AB44: Bill Text

AB44,9,25 (a) If certified federal census data which is sufficient to permit preparation of a congressional redistricting plan becomes available at an earlier time than the population data needed to permit preparation of a legislative redistricting plan in accordance with s. 4.007, the legislative reference bureau shall so inform the majority leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly. If the majority leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly jointly direct, the legislative reference bureau shall prepare a separate bill establishing congressional districts and deliver it separately from the bill establishing legislative districts. The legislature shall proceed to consider the congressional redistricting bill in substantially the manner prescribed by subs. (1) to (3).

AB44,10,14 (b) If the population data for legislative redistricting which the U.S. bureau of the census is required to provide this state under P. L. 94-171 and, if used by the legislative reference bureau, the corresponding topologically integrated geographic encoding and referencing data file for that population data are not available to the legislative reference bureau on or before April 1 of the first year following the decennial federal census, the deadlines set forth in this section shall be extended by a number of days equal to the number of days after April 1 of the first year following the decennial federal census that the population data and the topologically integrated geographic encoding and referencing data file for legislative redistricting become available.

AB44,10,18 4.007 Redistricting standards. (1) Legislative and congressional districts shall be established on the basis of population requirements imposed under the Wisconsin Constitution and the U.S. Constitution and requirements imposed under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

AB44,11,6 (2) Senate and assembly districts, respectively, shall satisfy the population standards established in this subsection. The quotient, obtained by dividing the sum of the absolute values of the deviations of all district populations from the applicable ideal district population by the number of districts established, may not exceed 1 percent of the applicable ideal district population, unless necessary to maintain compliance with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. For purposes of this subsection, the ideal district population is determined by dividing the number of districts to be established into the population of the state reported in the most recent federal decennial census. No senate district may have a population which exceeds that of any other senate district by more than 10 percent and no assembly district may have a population which exceeds that of any other assembly district by more than 10 percent, unless necessary to maintain compliance with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

AB44,11,12 (3) Congressional districts shall each have a population as nearly equal as practicable to the ideal district population, derived as prescribed in sub. (2), while maintaining compliance with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. No congressional district may have a population which varies by more than 1 percent from the applicable ideal district population, unless necessary to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

AB44,11,20 (4) District boundaries shall coincide with ward boundaries and, to the extent consistent with sub. (1), shall coincide with the boundaries of political subdivisions. The number of political subdivisions divided among more than one district shall be as small as possible. When there is a choice among political subdivisions to divide, the more populous political subdivisions shall be divided before the less populous, except that this requirement does not apply to a legislative district boundary drawn along a county boundary which passes through a city with territory in more than one county.

AB44,11,22 (5) Districts shall be composed of convenient contiguous territory. Areas which meet only at the points of adjoining corners are not contiguous.

AB44,11,23 (6) (a) In this subsection:

AB44,12,7 1. “Geographic unit center" means that point within a population data unit approximately equidistant from the northern and southern extremities and also approximately equidistant from the eastern and western extremities of the population data unit. This point shall be determined by visual observation of a map of the population data unit, unless it is otherwise determined within the context of an appropriate coordinate system developed by the federal government or another source that the legislative reference bureau determines is qualified and objective and is obtained for use in this state with prior approval of the joint committee on legislative organization.

AB44,12,11 2. “Population data unit" means a ward, census enumeration district, block, or other unit of territory having clearly identified geographic boundaries and for which a total population figure is included in or can be derived directly from certified federal census data.

AB44,12,17 3. “X-coordinate" means the relative location of a point along the east–west axis of the state. Unless otherwise measured within the context of an appropriate coordinate system obtained for use as permitted by subd. 1., the x-coordinate shall be measured along a line drawn due east from a due north and south line running through the point which is the western extremity of this state, to the point to be located.

AB44,12,23 4. “Y-coordinate" means the relative location of a point along the north–south axis of the state. Unless otherwise measured within the context of an appropriate coordinate system obtained for use as permitted by subd. 1., the y-coordinate shall be measured along a line drawn due south from a due east and west line running through the point which is the northern extremity of this state, to the point to be located.

