AN ACT relating to election districts.

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AN ACT relating to election districts. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 3
READ AS FOLLOWS: 4
As used in Sections 1 to 12 of this Act: 5
(1) "Commission" means the Advisory Redistricting Commission; 6
(2) "Commissioner" means a person who is selected or appointed as a member of the 7
Advisory Redistricting Commission; 8
(3) "Local government" means any of the following: 9
(a) City government; 10
(b) County government; 11
(c) Urban-county government; 12
(d) Charter county government; 13
(e) Consolidated local government; or 14
(f) Unified local government; 15
(4) "Major political party" means either of the two (2) political parties with the 16
largest representation in the General Assembly; 17
(5) "Population" means the most recent United States Census d ata collected under 18
Pub. L. No. 94-171; and 19
(6) "Redistricting" means the drawing of boundary lines for election districts in 20
order to achieve, as nearly as possible, equal population among the election 21
districts. 22
SECTION 2. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 23
READ AS FOLLOWS: 24
(1) The Advisory Redistricting Commission is hereby created as a permanent 25
commission for the purpose of drawing and adopting redistricting plans after 26
each decennial census, or as required by law, for each of the following districts: 27
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(a) State senatorial districts; 1
(b) State representative districts; and 2
(c) Congressional districts. 3
(2) The commission shall consist of fifteen (15) commissioners appointed in 4
accordance with Section 3 of this Act. Each commissioner shall: 5
(a) Be registered and eligible to vote in the Commonwealth of Kentucky; 6
(b) Not currently, nor in the past six (6) years, have been any of the following: 7
1. A declared candidate for any partisan elective office; 8
2. A partisan elected official or person appointed to fill a vacancy in any 9
partisan elective office; 10
3. An officer or member of the governing body of any national, state, or 11
local political party; 12
4. A paid partisan consultant or an employee of any partisan elected 13
official or partisan political candidate, part of a partisan political 14
candidate's campaign, or a political action committee; 15
5. An employee of the General Assembly, including employees of the 16
Legislative Research Commission; or 17
6. A legislative agent as defined in KRS 6.611, legislative agent employer 18
as defined in KRS 6.611, executive agency lobbyist, or any other 19
person employed as a lobbyist as defined in KRS 11A.010; 20
(c) Not the parent, stepparent, child, stepchild, sibling, or spouse of any 21
individual who is disqualified from serving as a commissioner under 22
paragraph (b) of this subsection; 23
(d) Not otherwise be ineligible for appointed or elective office; 24
(e) Have voted in at least two (2) of the last three (3) statewide elections; 25
(f) Not have donated more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), in sum and for 26
the same election, to an elected candidate, a candidate's political action 27
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committee or permanent committee, a caucus campaign committee, or an 1
executive committee; 2
(g) Not have switc hed political party affiliation within the five (5) years 3
preceding the appointment; 4
(h) Not have lived in the same household or shared the same residential address 5
with any individual who is disqualified from serving as a commissioner 6
under paragraph (b) of this subsection; and 7
(i) Attest under oath that he or she meets the qualifications set forth in this 8
section. 9
SECTION 3. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 10
READ AS FOLLOWS: 11
(1) In accordance with the requirements of this section and Section 2 of this Act, not 12
later than July 15 of the year of the federal decennial census, and decennially 13
thereafter: 14
(a) 1. Eight (8) commissioners shall be appointed as follows: 15
a. Two (2) members appointed by the President of the Senate; 16
b. Two (2) members appointed by the Speaker of the House of 17
Representatives; 18
c. Two (2) members appointed by the Minority Leader of the 19
Senate; and 20
d Two (2) members appointed by the Minority Leader of the House 21
of Representatives. 22
2. Commissioners appointed by the members of the General Assembly 23
pursuant to subparagraph 1. of this paragraph shall include 24
representation of at least one (1) commissioner from each 25
congressional district of this state. If the appointing authority cannot 26
mutually agree to this requirement, the President of the Senate shall 27
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appoint commissioners who reside in the First and Second 1
Congressional Districts, the Speaker of the House of Representatives 2
shall appoint commissioners who reside in the Third and Fourth 3
Congressional Districts, the Minority Leader of the Senate shall 4
appoint one (1) of his or her two (2) appointees to be a commissioner 5
who resides in the Fifth Congressional District, and the Minority 6
