Fair Districts Stronger Democracy Act.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 698

Short Title: Fair Districts Stronger Democracy Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Applewhite and Mohammed (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 26, 2025
*S698-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO AMEND THE NORTH CAROLINA CONSTITUTION TO PROVIDE FOR AN 2
INDEPENDENT REDISTRI CTING PROCESS, TO ES TABLISH THE NORTH 3
CAROLINA INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMI SSION, AND TO MAKE 4
CONFORMING CHANGES TO THE GENERAL STATUTES. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
7
PART I. INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING PROCESS 8
SECTION 1.(a) Section 3 of Article II of the North Carolina Constitution reads as 9
rewritten: 10
"Sec. 3. Senate districts; apportionment of Senators. 11
The Senators shall be elected from districts. The General Assembly, at the first regular session 12
convening after the return of every decennial census of population taken by order of Congress, 13
shall revise the senate districts and the apportionment of Senators among those districts, subject 14
to the following requirements: Assembly shall establish a n independent process to revise the 15
senate districts and the apportionment of Senators among those districts pursuant to Section 25 16
of this Article. 17
(1) Each Senator shall represent, as nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants, the 18
number of inhabitants that each Senator represents being determined for this purpose by dividing 19
the population of the district that he represents by the number of Senators apportio ned to that 20
district; 21
(2) Each senate district shall at all times consist of contiguous territory; 22
(3) No county shall be divided in the formation of a senate district; 23
(4) When established, the senate districts and the apportionment of Senators shall remain 24
unaltered until the return of another decennial census of population taken by order of Congress." 25
SECTION 1.(b) Section 5 of Article II of the North Carolina Constitution reads as 26
rewritten: 27
"Sec. 5. Representative districts; apportionment of Representatives. 28
The Representatives shall be elected from districts. The General Assembly, at the first regular 29
session convening after the return of every decennial census of population taken by order of 30
Congress, shall revise the representative districts and the apportionment of Representatives 31
among those districts, subject to the following requirements: Assembly shall establish a n 32
independent process to revise the representative districts and the apportionment of 33
Representatives among those districts pursuant to Section 25 of this Article. 34
(1) Each Representative shall represent, as nearly as may be, an equal number of 35
inhabitants, the number of inhabitants that each Representative represents being determined for 36
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 698-First Edition
this purpose by dividing the population of the district that he represents by the number of 1
Representatives apportioned to that district; 2
(2) Each representative district shall at all times consist of contiguous territory; 3
(3) No county shall be divided in the formation of a representative district; 4
(4) When established, the representative districts and the apportionment of 5
Representatives shall remain unaltered until the return of another decennial census of population 6
taken by order of Congress." 7
SECTION 1.(c) Article II of the North Carolina Constitution is amended by adding 8
a new section to read: 9
"Sec. 25. Redistricting. 10
The General Assembly shall establish by law an independent process to revise electoral 11
districts for Congress and the General Assembly after the return of every federal decennial census 12
of population taken by order of Congress . The process shall meet at least all of the following 13
requirements: 14
(1) The General Assembly shall have no role in revising electoral districts for Congress 15
or the General Assembly. 16
(2) Each member of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the General 17
Assembly and the House of Representatives of the United States Congress shall represent, as 18
nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants. 19
(3) Each electoral district shall at all times consist of contiguous territory. 20
(4) To the extent practicable and consistent with federal law, no county shall be divided 21
in the formation of an electoral district for the Senate or the House of Representatives of the 22
General Assembly. 23
(5) When established, the electoral districts for the Senate and the House of 24
Representatives of the General Assembly shall remain unaltered until the return of another 25
federal decennial census of population taken by order of Congress. 26
