SECTION 1.

 (a) By February 28 January 31 of each year ending in the number one, the Independent Citizens’ Commission on Redistricting shall be established pursuant to this article to adjust the boundary lines of the Senate, Assembly, congressional, and State Board of Equalization districts of this State pursuant to a mapping process in accordance with the standards set forth in this subdivision. Consistent with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1971 and following), the following standards shall be applied by the commission and prioritized according to the following order:

(1) Each Member of the Senate, Assembly, Congress, and the State Board of Equalization shall be elected from a single-member district.

(2) Each Senate district shall be comprised of two whole, complete, and adjacent Assembly districts. Each State Board of Equalization district shall be comprised of 10 whole, complete, and adjacent Senate districts.

(3) Districts of each type shall be numbered consecutively commencing at the northern boundary of the State and ending at the southern boundary.

(4) The population of all districts of a particular type shall be reasonably equal.

(5) Each district shall be geographically contiguous and compact to the extent practicable.

(7) The geographical integrity of any city, county, or city and county, or of any geographical region, shall be respected so that, to the extent practicable, the boundaries of any city, county, or city and county shall be divided only to achieve reasonably equal population and to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1971 and following).

(8) A maximum number of districts shall be drawn that provide for competitive elections between major political parties. Party registration and voting history data shall be excluded from the mapping process, except to provide competitive elections pursuant to this paragraph.

(c) As used in this article, “commission” means the Independent Citizens’ Commission on Redistricting.

SEC. 2.

 The commission shall be comprised as follows:

(a) The commission shall consist of 11 members appointed pursuant to Section 3. Each member shall be a private citizen, meeting the requirements of this section, who has been registered to vote either with the same political party or as declined to state for the five years immediately preceding his or her appointment to the commission, and has voted in each of the last two statewide general elections immediately preceding his or her appointment to the commission.

(b) The Secretary shall select commission members and alternates who are representative of the gender, ethnic, urban and rural population, and geographic diversity of this State to the greatest degree practicable.

(c) A person shall be ineligible to serve on the commission if he or she or an immediate family member has done any of the following:

(1) Has had, at any time during the 10 years immediately preceding appointment to the commission, any financial relationship with any other individual, or group of individuals, who themselves would be ineligible to serve on the commission pursuant to this article.

(2) Has served, or currently serves, as an elected or appointed Member of the Congress, Member of the Legislature, statewide officer in this State, or member of the State Board of Equalization, or as a member of a city council or board of supervisors of a city, county, or city and county in this State.

(3) Has served or currently serves as a federal, state, or local lobbyist.

(4) Has served as an employee of the federal government, the Congress, the government of this State, the Legislature, any statewide officeholder in this State, or the State Board of Equalization, or of any city, county, city and county, or other political subdivision of this State, at any time during the 10 years immediately preceding his or her appointment to the commission. However, a person who either has retired from active duty in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, or currently serves or has previously served in the Armed Forces Reserve, is not ineligible as a result of that military service.

(5) Has been employed, or compensated in any manner, by the campaign committee of any candidate for the Congress, the Legislature, statewide office in this State, the State Board of Equalization, or for the city council or the board of supervisors of any city, county, or city and county, or for the governing body of any other political subdivision of this State, at any time during the 10 years immediately preceding his or her appointment to the commission.

(6) Has been elected or appointed to, employed, or compensated in any manner by any national political party, or by any state or local political party organization in this State.

(d) For purposes of this section, “immediate family” includes a current or former spouse, an in-law, a parent, a current or former stepparent or stepchild, a sibling, or a child or current or former dependent.

SEC. 3.

 (a) (1) On or before January 10 December 10 of each year ending in the number one zero, each county elections official shall generate a random list containing the lesser of 1,000 names, addresses, and telephone numbers of registered voters in the county, or 5 percent of all registered voters in the county, and shall forward that list to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall combine the names of these voters from each county into a single pool, and shall randomly select from that pool the names of potential commission members. The Secretary of State shall contact each person whose name has been drawn, in the order that the name was randomly selected, to determine whether that person wishes to serve on the commission and to verify that person’s eligibility for membership on the commission. The Secretary of State shall proceed in this manner until 11 members and 11 alternates are selected, with each set of 11 persons (A) consisting of four persons registered with the largest political party in this State based on statewide voter registration, four persons registered with the second largest political party in this State based on statewide voter registration, and three persons who are not registered with either of those political parties, at least one of whom has declined to state a party affiliation, and (B) meeting the requirement of subdivision (b) of Section 2.