Leader of the House of Representatives shall appoint one (1) o f his or 7
her two (2) appointees to be a commissioner who resides in the Sixth 8
Congressional District; and 9
(b) The Secretary of State shall: 10
1. Issue a call to convene the commission; 11
2. Prescribe and furnish applications for the position of redistricting 12
commissioner to be made available to residents of this state by 13
publishing notice of the commission, with application forms, on the 14
internet and in two (2) or more newspapers of general circulation in 15
the state. The Secretary of State shall also issue press releases to 16
various media outlets, including radio and television stations servicing 17
residents of this state. The applications, publications, and press 18
releases shall provide Kentucky residents with information on the 19
commission's objectives and obligations, the requirements of Section 2 20
of this Act, the process by which residents can apply, and a point of 21
contact for direct questions; 22
3. Mail additional applications as prescribed under subparagraph 2. of 23
this paragraph to five thousand (5,000) registered voters of this state, 24
selected at random and witnessed by a classified employee of the 25
Secretary of State's office, of which one thousand (1,000) registered 26
voters shall be registered with one (1) major political party, one 27
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thousand (1,000) registered vote rs shall be registered with a different 1
and contrasting major political party, and three thousand (3,000) 2
registered voters shall not be registered with either major political 3
party; 4
4. Require applicants to attest, under the validity of signature and 5
penalty of perjury, whether they are registered with one (1) of the two 6
(2) major political parties or whether they are not registered with 7
either major political party; and 8
5. Require applicants to attest, under the validity of signature and 9
penalty of perjur y, that they meet the qualifications set forth in 10
subsection (2) of Section 2 of this Act. 11
(2) No sooner than August 10 but not later than August 15, of the year of the federal 12
decennial census, and decennially thereafter, from all applications submitted 13
under subsection (1)(b) of this section, the Secretary of State shall: 14
(a) Eliminate incomplete applications and applications of persons who do not 15
meet the requirements established in subsection (1)(b) of this section and 16
subsection (2) of Section 2 of thi s Act, based solely on the information 17
contained within the applications; 18
(b) Randomly select forty (40) qualifying applicants, of which ten (10) 19
applicants shall be selected from one (1) pool of applicants registered with 20
one (1) of the two (2) major poli tical parties, ten (10) applicants shall be 21
selected from the pool of applicants who are registered from the different 22
and contrasting major political party, and twenty (20) applicants shall be 23
selected from the pool of applicants who are not registered with either of the 24
two (2) major political parties. The random selection shall be witnessed by a 25
classified employee of the Secretary of State's office; 26
(c) Inform the forty (40) qualifying applicants that they have been randomly 27
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selected and that their appl ications will be delivered to the eight (8) 1
commissioners appointed by the General Assembly for potential 2
appointment as a commissioner; and 3
(d) Deliver the applications of the qualifying forty (40) applicants to the 4
commissioners appointed by the General Assembly under subsection (1)(a) 5
of this section. 6
(3) (a) Not later than September 1 of the year of the federal decennial census, and 7
decennially thereafter, the commissioners appointed by the General 8
Assembly shall appoint an additional seven (7) commiss ioners from the 9
forty (40) applicants referred by the Secretary of State. 10
(b) Two (2) commissioners shall be appointed from one (1) pool of applicants 11
registered with one (1) of the two (2) major political parties, two (2) 12
commissioners shall be appointed from the pool of applicants from the 13
different and contrasting major political party, and three (3) applicants 14
shall be appointed from the pool of applicants who are not registered with 15
either of the two (2) major political parties. 16
(c) Each of the seven (7) commissioners appointed under this subsection shall 17
be appointed with the affirmative roll-call vote of no less than five (5) of the 18
commissioners appointed by the General Assembly. 19
(d) As part of the appointment process of the additional seven (7) 20
commissioners, the commissioners appointed by the General Assembly may 21
request essays and letters of recommendation from, and interview any or all 22
of, the forty (40) applicants for a determination of appointment. 23
(4) Not later than September 1 of the year of the federal decennial census, and 24
decennially thereafter, the process for the random selection of additional 25
commissioners by the Secretary of State and the appointment of seven (7) 26
additional commissioners by commissioners appointed by the General Assembly, 27
