the three groups of qualified
applicants under paragraph (3). In addition to the
qualification requirements provided under subsection (b),
appointments from each group under this paragraph shall
reasonably reflect the racial, geographic and gender
diversity of this Commonwealth.
(d) Ethics.--65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 11 (relating to ethics standards
and financial disclosure), known as the Public Official and
Employee Ethics Act, shall apply to all members. A member shall
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have a duty to complete and file financial disclosure reports
prior to taking office and one year after leaving office.
(e) Expiration of office.--The term of office of each member
expires upon the appointment of the first member of the
succeeding commission.
(f) Removal from commission.--The following shall apply to
the removal of a member and vacancies on the commission:
(1) A member who fails to attend more than two
consecutive meetings at which a vote of the commission is
scheduled shall be removed from the commission unless the
member is absent due to death of an immediate family member,
personal illness or illness of an immediate family member.
(2) A member who has been convicted, found guilty or
pled guilty or nolo contendere to embezzlement of public
money, bribery, perjury or other infamous crimes, whether or
not sentence has been imposed, shall be removed from the
commission.
(3) A vacancy in the commission shall be filled within
14 days from the time the commission is notified of the
vacancy in the same manner that the position was originally
filled and using the same pool of applicants from which the
vacating member was chosen. If none of those remaining
applicants are available for service, the secretary shall
fill the vacancy from a new pool of applicants created from
the same voter registration category as the vacating member.
(g) Prohibition following service.--The following
prohibitions shall apply:
(1) A member shall be ineligible to do the following for
a period of three years beginning from the expiration of the
term for which the member was appointed:
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(i) Serve as a paid staff member or paid consultant
to Congress, the General Assembly or staff appointed by
the Governor.
(ii) Register as a lobbyist in this Commonwealth.
(iii) Serve as a paid staff member or paid political
consultant for a political party, political body,
political committee or political action committee.
(2) A member and the member's immediate family shall be
ineligible to do the following for a period of five years
beginning from the expiration of the term for which the
member was appointed to the commission:
(i) Hold an appointed position or elective public
office at the Federal, State or local level in this
Commonwealth.
(ii) Be eligible for nomination as a candidate for
elective office by a political party or political body.
(iii) Hold office for a political party, political
body, political committee or political action committee.
(h) Chair.--One of the members shall be selected as chair by
a vote of at least nine members.
(i) Quorum.--Nine members shall constitute a quorum.
(j) Votes required for passage.--Nine affirmative votes
shall be required for any official action. The final plan must
include at least one vote from a member of each of the two
largest political parties in this Commonwealth based on
registration and one vote from a member who is not registered
with either of the two largest political parties.
(k) Open meetings.--All commission meetings that achieve a
quorum of members shall be open to the public.
(l) Appropriation.--The General Assembly shall appropriate
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sufficient money for the compensation and expenses of members
and staff appointed by the commission and for other necessary
expenses.
(m) Per diem.--In addition to necessary expenses, members
shall receive a per diem for each day or part of a day spent
performing official duties. The per diem shall be the most
recent per diem rate for locations in this Commonwealth as
established and published by the United States General Services
Administration.
(n) Staff.--The Department of State shall provide staff as
needed to support the commission in the performance of the
commission's duties.
Section 6. Redistricting.
(a) Preparation.--To begin the process of preparing
information necessary for redistricting, the commission shall:
(1) acquire all necessary and appropriate information,
review and evaluate available facilities and develop programs
and procedures that may include the use of software in
preparation for plans on the basis of each census; and
(2) as soon as possible after December 31 of each year
ending in zero, obtain from the United States Census Bureau
the population data needed for redistricting that the United
States Census Bureau is required to provide the Commonwealth
under 13 U.S.C. § 141 (relating to population and other
census information) and use the data to assign a population
figure based upon census data to each geographic and
political unit described under subparagraph (i). Upon
completing that task, the commission shall begin the
preparation of plans as required under this section. The
commission shall use the data obtained to prepare:
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(i) necessary descriptions of census blocks,
election districts, wards, municipalities and counties
for which census data is reported and that are suitable
for use as components of districts; and
(ii) maps of census blocks, election districts,
wards, municipalities and counties within this
Commonwealth that may be used to illustrate the locations
of district boundaries proposed in plans.