(6) Electoral districts adopted pursuant to the process shall have the force and effect of 27
acts of the General Assembly." 28
SECTION 1.(d) Subsection (5) of Section 22 of Article II of the North Carolina 29
Constitution reads as rewritten: 30
"(5) Other exceptions. Appointments to office. Every bill: 31
(a) In bill in which the General Assembly makes an appointment or appointments 32
to public office and which contains no other matter; 33
(b) Revising the senate districts and the apportionment of Senators among those 34
districts and containing no other matter; 35
(c) Revising the representative districts and the apportionment of Representatives 36
among those districts and containing no other matter; or 37
(d) Revising the districts for the election of members of the House of 38
Representatives of the Congress of the United States and the apportionment 39
of Representatives among those districts and containing no other matter, 40
matter shall be read three times in each house before it becomes law and shall 41
be signed by the presiding officers of both houses." 42
SECTION 1.(e) The amendments set out in subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) of this 43
section shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the State at the statewide general election to 44
be held on November 3, 2026, which election shall be conducted in accordance w ith the laws 45
governing elections at that time. The question to be used in the voting systems and ballots shall 46
be: 47
"[ ] FOR [ ] AGAINST 48
A constitutional amendment providing for an independent redistricting process for 49
electoral districts for Congress and t he General Assembly. The General Assembly would 50
establish the process but have no role in the revising of districts." 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Senate Bill 698-First Edition Page 3
SECTION 1.(f) The State Board of Elections shall certify the results of the 1
referendum conducted under subsection (e) of this section. I f a majority of votes cast on the 2
question are in favor of the amendments set out in subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) of this section, 3
the Secretary of State shall enroll the amendments among the permanent records of that office. 4
If a majority of votes cast on the question are against the amendments set out in subsections (a), 5
(b), (c), and (d) of this section, the amendments shall have no effect. 6
SECTION 1.(g) If the certification from the State Board of Elections under 7
subsection (f) of this section reflects that a majority of votes cast on the question are in favor of 8
the amendments set out in subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) of this section, the amendments set 9
out in subsection (e) of this section are effective upon certification. 10
SECTION 1.(h) Chapter 120 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new 11
Article to read: 12
"Article 1B. 13
"Redistricting. 14
"§ 120-4.50. Definitions. 15
As used in this Article, unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions shall 16
apply: 17
(1) Census Bureau. – The United States Bureau of the Census. 18
(2) Commission. – The North Carolina Independent Redistricting Commission 19
established pursuant to G.S. 120-4.55. 20
(3) Communities of interest. – An area or population with recognized similarities 21
of interest, including racial, ethnic, economic, social, cultural, geographic, and 22
historical identities. Communities of interest do not include common 23
relationships with political parties or political candidates. Examples of 24
communities of interest may include municip alities, neighborhoods, and 25
census designated places. 26
(4) Congressional districts or plans. – Districts or plans for the House of 27
Representatives of the United States Congress. 28
(5) Federal decennial census. – The decennial census required by federal law to 29
be conducted by the Census Bureau in every year ending in zero. 30
(6) Final plan. – A plan adopted by the Commission to be used for the purpose of 31
nominating and electing identified representatives. In accordance with Section 32
25 of Article II of the North Carolina Constitution, final plans shall have the 33
force and effect of acts of the General Assembly. 34
(7) Ideal population. – The number determined by dividing the number of 35
members in a plan into the population of the State as reported in the federal 36
census. 37
(8) Identified representative. – A member of the Senate or the House of 38
Representatives of the General Assembly or a memb er of the House of 39
Representatives of the United States Congress. 40
(9) Indigenous person. – A member of a federal or State-recognized Indian tribe. 41
(10) Legislative districts or plans. – Districts or plans for the Senate and the House 42
of Representatives of the General Assembly. 43