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shall be completed in accordance with the requirements of this section and 1
subsection (2) of Section 2 of this Act. 2
(5) The commission membership shall be inclusive of any person or group of people 3
representing a political party, those without affiliation to a political party, rural 4
or urban, and include persons of racial and linguistic minorities. 5
SECTION 4. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 6
READ AS FOLLOWS: 7
(1) The terms of the commissioners shall expire once the commission has completed 8
its obligations for a census cycle or as oth erwise required by law. Commissioners 9
may be reappointed or selected for the subsequent decennial census to serve as 10
commissioners. If vacancies occur, appointments to fill a vacancy shall occur not 11
more than fourteen (14) calendar days after the vacancy o f a commissioner's 12
seat. 13
(2) If a commissioner who was appointed by a member of the General Assembly 14
under subsection (1)(a) of Section 3 of this Act vacates his or her seat on the 15
commission, the appointing authority of the commissioner shall fill the vac ancy 16
in accordance with the requirements of subsection (2) of Section 2 of this Act and 17
subsections (1) and (5) of Section 3 of this Act. 18
(3) (a) If a vacancy occurs in a seat held by a commissioner who was selected at 19
random and appointed by the commissio ners appointed by the General 20
Assembly under subsections (2) and (3) of Section 3 of this Act, then the 21
vacancy shall be filled by the Secretary of State in accordance with 22
subsection (5) of Section 3 of this Act. 23
(b) A commissioner appointed under this su bsection shall be selected from any 24
of the original forty (40) applicants who were randomly selected but not 25
appointed. 26
(c) The person to be appointed to the vacant position shall be derived from the 27
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same pool of applicants who are registered with a major political party, or 1
lack thereof, as that of the original commissioner. 2
(d) The Secretary of State may request essays and letters of recommendation 3
from, and interview any or all of, the remaining applicants who were not 4
appointed from the original forty (40) for a determination of appointment. 5
(4) A commissioner's seat shall become vacant upon the occurrence of any of the 6
following: 7
(a) Death or mental incapacity of the commissioner; 8
(b) The Secretary of State's receipt of the commissioner's written resig nation, 9
which shall be forwarded to the commission; 10
(c) The commissioner's violation of subsection (3) of Section 6 of this Act or 11
Section 11 of this Act; 12
(d) The commissioner ceases to be qualified to serve as a commissioner under 13
Sections 1 to 12 of this Act; or 14
(e) The commissioner is removed from service after written notice and an 15
opportunity for the commissioner to respond, by an affirmative roll-call vote 16
of nine (9) of the commissioners finding substantial neglect of duty, gross 17
misconduct in office, or inability to discharge the duties of the office. 18
SECTION 5. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 19
READ AS FOLLOWS: 20
(1) The commission shall be attached to the Legislative Research Commission. If 21
funds are no t available for the purpose of Sections 1 to 12 of this Act, the costs 22
shall be deemed a necessary government expense and shall be paid from the 23
general fund surplus account under KRS 48.700 or the budget reserve trust fund 24
under KRS 48.705. 25
(2) The commission may carry out the following functions, operations, and activities 26
in fulfillment of Sections 1 to 12 of this Act, which activities shall include but not 27
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be limited to: 1
(a) Retaining or contracting independent and nonpartisan subject matter 2
experts and legal counsel; 3
(b) Conducting hearings and meetings; 4
(c) Publishing notices and maintaining a record of the commission's 5
proceedings; 6
(d) Purchasing equipment and computer software; 7
(e) Hiring administrative staff; and 8
(f) Any other activity necessary for the commission to conduct its business. 9
(3) The commission shall furnish reports of expenditures on a quarterly basis to the 10
secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet and to the Legislative 11
Research Commission and shall be subject to annual audit as provided by law. 12
(4) For each day that there is a commission meeting or hearing, and each day during 13
which the commissioner is working in fulfillment of his or her obligations, each 14
commissioner shall receive as compens ation not more than two hundred dollars 15
($200) per eight (8) hour work day. If a commissioner works less than eight (8) 16
hours in a day, the two hundred dollars ($200) compensation shall be prorated to 17
correspond with the number of hours worked by the commi ssioner. In addition to 18
compensation as a member of the commission, each commissioner shall be 19
reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses directly related to meetings and 20
hearings of the commission. 21
(5) The commission shall inform the Legislative Researc h Commission if the 22
