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ARTICLE IV
REAPPORTIONMENT
REAPPORTIONMENT YEARS
Section 1. The year 1973, the year 1981, and every
tenth year thereafter shall be reapportionment years. [Add Const Con
1978 and election Nov 7, 1978]
REAPPORTIONMENT COMMISSION
Section 2. A reapportionment commission shall be
constituted on or before May 1 of each reapportionment year and whenever
reapportionment is required by court order. The commission
shall consist of nine members. The president of the senate
and the speaker of the house of representatives shall each select two
members. Members of each house belonging to the party or
parties different from that of the president or the speaker shall
designate one of their number for each house and the two so designated
shall each select two members of the commission. The eight
members so selected, promptly after selection, shall be certified by the
selecting authorities to the chief election officer and within thirty
days thereafter, shall select, by a vote of six members, and promptly
certify to the chief election officer the ninth member who shall serve
as chairperson of the commission.
Each of the four officials designated above as selecting authorities
for the eight members of the commission, at the time of the commission
selections, shall also select one person from each basic island unit to
serve on an apportionment advisory council for that island
unit. The councils shall remain in existence during the life
of the commission and each shall serve in an advisory capacity to the
commission for matters affecting its island unit.
A vacancy in the commission or a council shall be filled by the
initial selecting authority within fifteen days after the vacancy
occurs. Commission and council positions and vacancies not
filled within the times specified shall be filled promptly thereafter by
the supreme court.
The commission shall act by majority vote of its membership and shall
establish its own procedures, except as may be provided by law.
Not more than one hundred fifty days from the date on which its
members are certified, the commission shall file with the chief election
officer a reapportionment plan for the state legislature and a
reapportionment plan for the United States congressional districts which
shall become law after publication as provided by
law. Members of the commission shall hold office until each
reapportionment plan becomes effective or until such time as may be
provided by law.
No member of the reapportionment commission or an apportionment
advisory council shall be eligible to become a candidate for election to
either house of the legislature or to the United States House of
Representatives in either of the first two elections under any such
reapportionment plan.
Commission and apportionment advisory council members shall be
compensated and reimbursed for their necessary expenses as provided by
law.
The chief election officer shall be secretary of the commission
without vote and, under the direction of the commission, shall furnish
all necessary technical services. The legislature shall
appropriate funds to enable the commission to carry out its duties. [Add
Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7, 1978; am HB 2322 (1992) and election
Nov 3, 1992]
CHIEF ELECTION OFFICER
Section 3. The legislature shall provide for a chief
election officer of the State, whose responsibilities shall be as
provided by law and shall include the supervision of state elections,
the maximization of registration of eligible voters throughout the State
and the maintenance of data concerning registered voters, elections,
apportionment and districting. [Add Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7,
1978]
APPORTIONMENT AMONG BASIC ISLAND UNITS
Section 4. The commission shall allocate the total
number of members of each house of the state legislature being
reapportioned among the four basic island units, namely: (1)
the island of Hawaii, (2) the islands of Maui, Lanai, Molokai and
Kahoolawe, (3) the island of Oahu and all other islands not specifically
enumerated, and (4) the islands of Kauai and Niihau, using the total
number of permanent residents in each of the basic island units and
computed by the method known as the method of equal proportions; except
that no basic island unit shall receive less than one member in each
house. [Add Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7, 1978; am HB 2327 (1992)
and election Nov 3, 1992]
MINIMUM REPRESENTATION FOR BASIC ISLAND UNITS
Section 5. The representation of any basic island unit
initially allocated less than a minimum of two senators and three
representatives shall be augmented by allocating thereto the number of
senators or representatives necessary to attain such minimums which
number, notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 2 and 3 of Article
III shall be added to the membership of the appropriate body until the
next reapportionment. The senators or representatives of any
basic island unit so augmented shall exercise a fractional vote wherein
the numerator is the number initially allocated and the denominator is
the minimum above specified. [Am Const Con 1968 and election Nov 5,
1968; ren Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7, 1978]
APPORTIONMENT WITHIN BASIC ISLAND UNITS
Section 6. Upon the determination of the total
number of members of each house of the state legislature to which each
basic island unit is entitled, the commission shall apportion the
members among the districts therein and shall redraw district lines
where necessary in such manner that for each house the average number of
permanent residents per member in each district is as nearly equal to
the average for the basic island unit as practicable.
In effecting such redistricting, the commission shall be guided by
the following criteria:
1. No district shall extend beyond the boundaries of any
basic island unit.
2. No district shall be so drawn as to unduly favor a
person or political faction.
3. Except in the case of districts encompassing more than
one island, districts shall be contiguous.
4. Insofar as practicable, districts shall be compact.
5. Where possible, district lines shall follow permanent
and easily recognized features, such as streets, streams and clear
geographical features, and, when practicable, shall coincide with census
tract boundaries.
6. Where practicable, representative districts shall be
wholly included within senatorial districts.
7. Not more than four members shall be elected from any
district.
8. Where practicable, submergence of an area in a larger
district wherein substantially different socio-economic interests
predominate shall be avoided. [Add Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7,
1978; am HB 2327 (1992) and election Nov 3, 1992]
ELECTION OF SENATORS AFTER REAPPORTIONMENT
Section 7. Regardless of whether or not a senator is
serving a term that would have extended past the general election at
which an apportionment plan becomes effective, the term of office of all
senators shall end at that general election. The staggered
terms of senators in each district shall be recomputed as established by
the next section in this article, and the number of senators in a
senatorial district under the reapportionment plan of the commission.
[Add Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7, 1978; am SB 2234 (1992) and
election Nov 3, 1992; am HB 1 (2000 2d) and election Nov 7, 2000]
STAGGERED TERMS FOR THE SENATE
Section 8. The reapportionment commission shall, as
part of the reapportionment plan, assign two-year terms for twelve
senate seats for the election immediately following the adoption of the
reapportionment plan. The remaining seats shall be assigned
four-year terms. Insofar as practicable, the commission shall
assign the two-year terms to senate seats so that the resident
population of each senate district shall have no more than two regular
senate elections for a particular senate seat within the six-year period
beginning in the even-numbered year prior to the reapportionment year;
provided that in the event of a multi-member senate district, the
senators elected with the highest number of votes in that district in
the election immediately following the adoption of the reapportionment
plan shall fill the senate seats in that district which were assigned
the four-year terms by the commission. [Add Const Con 1978 and election
Nov 7, 1978; am HB 572 (1987) and election Nov 8, 1988; am SB 2234
(1992) and election Nov 3, 1992; am HB 1 (2000 2d) and election Nov 7,
2000]
CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING FOR UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Section 9. The commission shall, at such times as may
be required by this article and as may be required by law of the United
States, redraw congressional district lines for the districts from which
the members of the United States House of Representatives allocated to
this State by Congress are elected. [Add Const Con 1978 and election Nov
7, 1978]
MANDAMUS AND JUDICIAL REVIEW
b>Section 10. Original jurisdiction is vested in the
supreme court of the State to be exercised on the petition of any
registered voter whereby it may compel, by mandamus or otherwise, the
appropriate person or persons to perform their duty or to correct any
error made in a reapportionment plan, or it may take such other action
to effectuate the purposes of this section as it may deem
appropriate. Any such petition shall be filed within
forty-five days of the date specified for any duty or within forty-five
days after the filing of a reapportionment plan. [Add Const Con 1978 and
election Nov 7, 1978]
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