(11) Metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas. – Areas of the State defined as 44
metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas by the Office of Management 45
and Budget of the United States. 46
(12) Plan. – A plan for legislative or co ngressional reapportionment drawn in 47
accordance with Section 25 of Article II of the North Carolina Constitution 48
and this Article. 49
(13) Preliminary plan. – An initial plan released by the Commission for public 50
input at the beginning of the redistricting cycle. 51
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(14) Proposed and alternative plans. – Plans released by the Commission following 1
public input. 2
(15) Public office. – Elective State, local, or federal office. 3
(16) Relative. – Spouse, lineal descendant, lineal ascendant, sibling, spouse's lineal 4
descendant, spouse's lineal ascendant, spouse's sibling, and the spouse of any 5
of these individuals. 6
"§ 120-4.55. North Carolina Independent Redistricting Commission. 7
(a) Establishment. – There is established the North Carolina Independent Redistricting 8
Commission in accordance with Section 25 of Article II of the North Carolina Constitution to 9
prepare preliminary, proposed, and alternative plans and to adopt final plans for the purpose of 10
nominating and electing members of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the General 11
Assembly and the House of Representatives of the United States Congress. 12
(b) Eligibility. – A resident of North Carolina is eligible to apply to the State Ethics 13
Commission for membership on the Commission if that person meet s all of the following 14
requirements: 15
(1) Has been a registered voter in North Carolina with the same affiliation, or lack 16
thereof, for at least four years prior to applying for membership on the 17
Commission. This requirement does not apply to persons under the age of 25 18
or persons who became citizens of the United States within four years of 19
applying for membership on the Commission. 20
(2) Has not done any of the following within four years of applying for 21
membership on the Commission: 22
a. Been a candidate for or served in public office. This disqualification 23
shall not apply to persons serving in a federal or State-recognized 24
Indian tribe. 25
b. Contributed more than twenty percent (20%) of the limit on 26
contributions specified in G.S. 163-278.13(a) to any candidate for 27
public office and no more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in total 28
to candidates for public office. 29
c. Held a political appointment. 30
d. Served as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of any of the 31
following: 32
1. A political party or body of the United States. 33
2. A campaign or campaign committee of a candidate for public 34
office in the United States. 35
e. Served as an elected or appointed officer or pa id consultant of a 36
committee at any level of government in the United States. 37
f. Been employed by Congress. 38
(3) Has not served as a member of the General Assembly or Congress within eight 39
years of applying for membership on the Commission. 40
(4) Is not any of the following: 41
a. A relative of a current member of the General Assembly , North 42
Carolina Council of State, or a covered person , as defined in 43
G.S. 138A-3(21). 44
b. A staff member or legal counsel to the General Assembly. 45
c. An official of a political party or a consultant or legal counsel to a 46
political party in the United States. 47
d. A legislative staffer, lobbyist, lobbyist principal, or legislative liaison, 48
or spouse of any of these persons. 49
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Senate Bill 698-First Edition Page 5
(5) Has never been convicted of a ny of the following crimes against a 1
governmental body of the United States or a crime with a direct connection to 2
any of the following crimes: 3
a. Espionage. 4
b. Terrorism. 5
c. Treason. 6
d. Sabotage. 7
e. Sedition. 8
f. Insurrection, including any of the following: 9
1. Overthrowing or attacking any governmental body of the 10
United States. 11
2. Preventing any official of any governmental body of the 12
United States from performing his or her official duties. 13
3. Preventing persons from exercising their rights under the laws 14
of any governmental body of the United States. 15
(c) Membership Application; Evaluations. – The application process to be a member of 16
the Commission shall be as follows: 17
(1) The State Ethics Commission shall ensure that applications are available for 18
at least six months beginning in each year ending in nine. The State Ethics 19
Commission shall work with the North Carolina Human Relations 20
Commission to publicize the application process, including advertising the 21
application period, commission qualifications, and selection process in at least 22
all of the following ways: 23