commission determines that funds or other resources provided for operation of 23
the commission are not adequate. 24
(6) The Legislative Research Commission shall furnish, under the direction of the 25
commission, all technical services that the commission deems necessary. 26
SECTION 6. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 27
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READ AS FOLLOWS: 1
(1) Each commissioner shall perform his or her duties in a manner that is impartial 2
and reinforces public confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process. 3
(2) The commissioners, staff, attorneys, and consultants shall not discuss 4
redistricting matters with members of the public outside of an open meeting or 5
hearing of the commission, except that a commissioner ma y communicate about 6
redistricting matters with members of the public to gain information relevant to 7
the performance of his or her duties, if communication occurs in writing, or at a 8
previously publicly noticed forum, hearing, or any other meeting held ope n to the 9
general public. 10
(3) Commissioners, staff, attorneys, experts, and consultants shall not directly or 11
indirectly solicit or accept any gift or loan of money, goods, services, or other 12
thing of value greater than twenty dollars ($20) for the benefit of any person or 13
organization, which may influence the manner in which the commissioner, staff, 14
attorney, expert, or consultant performs his or her duties. 15
(4) On or before September 1 during the year of the federal decennial census, a 16
quorum of the commis sion shall consist of eight (8) commissioners. After 17
September 1 of the year of the federal decennial census, and decennially 18
thereafter, nine (9) commissioners shall constitute a quorum. All meetings and 19
hearings shall require a quorum. A meeting or heari ng of the commission shall 20
not be held without twenty -four (24) hours notice to all members of the 21
commission. All votes cast by the commission shall be recorded through a roll -22
call vote. 23
(5) The commission shall conduct its meetings and hearings in a mann er that invites 24
wide public participation throughout the state. The commission shall use 25
technology to provide public observation and meaningful public participation in 26
the redistricting process during all meetings and hearings. 27
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(6) The commission shall a dopt the most recent edition of Mason's Manual of 1
Legislative Procedure as the source of rules of decisions and procedures in all 2
cases not otherwise provided for in the operations of its respective duties and 3
obligations in accordance with Sections 1 to 12 of this Act. 4
(7) All records of the commission shall be considered open records under KRS 5
61.870 to 61.884. All records and other information generated by the commission 6
pursuant to Section 5 of this Act shall be made available to the public on the 7
website established in KRS 7.505. The commission shall conduct all of its 8
business in open meetings and open hearings under KRS 61.805 to 61.850. 9
(8) A decision on the dismissal or retention of paid staff or consultants requires the 10
affirmative roll-call vote of at least nine (9) commissioners. 11
(9) The commission shall have the authority to be included as the recipient of the 12
census data as supplied by the United States Census Bureau. 13
(10) The commission shall elect its own chair, who is a then -current voting 14
commissioner, by an affirmative roll -call vote of at least nine (9) commissioners. 15
The chair shall have the authority to select his or her vice chair, who shall also be 16
a then-current voting member of the commission. 17
(11) The commission shall select a secre tary, who shall be a nonvoting member while 18
serving as secretary, by an affirmative roll -call vote of at least nine (9) 19
commissioners, who shall keep a public record of all proceedings of the 20
commission. 21
(12) The commission shall have the authority to cons ult and work with staff of the 22
Legislative Research Commission, which shall include the sharing of any data or 23
software. 24
SECTION 7. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 25
READ AS FOLLOWS: 26
(1) Not later than Septemb er 15 in the year immediately following the federal 27
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decennial census, and decennially thereafter, the commission shall adopt 1
redistricting plans as required by Sections 1 to 12 of this Act for each of the 2
following types of districts: 3
(a) State senatorial districts; 4
(b) State representative districts; and 5
(c) Congressional districts. 6
(2) (a) Before the commissioners draft any proposed plans, the commission may 7
provide testimony and hold hearings before the Interim Joint Committee on 8
State Government. 9
(b) Once the commission receives the census data on the population as defined 10
in Section 1 of this Act, the commission shall hold at least twelve (12) public 11
hearings throughout the state for the purpose of informing the public about 12
the redistricting process and the purpose and responsibilities of the 13