AB44,13,5 (b) To the extent consistent with subs. (1) to (3), districts shall be compact in form. Compact districts are those which are square, rectangular, or hexagonal in shape to the extent permitted by natural or political boundaries. When it is necessary to compare the relative compactness of 2 or more districts, or of 2 or more alternative redistricting plans, the tests prescribed by pars. (c) and (d) shall be used. Should the results of these 2 tests be contradictory, the standard under par. (c) shall be given greater weight than the standard under par. (d).

AB44,13,8 (c) 1. The compactness of a district is greatest when the length of the district and the width of the district are equal. The measure of a district's compactness is the absolute value of the difference between the length and the width of the district.

AB44,13,13 2. In measuring the compactness of a district by means of electronic data processing, the difference between the x-coordinates of the easternmost and the westernmost geographic unit centers included in the district shall be compared to the difference between the y-coordinates of the northernmost and southernmost geographic unit centers included in the district.

AB44,14,2 3. To determine the length and width of a district by manual measurement, the distance from the northernmost point or portion of the boundary of a district to the southernmost point or portion of the boundary of the same district and the distance from the westernmost point or portion of the boundary of the district to the easternmost point or portion of the boundary of the same district shall each be measured. If the northernmost or southernmost portion of the boundary, or each of these points, is a part of the boundary running due east and west, the line used to make the measurement required by this subdivision shall be drawn either due north and south or as nearly so as the configuration of the district permits. If the easternmost or westernmost portion of the boundary, or each of these points, is a part of the boundary running due north and south, a similar procedure shall be followed. The lines to be measured for the purpose of this subdivision shall each be drawn as required by this subdivision, even if some part of either or both lines lies outside the boundaries of the district which is being tested for compactness.

AB44,14,8 4. The absolute values computed for individual districts under this paragraph may be cumulated for all districts in a plan in order to compare the overall compactness of 2 or more alternative redistricting plans for the state or for a portion of the state. However, it is not valid to cumulate or compare absolute values computed using the measurements under subd. 2. with those computed using the measurements under subd. 3.

AB44,14,11 (d) 1. The compactness of a district is greatest when the ratio of the dispersion of population about the population center of the district to the dispersion of population about the geographic center of the district is one to one.

AB44,14,22 2. The population dispersion about the population center of a district or about the geographic center of a district is computed as the sum of the products of the population of each population data unit included in the district multiplied by the square of the distance from the geographic unit center of that population data unit to the population center or the geographic center of the district, as the case may be. The geographic center of the district is defined by averaging the locations of all geographic unit centers which are included in the district. The population center of the district is defined by computing the population–weighted average of the x-coordinates and y-coordinates of each geographic unit center assigned to the district, it being assumed for the purpose of this calculation that each population data unit possesses uniform density of population.

AB44,14,25 3. The ratios computed for individual districts under this paragraph may be averaged for all districts in a plan in order to compare the overall compactness of 2 or more alternative redistricting plans for the state or for a portion of the state.

AB44,15,6 (7) In preparing any redistricting plan, the legislative reference bureau shall be strictly nonpartisan. No district may be drawn for the purpose of favoring a political party, incumbent legislator or member of Congress, or other person or group or, except to the extent required under sub. (1), for the purpose of augmenting or diluting the voting strength of a language or racial minority group. In establishing districts, no use shall be made of any of the following data:

AB44,15,7 (a) The residence addresses of incumbent legislators or members of Congress.

AB44,15,8 (b) Political affiliations of registered voters.

AB44,15,9 (c) Previous election results.

AB44,15,11 (d) Demographic information except as necessary to meet the requirements of sub. (1).