a. In each of the following: 24
1. For at least one month, t he 10 media outlets in the State with 25
the highest circulation. 26
2. The main website for all State agencies. 27
3. Appropriate local news broadcasts. 28
4. Media outlets that serve minority communities. 29
b. By distributing paper applications to at least the following: 30
1. At least one percent (1%) of all registered voters in North 31
Carolina. Recipients of paper applications shall be selected 32
randomly but in no event shall more than thirty-three percent 33
(33%) of the recipients be affiliated or not affiliated with a 34
particular party. 35
2. Any registered voter in North Carolina who selects to receive 36
an application on a completed voter registration form. 37
c. To tribal nations located in North Carolina. The State Ethics 38
Commission shall encourage indigenous persons to apply to be a 39
member of the Commission and may coordinate for that purpose with 40
the Division of Indian Affairs of the North Carolina Department of 41
Administration, the North Carolina State Commission of Indian 42
Affairs, and any State-recognized Indian tribe. 43
(2) As part of a person 's application, that person shall (i) disclose all relevant 44
relationships, positions, and affiliations and (ii) submit to the State Ethics 45
Commission an attestation that the person is eligible to serve as a member of 46
the Commission pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. 47
(3) The State Ethics Commission shall evaluate applications to ensure they meet 48
the requirements of this section and any other requirements of State law . If 49
needed, the State Ethics Commission may request additional information from 50
an applicant. 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 6 Senate Bill 698-First Edition
(4) As part of the evaluation described in subdivision (3) of this subsection, the 1
State Ethics Commission shall create an applicant review panel consisting of 2
five staff members, composed of two persons affiliated with the largest 3
political party in the State, two persons affiliated with the second -largest 4
political party in the State, and one person affiliated with neither the largest 5
nor second -largest political party in the State. The panel shall review 6
applications on the basis of experience, skill, and commitment to fairness and 7
impartiality and make recommendations to the State Ethics Commission. 8
(5) The State Ethics Commission shall submit a diverse group of up to 60 9
applications to the General Assembly, as follows: 10
a. Applications submitted to the General Assembly shall reflect the 11
State's diverse races, ethnicities, nationalities, sexual orientations, 12
socioeconomic statuses, indigenous tribal affiliations, and geography. 13
The State Ethics Commission shall make every effort to include 14
indigenous persons in this group. 15
b. No more than 20 applications shall be submitted from persons in each 16
of the following ways, as reflected by the latest registration statistics 17
published by the State Board of Elections: 18
1. As affiliated with the political party with the highest number 19
of registered affiliates. 20
2. As affiliated with the political party with the second -highest 21
number of registered affiliates. 22
3. As not affiliated with either of the two political parties having 23
the highest and second-highest number of registered affiliates. 24
c. If there are fewer than 20 applications from persons registered in 25
accordance with any sub-sub-subdivision of sub-subdivision b. of this 26
subdivision, the State Ethics Commiss ion may submit additional 27
eligible applications to the General Assembly, as necessary, to reach a 28
total of 60 applications. 29
(6) Of the pool of candidates submitted to the General Assembly pursuant to 30
subdivision (5) of this subsection, the Presid ent Pro Tempore of the Senate, 31
the minority leader in the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 32
and the minority leader in the House of Re presentatives shall each strike six 33
candidates. 34
(d) Appointment. – The Commission shall be composed of 15 members appointed from 35
the pool of candidates that remains after the leaders of the General Assembly have made th eir 36
strikes pursuant to subdivision (6) of subsection (c) of this section, as follows: 37
(1) Two members affiliated in each of the three ways identified in sub-subdivision 38
b. of subdivision (5) of subsection (c) of this section , by the State Ethics 39
Commission, for a total of six members. 40
(2) Three members affiliated in each of the three ways identified in 41
sub-subdivision b. of subdivision (5) of subsection (c) of this section , by the 42
six members appointed pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection , for a 43
total of nine members. 44
(3) All appointing authorities shall do the following when making their 45
appointments: 46