commission, and to solicit information from the public about potential 14
plans. 15
(c) The commission shall hold: 16
1. One (1) of the public hearings in each of the following jurisdictions: 17
Hodgenville, Paducah, Owensboro, Bowling Green, Lexington, 18
Covington, Ashland, Pikeville, Somerset, and Hazard; and 19
2. Two (2) of the public hearings in Louisville. 20
(d) The commission s hall receive for consideration written submissions of 21
proposed redistricting plans from any resident of the Commonwealth. The 22
submission of plans shall include all of the supporting documents described 23
in subsection (1) of Section 8 of this Act. These writ ten submissions shall be 24
public records and shall be readily available to the public. 25
(3) (a) Each commissioner shall be limited to proposing one (1) redistricting plan 26
for each type of district, which may include those plans submitted by 27
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residents of the Commonwealth under subsection (2) of this section. 1
(b) Each proposed plan shall be submitted to the secretary of the commission 2
no later than July 1 in the year immediately following the federal decennial 3
census, and decennially thereafter. 4
(c) After all proposed redistricting plans for each type of district are submitted, 5
the commission shall publish, for notice and comment, the proposed 6
redistricting plans with the required supporting materials pursuant to 7
subsection (1) of Section 8 of this Act. The comm ission shall respond to all 8
comments in an official capacity of record that is readily available to the 9
public before voting to adopt any proposed plan. In addition, the proposed 10
redistricting plans with the required supporting materials shall be published 11
on the internet, and the commission shall issue press releases to two (2) or 12
more newspapers of general circulation in the state, and radio and 13
television stations servicing residents of this state, announcing the 14
availability of the redistricting plans a nd required materials for public 15
review. 16
(d) Before voting to adopt any proposed plan, the commission shall hold at least 17
twelve (12) public hearings throughout this state for the purpose of 18
soliciting comments from the public about the proposed plans. Eac h of the 19
proposed plans shall include the required supporting materials pursuant to 20
subsection (1) of Section 8 of this Act. 21
(e) The commission shall hold: 22
1. One (1) of the public hearings in each of the following jurisdictions: 23
Hodgenville, Paducah, Owen sboro, Bowling Green, Lexington, 24
Covington, Ashland, Pikeville, Somerset, Hazard; and 25
2. Two (2) of the public hearings in Louisville. 26
SECTION 8. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 27
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READ AS FOLLOWS: 1
(1) Each proposed redistricting plan shall include but not be limited to the following: 2
(a) Census data to verify the population of each district, which shall include 3
percentage deviation from the average district population for every district 4
with a justification of any deviation; 5
(b) Reference materials; 6
(c) Maps and legal descriptions that include the political subdivisions of local 7
governments; 8
(d) Man-made features, and features such as waterways, which form the 9
boundaries of the districts; 10
(e) Programming information used to produce and test the plan; and 11
(f) Any other supporting materials or underlying data that was used in the 12
formation of each plan as required by subsection (2) of this section. 13
(2) The commission shall abide by the following criteria in propo sing and adopting 14
each plan: 15
(a) Districts shall be of equal population, with minimum percentages of 16
deviation, as mandated by the United States Constitution and Section 33 of 17
the Constitution of Kentucky, and shall comply with the Voting Rights Act 18
of 1965, as amended, applicable federal laws, and applicable state laws; 19
(b) Districts shall accommodate for relative rates for future growth such that 20
districts in growth areas have a population in the lower range of the ideal 21
population; 22
(c) Districts shall be geographically contiguous; 23
(d) Districts shall reflect the state's diverse population and communities of 24
interest. Communities of interest may include but not be limited to 25
populations that share cultural and historical characteristics, and social 26
and eco nomic interests. Communities of interest shall not include 27
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relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates; 1
(e) Districts shall not provide a disproportionate advantage to any political 2
party; 3
(f) 1. Districts shall not favor or d isfavor an incumbent elected official or 4
any candidate. 5
2. A district shall not be drawn in a way that would move an incumbent 6
out of his or her district. 7
3. If there is a conflict between subparagraphs 1. and 2. of this 8
paragraph, subparagraph 2. shall prevail; 9
(g) Districts shall reflect consideration of local governments' boundaries; 10
(h) Districts shall consider arterial highways and other corridors when defining 11
district boundaries; 12