AB44,15,20 (8) The number of assembly districts in any redistricting plan may not be less than 54 nor more than 100. The number of senate districts in any redistricting plan may not be more than one-third nor less than one-fourth of the number of assembly districts. Each senate district shall contain only whole assembly districts. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, to the extent possible, each congressional district shall contain only whole senate districts. The other standards specified in this section shall take precedence where a conflict arises between those standards and the requirement of including only whole senate districts within a congressional district.

AB44,15,22 4.008 Required provisions in redistricting bills. Each bill delivered under s. 4.006 shall provide all of the following:

AB44,15,24 (1) That, wherever territory is described in the bill by geographic boundaries, the following conventions are used:

AB44,16,2 (a) Each bound continues to the intersection with the bound next named, or to the intersection with a straight-line extension of such bound.

AB44,16,4 (b) If the bound is a street, it follows the center line of the street or the center line of the street extended.

AB44,16,6 (c) If the bound is a railroad right-of-way, it follows the center line of the railroad right-of-way.

AB44,16,8 (d) If the bound is a river or stream, it follows the center of the main channel of such river or stream.

AB44,16,9 (e) If the bound follows a municipal boundary, it coincides with such boundary.

AB44,16,13 (2) That the bill first applies, with respect to regular elections, to offices filled at the next occurring general election after the bill takes effect and, with respect to special or recall elections, to offices filled or contested on or after the date of that general election.

AB44,16,24 4.0085 Challenge based on population inequality; burden of proof. If an action is brought challenging a legislative redistricting plan under this subchapter on the basis of an excessive population variance among senate or assembly districts established in the plan, the legislature has the burden of justifying any variance in excess of 10 percent between the population of a senate or assembly district and the applicable ideal district population. If an action is brought challenging a congressional redistricting plan under this subchapter on the basis of an excessive population variance among congressional districts established in the plan, the legislature has the burden of justifying any variance in excess of 1 percent between the population of a congressional district and the applicable ideal district population.

AB44,5 Section 5 . 5.15 (4) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB44,17,19 5.15 (4) (a) Except as provided in par. (c), the division ordinance or resolution shall number all wards in the municipality with unique whole numbers in consecutive order, beginning with the number one, shall designate the polling place for each ward, and shall describe the boundaries of each ward consistent with the conventions set forth in s. 4.003 4.008 (1). The ordinance or resolution shall be accompanied by a list of the block numbers used by the U.S. bureau of the census that are wholly or partly contained within each ward, with any block numbers partly contained within a ward identified, and a map of the municipality which illustrates the revised ward boundaries. If the legislature, in an act redistricting legislative districts under article IV, section 3, of the constitution, or in redistricting congressional districts, establishes a district boundary within a municipality that does not coincide with the boundary of a ward established under the ordinance or resolution of the municipality, the municipal governing body shall, no later than April 10 of the 2nd year following the year of the federal decennial census on which the act is based, amend the ordinance or resolution to the extent required to effect the act. The amended ordinance or resolution shall designate the polling place for any ward that is created to effect the legislative act. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to compel a county or city to alter or redraw supervisory or aldermanic districts.

AB44,6 Section 6. 13.49 of the statutes is created to read:

AB44,17,21 13.49 Redistricting advisory commission. (1) Definitions. In this section:

AB44,17,22 (a) “Chief election officer" means the elections commission administrator.

AB44,17,23 (b) “Four selecting authorities" means all of the following:

AB44,17,24 1. The majority leader of the senate.

AB44,17,25 2. The minority leader of the senate.

AB44,18,1 3. The speaker of the assembly.

AB44,18,2 4. The minority leader of the assembly.

AB44,18,3 (c) “Partisan public office" means any of the following:

AB44,18,5 1. The office of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, state senator, or state representative to the assembly.

AB44,18,7 2. A county office which is filled by an election process involving nomination and election of candidates on a partisan basis.

AB44,18,9 (d) “Political party office" means an elective office in a political party, as defined in s. 5.02 (13), or in a national political party.

AB44,18,15 (e) “Relative" means an individual who is related to the person in question as father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, grandfather, grandmother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister.