a. Consider the importance of diversity, as defined in sub-subdivision a. 47
of subdivision (5) of subsection (c) of this section, when making their 48
appointments. 49
b. Make every effort to ensure that at least one member of the 50
Commission is a resident of each congressional district in the State 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Senate Bill 698-First Edition Page 7
from the prior election. In the event there are more than 15 1
congressional districts, the Commission shall be as geographically 2
diverse as possible. 3
c. Make every effort to ensure that at least one member of the 4
Commission is an indigenous person. 5
(e) Term of Office. – The term of office for members of the Commission shall begin on 6
July 1 of each year ending in zero. The members shall contin ue in office for 10 years until their 7
successors are appointed and qualified. 8
(f) Chair. – The position of chair of the Commission shall rotate every three months, 9
following a schedule randomly generated at the beginning of the redistricting cycle. No two 10
members who share the same party affiliation, or lack thereof, shall serve as chair in the same 11
six-month period. No member shall serve as chair more than once in a 12-month period. 12
(g) Removal from Office. – A member of the Commission may be removed from office, 13
as follows: 14
(1) By the authority that appointed the member for any of the following: 15
a. Failure to comply with G.S. 120-4.65. 16
b. Ineligibility pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. 17
(2) By a vote of at least 11 members of the Commission , including at least one 18
member of the commission who shares the same party affiliation, or lack 19
thereof, in open session at any duly held meeting, for any cause that renders 20
the member incapable or unfit to discharge the duties of the office, including 21
neglect of duty or gross misco nduct. All Commission member votes on 22
removal of a member pursuant to this subdivision shall be recorded. 23
(h) Vacancies. – Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the Commission shall be 24
filled in the manner prescribed in this section by the authority that made the initial appointment. 25
Vacancies shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term. 26
(i) Prohibition on Legislative Service. – No member of the Commission shall serve as a 27
member of the General Assembly or Congress until the conclusion of the term as a commissioner 28
that they were appointed to serve . This prohibition applies even if a commissioner resigns or is 29
removed from the Commission prior to the conclusion of his or her term. 30
(j) Stipend. – Members of the Commission shall receive a stipend of two thousand 31
dollars ($2,000) for each month that the Commission meets. 32
(k) Other Expenses. – Members of the Commission may receive travel and subsistence, 33
as follows: 34
(1) Members who are officials or employees of a State agency or unit of local 35
government, in accordance with G.S. 138-6. 36
(2) All other members at the rate established in G.S. 138-5. 37
"§ 120-4.60. Staff. 38
(a) The Commission shall be administratively housed in the Legislative Services Office 39
of the General Assembly. 40
(b) The Commission may exercise its prescribed powers independently of the General 41
Assembly and the Legislative Services Officer. In order to pay expenses incidental to 42
implementing its purposes, the Commission may enter into contracts, own property, and accept 43
funds, grants, and gifts from academic and nonprofit entities that have never contributed to 44
political parties, persons holding public office, or candidates for public office. 45
(c) The Legislative Services Officer shall provide general administrative support to the 46
Commission, including purchasing, payroll, and similar administrative services. 47
(d) The Commission shall retain independent staff under contract, including an executive 48
secretary and any additional necessary supporting staff. As a whole, the political affiliations of 49
staff members, or lack thereof, shall be divided approximately into thirds among the two political 50
parties with the highest number of affiliates and among persons unaffiliated with a political party. 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
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A person is ineligible to serve as a staff member to the Commission if that person would be 1
ineligible to serve as a member of the Commission pursuant to G.S. 120-4.55(b). Staff shall be 2
selected by a vote of at least nine members composed of at least three members appointed to the 3
Commission from each sub-sub-subdivision of G.S. 120-4.55(c)(5)b. 4
"§ 120-4.65. Open meetings and public records. 5
The Commission shall be subject to the Chapter 132 of the General Statutes and Article 33C 6