(i) Districts shall be reasonably compact; 13
(j) Consideration of political party affiliation and voting history of citizens of 14
the Commonwealth may be used as an available source, but shall not be an 15
established criteria from which districts are drawn; and 16
(k) Previous election results may be used as an available source, but shall not 17
be an established criteria from which districts are drawn. 18
(3) The commission shall adhere to the following procedure in adopting each plan: 19
(a) Not later than September 15 of the year immediately after the federal 20
decennial census, and decennially thereafter, the commission shall adopt a 21
redistricting plan for each type of district. Before voting to adopt any 22
proposed plan, the commission shall ensure that each proposed plan is 23
tested, using appropriate technology, for compliance with the criteria 24
described in subsection (2) of this section. Each proposed plan that will be 25
voted on shall include the required supporting materials under subsection 26
(1) of this section; 27
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(b) Before voting to adopt any proposed plan, the commission shall allow not 1
less than seven (7) calendar days' public notice of each proposed plan that 2
will be voted on, and the date, time, and location the vote will occur; 3
(c) A final decision of the commission to adopt a redistricting plan shall require 4
the affirmative roll -call vote of nine (9) of the commissioners. If no plan 5
satisfies this requirement for a type of district, the commission shall use the 6
following procedure to adopt a plan for that type of district: 7
1. Each commissioner may submit one (1) proposed redistricting plan for 8
each type of district to the full commission for consideration, which 9
may include those plans submitted by residents of this state under 10
subsection (2) of Section 7 of this Act; and 11
2. Each commissioner shall rank each plan submitted according to 12
preference. Each plan shall be assigned a point value inverse to its 13
ranking among the number of choices, giving the lowest -ranked plan 14
one (1) point and the highe st-ranked plan a point value equal to the 15
number of plans submitted. The commission shall then adopt the 16
redistricting plans receiving the highest total points. If plans are tied 17
for the highest point total, the plan receiving the lowest total points 18
shall not be considered and the process of adoption shall repeat, in 19
accordance with this subsection, until a plan is adopted. 20
(4) Not later than October 1 in the year immediately after the federal census, and 21
decennially thereafter, the commission shall: 22
(a) Publish the adopted plans on the internet, which shall include the required 23
supporting materials pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. In addition, 24
the commission shall issue a press release to two (2) or more newspapers of 25
general circulation in the state, and radio and television stations servicing 26
residents of this state, announcing availability of the plans, explaining 27
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where they can be located on the internet, and describing how the 1
legislature will consider the plans; and 2
(b) Issue a report that is delivered to the Legislative Research Commission, 3
which shall explain the basis on which the commission made its decisions in 4
achieving compliance with plan requirements and shall include but not be 5
limited to the required supporting materials pursuant to subsection (1) of 6
this section. A commissioner who votes against a redistricting plan may 7
submit a dissenting report which shall be issued with the commission's 8
report. 9
SECTION 9. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CRE ATED TO 10
READ AS FOLLOWS: 11
(1) The Legislative Research Commission shall refer the adopted redistricting plans 12
to the Interim Joint Committee on State Government for its review and 13
consideration at its October or November meeting, and the Interim Joint 14
Committee on State Government may hold additional meetings as deemed 15
necessary. The Interim Joint Committee on State Government may recommend 16
enactment or rejection of the commission's adopted redistricting plans to the 17
General Assembly during the next regular session or extraordinary session called 18
by the Governor for the purposes of redistricting. 19
(2) Following the review of the Interim Joint Committee on State Government, and 20
during the next regular session of the General Assembly or an extraordinary 21
session called by the Governor for the purposes of redistricting, the General 22
Assembly shall consider the commission's redistricting plans for enactment into 23
law. The General Assembly may enact or reject the commission's redistricting 24
plans, but may not alter or a mend the plans except for technical amendments, 25
which do not alter or amend the substance of the plans. 26
(3) The Committee on Committees of both the House of Representatives and the 27
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Senate shall refer the redistricting plans to the House Standing Committee on 1
