PRIOR PASSAGE - NONE
PRINTER'S NO. 1325
No. 1092 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY HART AND EARLL, SEPTEMBER 23, 1999
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, SEPTEMBER 23, 1999
A JOINT RESOLUTION
1 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the Commonwealth
2 of Pennsylvania, establishing criteria to be followed by the
3 Legislative Reapportionment Commission in performing its
4 duties.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby resolves as follows:
7 Section 1. The following amendment to the Constitution of
8 Pennsylvania is proposed in accordance with Article XI:
9 That section 16 of Article II be amended to read:
10 § 16. Legislative districts.
11 (a) The Commonwealth shall be divided into 50 senatorial and
12 203 representative districts, which shall be [composed of
13 compact and contiguous territory as nearly equal in population
14 as practicable] established as provided in this section. Each
15 senatorial district shall elect one Senator, and each
16 representative district one Representative. [Unless absolutely
17 necessary no county, city, incorporated town, borough, township
18 or ward shall be divided in forming either a senatorial or
1 representative district.]
2 (b) Legislative districts shall be established on the basis
3 of population.
4 (c) (1) Senatorial and representative districts,
5 respectively, shall each have a population as nearly equal as
6 practicable to the ideal population for the districts,
7 determined by dividing the number of districts to be established
8 into the population of the Commonwealth reported in the Federal
9 decennial census. Senatorial districts and representative
10 districts shall not vary in population from the respective ideal
11 district populations except as necessary to comply with one of
12 the other standards enumerated in this section. In no case shall
13 the quotient, obtained by dividing the total of the absolute
14 values of the deviations of all district populations from the
15 applicable ideal district population by the number of districts
16 established exceed 1% of the applicable ideal district
17 population. No senatorial district shall have a population which
18 exceeds that of any other senatorial district by more than 5%,
19 and no representative district shall have a population which
20 exceeds that of any other representative district by more than
21 5%.
22 (2) If a challenge is filed with the Supreme Court alleging
23 excessive population variance among districts established in a
24 plan filed by the Legislative Reapportionment Commission, the
25 commission has the burden of justifying any variance in excess
26 of 1% between the population of a district and the applicable
27 ideal district population.
28 (d) To the extent consistent with subsection (c), district
29 boundaries shall coincide with the boundaries of municipalities
30 and wards of the Commonwealth. The number of municipalities and
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1 wards divided among more than one district shall be as small as
2 possible. When there is a choice between dividing municipalities
3 and wards, the more populous municipalities and wards shall be
4 divided before the less populous, but this statement does not
5 apply to a legislative district boundary drawn along a county
6 line which passes through a city that lies in more than one
7 county.
8 (e) Districts shall be composed of convenient contiguous
9 territory. Areas which meet only at the points of adjoining
10 corners are not contiguous.
11 (f) It is preferable that districts be compact in form, but
12 the standards established by subsections (b), (c), (d) and (e)
13 take precedence over compactness where a conflict arises between
14 compactness and these standards. In general, compact districts
15 are those which are square, rectangular or hexagonal in shape to
16 the extent permitted by natural or political boundaries.
17 (g) (1) The compactness of a district is greatest when the
18 length of the district and the width of the district are equal.
19 The measure of a district's compactness is the absolute value of
20 the difference between the length and the width of the district.
21 (2) In measuring the length and the width of a district by
22 means of electronic data processing, the difference between the
23 x coordinates of the easternmost and the westernmost geographic
24 unit centers included in the district shall be compared to the
25 difference between the y coordinates of the northernmost and
26 southernmost geographic unit centers included in the district.
27 (3) To determine the length and width of a district by
28 manual measurement, the distance from the northernmost point or
29 portion of the boundary of a district to the southernmost point
30 or portion of the boundary of the same district and the distance
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1 from the westernmost point or portion of the boundary of the
2 district to the easternmost point or portion of the boundary of
3 the same district shall each be measured. If the northernmost or
4 southernmost portion of the boundary, or each of these points,
5 is a part of the boundary running due east and west, the line
6 used to make the measurement required by this subsection shall
7 either be drawn due north and south or as nearly so as the
8 configuration of the district permits. If the easternmost or
9 westernmost portion of the boundary, or each of these points, is
10 a part of the boundary running due north and south, a similar
11 procedure shall be followed. The lines to be measured for the
12 purpose of this subsection shall each be drawn as required by
13 this subsection, even if some part of either or both lines lies
14 outside the boundaries of the district which is being tested for
15 compactness.
16 (4) The absolute values computed for individual districts
17 under this subsection may be cumulated for all districts in a
18 plan in order to compare the overall compactness of two or more
19 alternative districting plans for the Commonwealth, or for a
20 portion of the Commonwealth. However, it is not valid to
21 cumulate or compare absolute values computed under paragraph (2)
22 with those computed under paragraph (3).