of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes, except to the extent those enactments conflict with the 7
below requirements: 8
(1) Members of the Commission and staff shall not discuss the business of the 9
Commission outside of public meetings. 10
(2) If a member of the Commission violates subdivision (1) of this section, he or 11
she shall place in the public records of the Commission (i) any violating 12
written communication and (ii) a written description of any violating oral 13
communication. The written description of an oral communication must 14
include the name of the parties to the communication, the date and 15
approximate time of the communication, and a description of the nature and 16
substance of the communication. 17
(3) The Commission shall provide at least 14 days' notice prior to any meeting in 18
which votes will be taken. 19
(4) All public meetings must be live -streamed and minutes from the meetings 20
must be made available to the public. 21
"§ 120-4.70. Redistricting criteria. 22
All plans shall meet the following goals, in order of priority: 23
(1) Each identified representative shall represent a single district. The population 24
for a legislative district shall be within five percent (5%) of the ideal 25
population for that district. Congressional districts shall each have a 26
population that is as nearly equal as practicable to the ideal population but in 27
all cases within one -tenth of one percent (0.1%) of the ideal population for 28
that district. 29
(2) Compliance with the North Carolina Constitution, State law, the Constitution 30
of the United States, including the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth 31
Amendment, and federal law to ensure that all persons, including racial and 32
language minorities, have an equal opportunity to elect representatives of their 33
choice. A plan shall not diminish or dilute the ability of a member of a 34
minority from electing a candidate of his or her choice, whether alone or in 35
coalition with others. 36
(3) All districts shall be geographically cohesive and contiguous. Areas that are 37
logically connected to form a unified community, yet are physically separated, 38
are considered cohesive. Areas that are physically adjacent are contiguous. 39
Areas that meet only at the points of adjoining corners are not contiguous. 40
(4) Districts shall respect the integrity of communities of interest to the extent 41
practicable. 42
(5) Districts shall not split precincts and shall respect the geographic integrity of 43
political subdivision boundaries, except to the extent necessary to comply with 44
the preceding criteria. 45
(6) Districts shall not be drawn to favor or discriminate against a political party. 46
Partisan considerations and election results data sha ll not be used in the 47
drawing of districts in Congressional, House, and Senate plans. No 48
redistricting plan shall diminish or dilute any individual's vote on the basis of 49
party affiliation. 50
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Senate Bill 698-First Edition Page 9
(7) Districts shall not be drawn to favor or discriminate against an inc umbent or 1
candidate for office. 2
(8) Splitting of counties shall be minimized and avoided where possible. 3
However, spitting counties is permissible when in constitutional compliance 4
with any required clustering of counties. 5
"§ 120-4.75. Adoption of redistricting plans by the Commission. 6
(a) Integrity and Procedure . – It is the intent of the General Assembly that the 7
Commission conduct itself with integrity and fairness in the creation and adoption of plans. In 8
furtherance of that goal, the Commission shall adopt preliminary, proposed, alternative, and final 9
plans by a vote of at least nine members composed of at least three members appointed to the 10
Commission from each sub-sub-subdivision of G.S. 120-4.55(c)(5)b. 11
(b) Special Master s. – At the beginning of the redistricting cycle, the State Ethics 12
Commission shall submit to the Commission a list of names of persons with an expertise in 13
redistricting who are qualified to serve as a special master. In the event a plan cannot be adopted 14
pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the Commission shall appoint two special masters from 15
the list of names provided by the State Ethics Commission. The special masters shall be appointed 16
by a vote of at least nine members composed of at least three members appointed to the 17
Commission from each sub-sub-subdivision of G.S. 120-4.55(c)(5)b. A special master appointed 18
pursuant to this subsection shall meet the following criteria: 19
(1) Meet elig ibility requirements for applications for membership on the 20
Commission pursuant to G.S. 120-4.55(b). 21
(2) Have a resume that does not reflect a history of working exclusively with one 22
political party or ideology. 23
