SJR 29 - This constitutional amendment, if adopted by the voters, makes modifications to Article III, regulating the General Assembly. Current law allows a member of the General Assembly or person employed by the General Assembly to receive a gift of no more than $5 per occurrence from a lobbyist or lobbyist principal. This amendment prohibits all gifts from lobbyists or lobbyist principals to members or employees of the General Assembly.
Under current law, the nonpartisan state demographer is responsible for preparing new plans of apportionment for the House of Representatives and the Senate. This amendment modifies the order of priority for the criteria that is to be used in preparing those plans of apportionment as follows:
1. Districts are required to be established on the basis of total population.
2. Districts must be established in a manner that complies with all requirements of federal law, specifically including the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Furthermore, districts shall not be established with the intent or result of denying or abridging the equal opportunity of racial or language minorities to participate in the political process.
3. Districts must consist of contiguous territory.
4. Districts must coincide with the boundaries of political subdivisions, to the extent permitted in conjunction with the first three criterion.
5. Districts must be compact in form, to the extent permitted in conjunction with the first four criterion.
6. Districts must be apportioned to achieve partisan fairness and competitiveness, to the extent consistent with the first five criterion.
This resolution is similar to HCS/HJRs 48, 46, & 47 (2019).
SCOTT SVAGERA