(b) Public information.--The commission shall promptly make
the information obtained under subsection (a)(1) available to
the public on a publicly accessible Internet website established
by the commission in a manner prescribed by law.
(c) Public hearings.--The commission shall hold the
following hearings:
(1) No later than 30 days prior to the deadline for
approval of a preliminary plan under subsection (d), the
commission shall hold at least five public hearings in
different geographic regions of this Commonwealth, including
one in each of the two largest cities based on total
population size.
(2) No later than 30 days following the deadline for
approval of a preliminary plan under subsection (d), the
commission shall hold at least five public hearings in
different geographic regions of this Commonwealth, including
one in each of the two largest cities based on total
population size.
(d) Preliminary plan.--No later than July 1 of each year
ending in one, the commission shall complete and approve a
preliminary plan and maps as required under this section. The
commission shall make the preliminary plan and maps available to
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the public in a manner prescribed by law.
(e) Final plan.--The commission shall approve a final plan
no later than August 15 of each year ending in one. Upon
approval, the commission shall certify the resulting plan to the
secretary, and that plan shall constitute the certified final
plan.
(f) Failure to approve plan.--The following shall apply:
(1) If the commission fails to approve a final plan
under subsection (e), the following shall apply:
(i) No later than September 1 of each year ending in
one, the commission shall complete and approve a second
preliminary plan and maps and make the second preliminary
plan and maps available to the public in a manner
prescribed by law.
(ii) Within 30 days following the deadline for
approval of the second preliminary plan under
subparagraph (i), the commission shall schedule and
conduct at least five public hearings in different
geographic regions of this Commonwealth, including one in
each of the two largest cities based on total population
size.
(iii) No later than October 15 of each year ending
in one, the commission shall approve a final plan. Upon
approval, the commission shall certify the resulting plan
to the secretary, and that plan shall constitute the
certified final plan.
(2) If the commission does not complete and approve a
final plan under paragraph (1), the secretary shall, within
seven business days of October 16th, petition the Supreme
Court for an order directing the appointment of a special
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master to develop and complete a final plan in accordance
with the criteria and requirements provided under section 7.
(3) The Supreme Court and the special master shall
receive and consider all data and public testimony submitted
to and used by the commission.
(4) The special master must demonstrate expertise in
geographic information systems by:
(i) holding a graduate degree in geographic
information systems;
(ii) currently serving as a faculty member for a
geographic information systems program at an institution
of higher learning located within this Commonwealth; and
(iii) meeting the qualifications and restrictions
under section 5(b) and (g).
(5) Upon the Supreme Court's approval of the master's
plan, the court shall certify the resulting plan to the
secretary, and that plan shall constitute the certified final
plan.
(g) Legal standing.--The commission has the sole legal
standing to defend an action against a certified final plan.
(h) Jurisdiction.--The Supreme Court has original and
exclusive jurisdiction in all proceedings in which a certified
final plan is challenged or is claimed not to have taken timely
effect.
(i) Petition.--An aggrieved individual who is a registered
voter in this Commonwealth may file a petition with the Supreme
Court within 30 days after the commission has certified a final
plan to the secretary to bar implementation of the plan on the
grounds that the filed plan violates the Constitution of the
United States, the Constitution of Pennsylvania or any Federal
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or State statute.
(j) Use of plan.--Upon the filing of all plans required
under this section and the exhaustion of all appeals of a plan,
the final plan shall have the force of law and the districts
provided in the plan shall be used in elections to the United
States Congress until the next redistricting as required under
this act.
(k) Inadequate funding.--The commission shall inform the
General Assembly if the commission determines that money or
other resources provided for the operation of the commission are
not adequate.
Section 7. Redistricting standards.
(a) General rule.--Districts shall comply with the
applicable Federal voting rights laws.