(c) Adoption by Special Masters. – Any special masters appointed pursuant to this section 24
shall draw a plan and submit the plan, along with the rationale for the plan, to the Commission, 25
which shall adopt that plan, in accordance with the following: 26
(1) Plans proposed by the special masters shall conform to all redistricting criteria 27
in G.S. 120-4.70. 28
(2) Produce one map for any plan. 29
(3) Hold at least four public hearings after producing the map, two of which shall 30
occur in each metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area. Public hearings 31
shall be live-streamed with the ability for citizens to participate virtually. 32
(4) Provide a written evaluation for any plan in accordance with 33
G.S. 120-4.80(b)(6). 34
"§ 120-4.80. Public input. 35
(a) Public Hearings. – It is the intent of the General Assembly that the Commission 36
conduct an open and transparent process enabling full public consideration of and comment on 37
the drawing of plans. In furtherance of that goal, the Commission shall hold public hearings as 38
soon as reasonably practicable after its formation and shall set a timeline for this process; the 39
timeline may be adjusted as needed. The Commission shall engage in a minimum of 20 public 40
hearings across the State. At least one public hearing shall occur in each metropolitan statistical 41
area and at least five public hearings shall occur in the various micropolitan areas. Of those public 42
hearings, at least 10 hearings shall occur before a preliminary plan is released to the public and 43
at least 10 hearings shall occur after a preliminary plan is released to the public but before a 44
proposed or alternative plan is released to the public. All public hearings shall be live-streamed 45
with the ability for citizens to participate virtually. 46
(b) Public Input. – To the extent possible, the Commission shall facilitate the ability of 47
members of the public to provide substantive comments on any plan released to the public . To 48
achieve that goal, the Commission shall provide members of the public with all of the following 49
resources: 50
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 10 Senate Bill 698-First Edition
(1) Sufficient time to review any plan released to the public in advance of any 1
vote on that plan. 2
(2) The opportunity to communicate comments, questions, and recommendations 3
on any plan released to the public , at a minimum, in person, online, and 4
through the mail. The Commission shall reserve time at the end of every 5
meeting for in-person and virtual public comment. 6
(3) Access to the same demographic data that is used by the Commission in a 7
machine-readable form. 8
(4) Access to mapping software and census data in public library facilities in each 9
metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area within 20 days of receipt of that 10
data from the United States Bureau of the Census. 11
(5) A public, written response to every substantive comment or recommendation 12
regarding a specific component of a plan released to the public. The response 13
shall address the viability of any recommendation and indicate whether it was 14
or will be incorporated in any other plan. 15
(6) At the conclusion of the redistricting process, the Commission shall publish a 16
written evaluation of each final plan , including at least the following 17
information: 18
a. The impact of the plan s on the ability of minority groups, including 19
racial minorities, to elect candidates of their choice. 20
b. The degree to which the plan s preserve or divide communiti es of 21
interest. 22
c. The rationale for changes in the plans from the prior districts. 23
d. The impact of the plans on metropo litan and micropolitan statistical 24
areas. 25
e. How the plans satisfy the redistricting criteria in G.S. 120-4.70. 26
f. A summary of the public input received by the Commission on the 27
plans. Substantially similar comments may be grouped together into 28
categories. 29
(7) A website with all of the following information: 30
a. Background information on the redistricting process available in at 31
least English and Spanish on the purpose of redistricting and its impact 32
on all communities . The Commission shall provide information in 33
other languages if at least 10,000 people petition the Commission to 34
have a particular language included. 35
b. Livestreams and recordings of all public meetings and hearings by the 36
Commission or the special masters in audio, video, or both formats 37
and minutes from those meetings. 38
c. Meeting announcements. 39
d. A searchable database of feedback , including public comments, and 40
plans discussed by the Commission . This information shall be m ade 41
available as soon as practicable after it is generated. 42
e. Plans discussed by the Commission and the data used to create those 43
plans. 44
"§ 120-4.85. Local redistricting. 45
