CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY FOURTH COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. R-21-226 ENACTMENT NO. ________________________
SPONSORED BY: Brook Bassan, Klarissa Peña
RESOLUTION
title
Establishing A Redistricting Committee Pursuant To Article 4, Section 3 Of The City Charter To Review And Make Recommendations Concerning The Nine Council Districts; Repealing Enactment R-2010-103 (R-10-109) (Bassan, Peña)
body
ESTABLISHING A REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE PURSUANT TO ARTICLE IV, SECTION 3 OF THE CITY CHARTER TO REVIEW AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING THE NINE COUNCIL DISTRICTS; REPEALING ENACTMENT R-2010-103 (R-10-109).
WHEREAS, the City Charter requires that the Council appoint a committee composed of an equal number of representatives from each Council District to review and make recommendations regarding redistricting the Council Districts based on information from the Federal Census; and
WHEREAS, in appointing the committee, the Council shall, “as nearly as is practicable” provide a fair and balanced representation of all geographical areas of the City in the redistricting process and provide a total membership that reflects the racial, ethnic, and gender makeup of the City’s population; and
WHEREAS, any recommended changes in districts must comply with constitutional principles and court decisions governing voting rights and redistricting; and
WHEREAS, the Council district boundaries may be altered by the Council and Mayor once following each Federal Census; and
WHEREAS, the 2020 census data was released during the Summer of 2021, and state law requires that cities undergo their redistricting process the calendar year immediately after the data is released.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:
Section 1. The 2020-2022 Redistricting Committee is hereby established for the purpose of reviewing the 2020 Census data and making recommendations regarding redistricting of City Council Districts.
Section 2. The Redistricting Committee shall provide a fair and balanced representation of all geographical areas of the City in the redistricting process and provide a total membership that reflects the racial, ethnic, and gender makeup of the City’s population.
Section 3. The Redistricting Committee shall consist of nine members, one from each Council District. Each Committee member shall be an elector and resident of the Council District they represent. In addition, there shall be nine alternate members of the Committee, one from each Council District, who are electors and residents of the district represented. Following the requirements in Section 2 above, each Councilor shall appoint the Committee member and alternate from his or her district. Each alternate may attend and participate in all meetings and functions of the Committee, but may not vote on any question unless the Committee member is absent at the time of the vote.
Section 4. All meetings of the Redistricting Committee shall comply with the State Open Meetings Act, Sections 10-15-1 et seq. NMSA 1978.
Section 5. The task of the Redistricting Committee is to use the population data from the official 2020 U.S. Census along with any other pertinent information to make a report recommending changes in the Council District boundaries that the Committee decides are necessary and/or desirable, taking into account the following:
A. The need to comply with Constitutional principles governing voting rights, population, and other related factors;
B. Districts shall be drawn consistent with traditional districting principles. Districts shall be contiguous, and shall be reasonably compact. To the extent feasible, districts shall be drawn in an attempt to preserve communities of interest. In addition, and to the extent feasible, the Committee may seek to preserve the core of existing districts, and may consider the residence of incumbents;
C. The desirability of Council Districts that are relatively compact with as few geometric extremes as possible;
D. Adherence to existing precinct boundary lines, excepting those precincts which are divided by municipal boundary lines;
E. The Committee shall not use election or voter registration data when considering district boundaries.
Section 6. The Redistricting Committee shall select a chair and a vice-chair from among its members, shall require five members to constitute a quorum for purposes of conducting business, and shall conduct its meetings generally in accordance with the rules of procedure of the City Council. For all motions other than motions to adopt the Committee’s final recommendations, a motion is adopted by an affirmative vote of a majority of members present. For motions to adopt the Committee’s final recommendations, an affirmative vote of a majority of all members is required. The Committee’s final recommendations may include one or more maps for the City Council to consider. The foregoing does not prohibit the submission of a minority report to the Council.
Section 7. The Redistricting Committee shall receive training and background information from consultants and staff on topics relevant to the Committee’s task, including, but not limited to, the timelines for redistricting, the requirements of the federal Voting Rights Act, relevant federal and state court decisions, and the data available from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Committee shall meet as many times as it deems necessary to produce its recommendations within required deadlines or timeframes. The Committee shall begin meeting in March 2022 and the Committee shall submit a final recommendation to the City Council by no later than July 1st 2022.
Section 8. The Redistricting Committee shall be provided staff support from the Council’s contractor(s), Council Services, and the City Attorney to carry out its tasks.
Section 9. R-10-109 (Enactment R-2010-103), which established the redistricting committee for the 2010 census, is now obsolete and is hereby repealed.
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