Regular Session 2021-2022 House Bill 2925 P.N. 3632

PRINTER'S NO. 3632

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

2925

Session of

2022

INTRODUCED BY RABB, NOVEMBER 16, 2022

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, NOVEMBER 16, 2022

AN ACT

Amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), entitled

"An act concerning elections, including general, municipal,

special and primary elections, the nomination of candidates,

primary and election expenses and election contests; creating

and defining membership of county boards of elections;

imposing duties upon the Secretary of the Commonwealth,

courts, county boards of elections, county commissioners;

imposing penalties for violation of the act, and codifying,

revising and consolidating the laws relating thereto; and

repealing certain acts and parts of acts relating to

elections," in election districts and polling places, further

providing for wards in cities of the first class may be

created, divided, realigned, or consolidated; and making an

editorial change.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Subdivision (c) heading of Article V and section

532 of the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the

Pennsylvania Election Code, are amended to read:

Consolidation] Reapportionment of Wards in Cities of the First

Class

Section 532. Reapportionment of Wards in Cities of the First

Class.--[May be Created, Divided, Realigned, or Consolidated.--

(a) Wards in a city of the first class may be created,

divided, realigned or consolidated, along clearly visible

physical boundaries conforming with census block lines from the

most recently completed Federal decennial census, by the court

of common pleas of the county in which said city is located,

upon application thereto for those purposes by the petition of

at least a total of one hundred qualified electors from the ward

or wards sought to be affected, or of the council of such city.

(b) Upon such petition, the said court shall appoint five

impartial persons as a commission to inquire into and consider

the merits of said petition, by such procedure as said court

shall direct, to inspect the ward or wards sought to be

affected, and to prepare a plan of the ward or wards proposed to

be created, divided, realigned or consolidated.

such time as shall be fixed by the said court.

(d) Unless at least four of said commissioners report

favorably upon said petition and agree upon an implementing

plan, said petition shall be dismissed by said court and the

subject or subjects of said petition shall not be reconsidered

for at least two years from the date of such dismissal.

(e) No final plan shall be entered until at least ten days

after notice to the electors in the wards to be affected

thereby. Such notice shall be in the manner, form and means

directed by the commission, shall state the date of

consideration by the commission and shall contain a warning that

all objections to said report and plan must be set forth in

writing and filed with the commission prior to such date.

(f) On or after such given date, the commission shall

prepare a final plan which will best serve the public interest,

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shall number the new ward or wards and shall cause a certified

copy of the whole proceedings to be placed of record among the

minutes of the city council and with the Mayor of said city.

(g) In the event that any final plan shall affect less than

fifty (50) per centum of the wards in existence prior to the

preparation of said plan, the city council, upon receipt of said

plan from the commission, shall cause the same to be placed upon

the ballot for the purpose of approval or rejection by vote of

the qualified electors of the ward or wards divided, created,

consolidated or realigned by said plan at the primary election

next following the preparation of said plan.

(h) In the event that any final plan shall affect fifty (50)

per centum or more of the wards in existence prior to the

preparation of said plan, the city council upon receipt of said

plan from the commission, shall cause the same to be placed upon

the ballot for the purpose of approval or rejection by vote of

the qualified electors of the city at the primary election next

following the preparation of said plan.

(i) No plan dividing, creating, consolidating or realigning

any ward shall be valid or take effect unless approved by the

vote of the qualified electors as provided by subsections (g) or

(h) of this act, whichever is applicable.

(j) Upon the appointment of said commission, it shall

prepare and submit to the said court, for consideration and

approval, a proposed budget of the expenses involved in

connection with its duties and functions. After the filing of

its report, the commission shall prepare and submit to said

court for consideration and approval, its request for allowance

of fees and any supplemental expenses. Upon approval of these

items, said court shall enter an order directing payment by said

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city.]

(a.1) Wards in a city of the first class shall be

reapportioned by the governing body within the year following

the Federal census, decennial or special, is officially and

finally reported.

(b.1) The following shall apply:

(1) The governing body shall create a nonpartisan commission

consisting of seven (7) members who shall present a plan to

reapportion wards in a city of the first class to the governing

body.

(2) The governing body shall determine qualifications to

serve as a member of the commission created under paragraph (1).