The General Assembly may by law assign to the Commission the duty to prepare district 46
plans for any county, city, town, special district, and other governmental subdivision , if the 47
governing board of the unit or a court of appropriate jurisdiction so requests. The Commission 48
shall be required to follow the same criteria as set out in G.S. 120-4.70." 49
50
PART II. CONFORMING CHANGES 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Senate Bill 698-First Edition Page 11
SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 120-2.3 reads as rewritten: 1
"§ 120-2.3. Contents of judgments invalidating apportionment or redistricting acts. 2
Every order or judgment declaring unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, in whole or in part 3
and for any reason, any act of the General Assembly plan that apportions or redistricts State 4
legislative or congressional districts shall find with specificity all facts supporting that 5
declaration, shall state separately and with specificity the court's conclusions of law on that 6
declaration, and shall, with specific reference to those findings of fact and conclusions of law, 7
identify every defect found by the court, both as to the plan as a whole and as to individual 8
districts." 9
SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 120-2.4 reads as rewritten: 10
"§ 120-2.4. Opportunity for General Assembly to remedy defects. 11
(a) If the General Assembly enacts a plan apportioning or redistricting State legislative 12
or congressional districts, districts becomes effective, in no event may a court impose its own 13
substitute plan unless the court first gives the General Assembly North Carolina Independent 14
Redistricting Commission a period of time to remedy any defects identified by the court in its 15
findings of fact and conclusi ons of law. That period of time shall not be less than two weeks, 16
provided, however, that if the General Assembly is scheduled to convene legislative session 17
within 45 days of the date of the court order that period of time shall not be less than two weeks 18
from the convening of that legislative session.weeks. 19
(a1) In the event the General Assembly North Carolina Independent Redistricting 20
Commission does not act to remedy any identified defects to its plan within that period of time, 21
the court may impose an interim districting plan for use in the next general election only, but that 22
interim districting plan may differ from the previous districting plan enacted by the General 23
Assembly only to the extent necessary to remedy any defects identified by the court. 24
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or authority of the State Board of 25
Elections under Chapter 163 of the General Statutes, the State B oard of Elections shall have no 26
authority to alter, amend, correct, impose, or substitute any plan apportioning or redistricting 27
State legislative or congressional districts other than a plan imposed by a court under this section 28
or a plan enacted by the G eneral Assembly. adopted by the North Carolina Independent 29
Redistricting Commission." 30
31
PART III. FUNDING 32
SECTION 3. It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide ample funding to 33
implement an independent redistricting system. In the year before each federal decennial census, 34
it is the intent of the General Assembly to allocate sufficient funding for the North Carolina 35
Independent Redistricting Commission to meet estimated expenses for all of the following: 36
(1) Advertising the application process for membership to the Independent 37
Redistricting Commission. 38
(2) Selection and training of Independent Redistricting Commission members. 39
(3) Hiring staff to the Independent Redistricting Commission, including a 40
mapping team and legal team. 41
(4) A statewide public education and outreach program. 42
(5) Public hearings required by G.S. 120-4.80(a), as enacted by this act. 43
(6) A redistricting website containing the information required in 44
G.S. 120-4.80(b)(7), as enacted by this act. 45
(7) Mapping software to be used by the Independent Redistricting Commission. 46
(8) Language translations. 47
(9) Accessibility for those with disabilities. 48
(10) A portal for the public to submit public comments and maps. 49
(11) Any needed litigation expenses. 50
51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 12 Senate Bill 698-First Edition
PART IV. EFFECTIVE DATE 1
SECTION 4.(a) If the constitutional amendments proposed by subsections (a), (b), 2
(c), and (d) of Section 1 of this act are approved by the qualified voters as provided in subsections 3
(e), (f), and (g) of Section 1 of this act, the following shall become effective January 1, 2030: 4
(1) Subsection (h) of Section 1 of this act. 5
(2) Part II of this act. 6
SECTION 4.(b) Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes 7
law. 8