(b) Population equality.--Each district shall have a
population that deviates no more than 1% from the average
population of all districts.
(c) District boundaries.--
(1) The area of each district shall be contiguous. A
district with areas that meet only at points of adjoining
corners is not contiguous.
(2) An election district must be wholly within a single
district.
(3) District boundaries shall coincide with the
boundaries of political subdivisions of this Commonwealth to
the extent practicable.
(d) Communities of interest.--The commission shall respect
the boundaries of communities of interest, including, but not
limited to, contiguous populations that share common social and
economic interests, language or cultural characteristics to the
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extent practicable to help ensure the opportunity for voters to
elect a chosen candidate.
(e) Compactness.--The commission shall adopt a compactness
measurement, which shall be utilized for determining
compactness. The standards established under subsections (a) and
(b) shall take precedence over compactness where a conflict
arises between compactness and standards required under this
act.
Section 8. Resident plans.
(a) Public submission.--Any resident of this Commonwealth
may submit a notarized congressional redistricting plan to the
commission, which must give the plan due consideration. The
commission must provide a convenient and timely electronic
method for plan submissions.
(b) Public availability.--The commission shall make all
resident-generated maps and associated commentaries available
electronically to the public.
Section 9. Public information and confirmations.
(a) Open meetings.--All proceedings related to the
redistricting under this act shall comply with 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7
(relating to open meetings) and the act of February 14, 2008
(P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law.
(b) Public comments.--The commission shall develop a system
for receiving written comments from the public, including all
electronic mail formats. This information shall be reviewed by
the commission and given consideration equal to consideration
given to the testimony of those who have appeared before the
commission.
(c) Publicly available information.--The commission shall:
(1) develop a publicly accessible Internet website to
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disseminate information received or developed by the
commission; and
(2) within 48 hours of receipt or development of
information, post on the website developed under paragraph
(1) information including, but not limited to, the following:
(i) Data intended for use in drafting a plan, the
preliminary plan or any revised plan.
(ii) Access to software that can be used to prepare
resident plans.
(iii) Plans submitted by residents under section
8(a) that comply with standards outlined in section 7.
(iv) Notice of commission meetings and public
hearings.
(v) Transcripts of testimony presented at public
meetings.
(vi) Any written testimony.
(vii) All written communications between the
commission and other persons concerning a plan.
(viii) The preliminary and final plan.
(ix) A detailed explanation of the differences
between the preliminary and final plan.
Section 10. Appeals.
(a) General rule.--A resident of this Commonwealth has
standing to file suit for violations of this act.
(b) Public information.--All official documents relating to
any appeals of the final plan shall be posted on the
commission's publicly accessible Internet website.
Section 11. Advertising.
The final plan shall be advertised in the newspaper with the
largest circulation in each county and posted on the
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commission's publicly accessible Internet website in various
formats. The website shall demonstrate how:
(1) district boundaries of the proposed and final plans
overlay with the county and municipal boundaries;
(2) the proposed and final plans compare with existing
and prior plans approved by the commission; and
(3) the districts comply with all other standards in
section 7.
Section 12. Prohibited activities.
No person shall attempt to influence the commission except
through testimony at a public hearing or by written document
submitted to the commission.
Section 13. Penalties.
The following penalties shall apply:
(1) Violation of section 5(b) or (g) shall result in the
immediate removal of the member.
(2) Violation of section 7 shall be grounds for
declaring the map unconstitutional.
(3) Violation of section 8, 9 or 11 shall result in a
penalty as prescribed under 65 Pa.C.S. § 714 (relating to
penalty) and section 1305 of the act of February 14, 2008
(P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law.
(4) Violation of section 14 shall result in a penalty as
prescribed under 65 Pa.C.S. § 13A07(f) (relating to
prohibited activities) and, if committed by an elected or
appointed public official, shall be grounds for removal from
office.
Section 14. Severability.
If any provision of this act or application of the act is
found to be unconstitutional, the remaining provisions or
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applications of the act shall continue in force as law.
Section 15. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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