AB44,18,24 (2) General provisions. (a) Not later than February 15 of the first year following the decennial federal census, a temporary redistricting advisory commission is created consisting of 5 members. Each of the 4 selecting authorities shall certify to the chief election officer the selecting authority's appointment of a person to serve on the commission. Within 30 days after the last selecting authority has certified his or her appointment, but not later than February 15 of the first year following the decennial federal census, the 4 commission members so appointed shall select, by a vote of at least 3 members, and certify to the chief election officer the 5th commission member, who shall serve as chairperson.

AB44,19,2 (b) No individual may be appointed to the redistricting advisory commission who satisfies any of the following:

AB44,19,4 1. The individual is not an eligible elector of this state at the time of the appointment.

AB44,19,5 2. The individual holds partisan public office or political party office.

AB44,19,7 3. The individual is a relative of or is employed by a member of the legislature or of Congress, or is employed directly by the legislature or Congress.

AB44,19,14 (c) Members of the redistricting advisory commission appointed by a selecting authority shall be reimbursed from the appropriation account under s. 20.765 (1) (a) or (b), depending upon the house in which that member's appointing authority holds office, for actual and necessary expenses incurred in performance of duties as a commission member. The member who is not appointed by a selecting authority shall be reimbursed from the appropriation under s. 20.765 (1) (a) for actual and necessary expenses incurred in performance of duties as a commission member.

AB44,19,16 (d) A vacancy on the redistricting advisory commission shall be filled as provided in s. 17.20 (1) within 15 days after the vacancy occurs.

AB44,19,18 (e) Each redistricting advisory commission terminates upon complying with sub. (3).

AB44,19,19 (3) Duties. The redistricting advisory commission shall do all of the following:

AB44,19,23 (a) If requested to do so by the legislative reference bureau, provide direction to the legislative reference bureau concerning any decision the legislative reference bureau must make in preparing a redistricting plan under subch. I of ch. 4 for which no clearly applicable guideline is provided under s. 4.007.

AB44,20,3 (b) Upon delivery by the legislative reference bureau of a bill embodying a redistricting plan as required under s. 4.006, make available to the public at the earliest feasible time all of the following information:

AB44,20,4 1. Copies of the bill.

AB44,20,5 2. Maps illustrating the plan.

AB44,20,7 3. A summary of the standards prescribed under s. 4.007 for development of the plan.

AB44,20,9 4. A statement of the population of each district included in the plan, and the relative deviation of each district population from the ideal district population.

AB44,20,11 (c) Upon delivery by the legislative reference bureau of an initial bill embodying a redistricting plan as required under s. 4.006 (1), do all of the following:

AB44,20,15 1. As expeditiously as reasonably possible, schedule and conduct at least 3 public hearings, in different geographic regions of the state, on the plan embodied in the bill. No more than one public hearing may be held in the city of Madison and at least one public hearing shall be held in the northern half of the state.

AB44,20,22 2. Following the hearings held under subd. 1., promptly prepare and submit to the legislature in the manner provided under s. 13.172 (2) a report summarizing information and testimony received by the commission in the course of the hearings. The report may include any comments and conclusions which the commission's members deem appropriate concerning the information and testimony received at the hearings or otherwise presented to the commission. The report shall be treated in the same manner as a report submitted under s. 13.172 (2).

AB44,21,4 (4) Confidentiality. The redistricting advisory commission may establish policies limiting the information that the legislative reference bureau may provide to persons outside of the bureau staff concerning any redistricting plan prepared under subch. I of ch. 4, except that any such policy does not apply to a redistricting plan after a bill embodying that plan is delivered by the legislative reference bureau as required under s. 4.006 or to population data furnished to the legislative reference bureau by the U.S. bureau of the census.

AB44,7 Section 7. Initial applicability.

AB44,21,7 (1) This act first applies to redistricting plans based on the 2020 decennial federal census.

AB44,21,8 (End)