23 (h) The compactness of a district is greatest when the ratio
24 of the dispersion of population about the population center of
25 the district to the dispersion of population about the
26 geographic center of the district is one-to-one, the nature of
27 this ratio being such that it is always greater than zero and
28 can never be greater than one-to-one.
29 (i) (1) The population dispersion about the population
30 center of a district, and about the geographic center of a
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1 district, is computed as the sum of the products of the
2 population of each population data unit included in the district
3 multiplied by the square of the distance from that geographic
4 unit center to the population center or the geographic center of
5 the district, as the case may be. The geographic center of the
6 district is defined by averaging the locations of all geographic
7 unit centers which are included in the district. The population
8 center of the district is defined by computing the population-
9 weighted average of the x coordinates and y coordinates of each
10 geographic unit center assigned to the district, it being
11 assumed for the purpose of this calculation that each population
12 data unit possesses uniform density of population.
13 (2) The ratios computed for individual districts under this
14 subsection may be averaged for all districts in a plan in order
15 to compare the overall compactness of two or more alternative
16 districting plans for the Commonwealth, or for a portion of the
17 Commonwealth.
18 (j) No district shall be drawn for the purpose of favoring a
19 political party, incumbent legislator or member of Congress, or
20 other person or group, or for the purpose of augmenting or
21 diluting the voting strength of a language or racial minority
22 group. In establishing districts, no use shall be made of any of
23 the following data:
24 (1) Addresses of incumbent legislators or members of
25 Congress.
26 (2) Political affiliations of registered voters.
27 (3) Previous election results.
28 (4) Demographic information, other than population head
29 counts, except as required by the Constitution and the laws of
30 the United States.
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1 (k) In order to minimize electoral confusion and to
2 facilitate communication within legislative districts, each plan
3 drawn under section 17 shall provide that each representative
4 district is wholly included within a single senatorial district
5 and that, so far as possible, each representative and each
6 senatorial district shall be included within a single
7 congressional district.
8 (l) As used in this section, the following words shall have
9 the following meanings:
10 "Geographic unit center" of a population data unit is that
11 point approximately equidistant from the northern and southern
12 extremities and also approximately equidistant from the eastern
13 and western extremities of a population data unit. This point
14 shall be determined by visual observation of a map of the
15 population data unit, unless it is otherwise determined within
16 the context of an appropriate coordinate system developed by the
17 Federal Government or another qualified and objective source.
18 "Population data unit" means a township, election precinct,
19 census enumeration district, census city block group, or other
20 unit of territory having clearly identified geographic
21 boundaries and for which a total population figure is included
22 in or can be derived directly from certified Federal census
23 data.
24 The "x coordinate" of a point in this Commonwealth refers to
25 the relative location of that point along the east-west axis of
26 this Commonwealth. Unless otherwise measured within the context
27 of an appropriate coordinate system, the x coordinate shall be
28 measured along a line drawn due east from a due north and south
29 line running through the point which is the northwestern
30 extremity of this Commonwealth to the point to be located.
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1 The "y coordinate" of a point in this Commonwealth refers to
2 the relative location of that point along the north-south axis
3 of this Commonwealth. Unless otherwise measured within the
4 context of an appropriate coordinate system, the y coordinate
5 shall be measured along a line drawn due south from the northern
6 boundary of this Commonwealth or the eastward extension of that
7 boundary to the point to be located.
8 Section 2. (a) Upon the first passage by the General
9 Assembly of this proposed constitutional amendment, the
10 Secretary of the Commonwealth shall proceed immediately to
11 comply with the advertising requirements of section 1 of Article
12 XI of the Constitution of Pennsylvania and shall transmit the
13 required advertisements to two newspapers in every county in
14 which such newspapers are published in sufficient time after
15 passage of this proposed constitutional amendment.
16 (b) Upon the second passage by the General Assembly of this
17 proposed constitutional amendment, the Secretary of the
18 Commonwealth shall proceed immediately to comply with the
19 advertising requirements of section 1 of Article XI of the
20 Constitution of Pennsylvania and shall transmit the required
21 advertisements to two newspapers in every county in which such
22 newspapers are published in sufficient time after passage of
23 this proposed constitutional amendment. The Secretary of the
24 Commonwealth shall submit this proposed constitutional amendment
25 to the qualified electors of this Commonwealth at the first
26 primary, general or municipal election occurring at least three
27 months after the proposed constitutional amendment is passed by
28 the General Assembly which meets the requirements of and is in
29 conformance with section 1 of Article XI of the Constitution of
30 Pennsylvania.
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