A commissioner may not be appointed if the commissioner:

(i) Has been employed by a city of the first class or a

political party.

(ii) Held elective or appointive public office at the

Federal or State level or within a city of the first class.

(iii) Has donated more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250)

in the past year to a Federal, State or city of the first class

political candidate who represents a city of the first class.

(iv) Has a close relative of any such person listed under

subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii).

(3) The governing body shall ensure that applications to be

considered reasonably reflect the geographic, gender and racial

diversity of a city of the first class.

(4) Applications for the commission shall be made available

on a city of the first class' publicly accessible Internet

website and shall be advertised in at least three citywide print

or online publications. The application process shall include:

(i) Individuals interested in applying for the commission

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shall apply on a city of the first class' publicly accessible

Internet website and eligibility shall be determined by a city

of the first class' city reapportionment official.

(ii) The city of the first class' city reapportionment

official shall submit to the governing body a list of all

qualified applications by political party affiliation.

(iii) Each applicant submitted under this paragraph to the

governing body shall have been continuously registered in this

Commonwealth with the same political party or continuously

unaffiliated with a political party in the three years

immediately preceding the date of application.

(5) Upon receipt of the list of qualified applications under

paragraph (4), the governing body shall have up to thirty (30)

days to review applications and interview applicants.

(6) No later than July 1 in the year following the year of

the Federal census, decennial or special, the governing body

shall vote for seven (7) qualified candidates using a voting

method. In voting for applicants to serve on the commission, the

governing body shall consider such factors as deemed appropriate

so that the commission reasonably reflects the geographic,

gender and racial diversity of a city of the first class.

(7) The seven (7) candidates with the most votes shall be

appointed as commissioners provided no more than four (4)

members of the commission are from the same political party.

(8) No fewer than fourteen (14) days prior to the first

meeting of the commission, the governing body shall publish on a

city of the first class' publicly accessible Internet website

the number and aggregate demographics of applicants, including,

but not limited to, age range, gender identity, race, zip code,

occupation and political affiliation.

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(9) The commission shall have the following duties:

(i) Within thirty (30) days of appointment, the commission

shall choose a chair from among the commissioners by majority

vote.

(ii) The commission shall hold no fewer than ten (10) public

hearings to receive public remarks from city residents and shall

solicit and review proposals for ward reapportionment from city

residents.

(iii) No later than ninety (90) days after either the

commission has been appointed or the population data as

determined by the Federal census is available, whichever is

longer, the commission shall file a preliminary ward

reapportionment plan for wards in the city of the first class.

The commission shall schedule and conduct no fewer than six (6)

public hearings of the preliminary ward reapportionment plan in

different geographical regions of the city of the first class.

Wards shall be composed of compact and contiguous territory as

nearly equal in population as practicable as officially and

finally reported in the most recent Federal census, decennial or

special.

(iv) All meetings of the commission at which at least a

majority of members are present and held for the purpose of

deliberating official business or taking official action shall

be conducted in an open forum, in a manner by which the public

may contemporaneously observe the proceedings and comply with 65

Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 (relating to open meetings).

(v) Commission members may not communicate with or receive

communications from any other person about the reapportionment

of wards in the city of the first class unless during an open

public meeting.

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(vi) The commission shall have sixty (60) days after the

filing of the preliminary ward reapportionment plan to hold the

six (6) public hearings and make corrections to the plan. The

final ward reapportionment plan shall be approved by a majority

vote of the commission no later than thirty (30) days after the

filing of the preliminary ward reapportionment plan.

(10) The commission shall make a report to the governing

body upon approval of the final ward reapportionment plan and

shall include with it a plot showing the boundaries of the

present wards and a plot showing the wards as proposed by the

commission, along with pertinent information relating to

population and area of the proposed wards. The commission shall

make a meaningful effort to deliver the report to the governing

body ahead of the Legislative Reapportionment Commission's

preliminary reapportionment plan for senatorial and

representative districts of this Commonwealth.

(11) Upon presentation under paragraph (10), the governing

body shall confirm the report absolutely by majority vote. The

governing body shall designate a number for each of the wards.