State Government and the Senate Standing Committee on State and Local 2
Government, respectively. 3
(4) If the General Assembly does not enact the commission's adopted redistricting 4
plans, with each plan being separately considered, by the first Tuesday af ter the 5
fourth Monday of the year following the commission's submission of the plans to 6
the Legislative Research Commission, the General Assembly or either chamber 7
rejecting the plans, shall return the rejected plans to the commission and request 8
development of new plans for the redistricting of the districts. Each chamber of 9
the General Assembly that rejects the plans shall communicate to the commission 10
its reasons for not enacting the adopted redistricting plans, and may provide 11
recommendations. 12
(5) After the return of the redistricting plans, the commission shall then draft a 13
second set of plans for the redistricting of districts within fourteen (14) business 14
days of the General Assembly's return of the first set of plans, which shall include 15
the reasons why, if applicable, for not including the recommendations of the 16
General Assembly. 17
(6) If the General Assembly does not enact the commission's second set of 18
redistricting plans within fourteen (14) business days of the commission's 19
submission of the seco nd set of redistricting plans, the General Assembly or 20
either chamber rejecting shall, within seven (7) business days, return the second 21
set of plans to the commission and communicate to the commission its reasons 22
for not enacting the second set of redistr icting plans. The General Assembly is 23
then permitted to enact its own legislation regarding the redistricting of districts. 24
(7) The General Assembly shall separately consider enactment or rejection of the 25
commission's redistricting plans for the House and Senate state legislative 26
districts, and the United States Congressional districts. 27
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SECTION 10. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 1
READ AS FOLLOWS: 2
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an employer shall not discharge, 3
threaten to discharge, intimidate, coerce, or retaliate against any employee 4
because of the employee's membership on the commission as a commissioner, 5
attendance or scheduled atte ndance, or any other personal obligation that 6
requires the employee to be absent from any services or employment in which he 7
or she is then engaged, for a reasonable time, while in service of the commission. 8
(2) The commission, and all of its responsibilit ies, operations, functions, contractors, 9
consultants, and employees, shall not be subject to change, transfer, 10
reorganization, or reassignment and shall not be altered or abrogated in any 11
manner whatsoever by the General Assembly. No other body shall be es tablished 12
by law to perform functions that are the same or similar to those granted to the 13
commission in Sections 1 to 12 of this Act. 14
SECTION 11. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 15
READ AS FOLLOWS: 16
(1) A person shall not influence or attempt to influence a commissioner by coercion, 17
bribe, favor, promise, inducement, or otherwise, related to any duty undertaken 18
by a commissioner in his or her capacity as a commissioner. 19
(2) Commission members, staff, attorneys, experts, and consultants shall not directly 20
or indirectly solicit or accept any gift or loan of money, goods, services, or other 21
thing of value greater than twenty dollars ($20) for the benefit of any person or 22
organization, which may influence the manner in which the commission member, 23
staff, attorney, expert, or consultant performs his or her duties. 24
(3) Any person found guilty of violating this section shall be guilty of a violation and 25
shall be subject to a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000). 26
(4) Comments or suggestions at public hearings or public meetings shall not be 27
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considered a violation under this section. 1
SECTION 12. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 5 IS CREATED TO 2
READ AS FOLLOWS: 3
If any provision of Sections 1 to 12 of this Act or the application thereof to any person 4
or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or 5
applications of Sections 1 to 12 of this Act that can be given effect without the invalid 6
provision or application, and to this end the provisions of Sections 1 to 12 of this Act 7
are severable. 8
Section 13. KRS 5.005 is amended to read as follows: 9
(1) An action challenging the constitutionality of any legislative district created by this 10
chapter shall be brought in the Circuit Court of the county where the plaintiff 11
resides. 12
(2) The Advisory Redistricting Commission [Secretary of State] shall be named as a 13
defendant in any action challenging the constitutionality o f any legislative district 14
created by this chapter. 15
(3) The Legislative Research Commission may intervene as a matter of right in any 16
action challenging the constitutionality of any legislative district created by this 17
chapter. 18
Section 14. This Act may be cited as the Fair Maps Act. 19