The governing body shall make a meaningful effort to confirm the

report ahead of the Legislative Reapportionment Commission's

preliminary reapportionment plan for senatorial and

representative districts of this Commonwealth.

(c.1) The following shall apply to reapportionment by a

petition:

(1) If there has not been a reapportionment of wards by a

nonpartisan commission and confirmed by the governing body under

this section within the year following the year in which the

Federal census, decennial or special, is officially and finally

reported, a petition signed by one or more electors who are

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residents of a city of the first class may be submitted to the

court of common pleas of the county in which the city of the

first class is located, and reapportionment may be done in

accordance with this subsection.

(2) Upon receiving the petition to reapportion under

paragraph (1), the court may appoint seven (7) impartial

individuals as commissioners.

(3) Any four (4) of the commissioners appointed by the court

under this subsection shall make a report to the court within

the time the court directs and shall include in the report a

plot showing the boundaries of the present wards and a plot

showing the wards as proposed, along with pertinent information

relating to population and area of the proposed wards. The

report shall include a rationale for how the proposed wards

comply with the criteria for reapportionment under subsection

(b.1)(9)(iii) and how public comment received by the nonpartisan

reapportionment commission was considered in the plan.

(4) After submitting the report under paragraph (3) to the

court, the court shall confirm the report and notice of

submission of the report shall be given by publication in a

newspaper of general circulation stating that exceptions may be

filed to the report within thirty (30) days after the report was

filed. If no exceptions are filed or if the court dismisses the

exceptions, the court shall confirm the report absolutely and

issue a decree. The court in the decree shall designate a number

for each of the wards.

(d.1) The following shall apply to compensation of the

commission:

(1) A commissioner of a nonpartisan commission either chosen

by the governing body or appointed by the court, shall each

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receive compensation for service.

(2) All costs and expenses incurred in the proceedings to

reapportion shall be paid by a city of the first class.

(e.1) The following shall apply to a contest of

reapportionment by the governing body:

(1) In the event there has been a reapportionment by

nonpartisan commission under this section, the reapportionment

may be contested as not being in compliance with the criteria

for reapportionment under subsection (b.1)(9)(iii).

(2) To contest a reapportionment, a petition signed by

twenty (20) electors who are residents of the city of the first

class shall be submitted to the court of common pleas of the

county in which the city of the first class is located.

(3) The court shall review the reapportionment plan and

either accept the reapportionment plan and dismiss the petition

or reject the reapportionment plan and return the plan to the

governing body for correction and resubmission to the court.

(4) If the court rejects the reapportionment plan under

paragraph (3), the court may, in accordance with subsection

(c.1) appoint seven (7) impartial commissioners.

(5) Any four (4) of the commissioners appointed under

paragraph (4) shall submit a report to the court within the time

the court directs and shall include in the report a plot showing

the boundaries of the present wards and a plot showing the wards

as proposed by the commission along with pertinent information

relating to population and area of the proposed wards. The

report shall include a rationale for how the proposed wards

comply with the criteria for reapportionment under (b.1)(9)(iii)

and how public comment received by the nonpartisan

reapportionment commission was considered in the plan.

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(6) After submission of the report under paragraph (5), the

court shall confirm the report and direct that notice of the

submission of the report shall be given by publication in a

newspaper of general circulation stating that exceptions may be

filed to the report within thirty (30) days after the report was

submitted. If no exceptions are filed or if the court dismisses

the exceptions, the court shall confirm the report absolutely

and issue a decree. The court in the decree shall designate a

number for each of the wards.

(f.1) The following shall apply to costs and expenses of the

contest under subsection (e.1):

(1) All costs and expenses incurred in a proceeding

described in subsection (e.1) shall be paid by a city of the

first class or the petitioners as the court directs, but, if the

court reapportions the city of the first class, the costs and

expenses shall be paid by the city of the first class which was

reapportioned.

(2) The petitioners may be required to post a bond set by

the court to secure the payment of costs and expenses.

(g.1) As used in this section, the following words and

phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection

unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"City reapportionment official." A nonpartisan city

official, appointed by the governing body, responsible for

supporting, facilitating and overseeing the reapportionment of

wards by nonpartisan commission.

"Governing body." The city council in a city of the first

class.

Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

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