(2) After the Secretary of State has completed the process by which the 11 members of the commission are selected, the Secretary of State shall establish the time, date, and location of the first meeting of the commission, and shall make that information available to the public.

(3) The names of the alternates shall be kept in the confidential possession of the Secretary of State, and may be disclosed only if it becomes necessary to fill any vacancy.

(b) (1) Seven members of the commission, three of whom shall be from the largest political party in this State based on statewide voter registration and three of whom shall be from the second largest political party in this State based on statewide voter registration, shall constitute a quorum. The chair and vice chair may each be one of the members counted to establish a quorum of the commission.

(2) Seven or more affirmative votes, three of which shall be cast by members registered with the largest political party in this State based on statewide voter registration and three of which shall be cast by members registered with the second largest political party in this State based on statewide voter registration, shall be required for any official action of the commission, except that the approval of any preliminary or final redistricting plan shall require an affirmative vote of not less than eight members of the commission, three of whom shall be registered with the largest political party in this State, three of whom shall be registered with the second largest political party in this State, and two other members who shall either be registered with other political parties in this State or registered as declined to state.

(3) The members of the commission shall, by seven or more affirmative votes as described in paragraph (2), select one member to serve as the chair and another member to serve as the vice chair. The vice chair shall not be registered with the same political party as the chair, nor may the chair and vice chair both be registered as declined to state.

(c) The term of office of each member of the commission expires upon the appointment of the first member of the succeeding commission.

(d) (1) The Governor may request in writing, or either house of the Legislature may request by resolution, that a member of the commission be removed for substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct in office, or inability to discharge the duties of his or her office. After having been served written notice of the request for removal and having been provided with an opportunity for a response, a member of the commission may be removed by rollcall vote entered in the journal, two-thirds of the membership of each house of the Legislature concurring. In the event of a removal from the commission or other vacancy, the Secretary of State shall fill the vacancy with an alternate member within 30 days after the vacancy occurs. The Secretary of State shall fill the vacancy consistent with subdivision (b) of Section 2.

(2) The new commission member shall be registered with the same political party or as declined to state, as the case may be, as the vacating member and shall comply with the eligibility criteria established for membership pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 2 at the time of his or her appointment. If the vacating member was the chair or vice chair of the commission, the commission shall select a new chair or vice chair in accordance with paragraph (3) of subdivision (b). The newly appointed member shall serve the remainder of the original term of the vacating member.

(e) The commission shall conduct hearings pursuant to this subdivision as part of its preparation of a redistricting plan. In order to implement an open and noticed hearing process for public input, the commission shall establish and publish a schedule of hearings and locations for those hearings as soon as reasonably possible after its first meeting. The hearing process shall include hearings to receive public input before the commission draws any map. The commission shall also conduct hearings following the drawing and display of draft commission maps. The commission shall display the draft maps to the public for comment in a timely manner designed to achieve the widest public dissemination reasonably possible. The commission shall work to ensure that the hearings and display periods provide opportunity for meaningful input from the public, including elected and appointed public officials, at every stage of the redistricting process. The commission shall take submissions of plans and comments, and conduct hearings, subject to the following:

(1) Any member of the public may offer a complete or partial proposed redistricting plan, and written comments or oral testimony.

(2) The commission shall adopt procedures and rules for the submission of proposed redistricting plans and written comments, and to facilitate the orderly receipt of materials and the taking of testimony at public hearings. The procedures and rules shall provide for full and fair public consideration and debate regarding draft and proposed final redistricting plans and written public comments. The commission is exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) or its successor statute, in adopting rules and regulations.

(3) The commission shall hold hearings in various regions of the State so as to allow the widest public participation reasonably possible.

(f) (1) In its hearings and meetings, the commission is subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), or its successor statute. The commission shall provide public notice of not less than 7 calendar days or 5 working days, whichever is longer, for any hearing or other meeting of the commission.

(2) Any written or verbal communication with any commission member outside of a public hearing, other than by staff or by legal counsel, is prohibited as to any matter on which the commission is required to meet. This subdivision does not prohibit any communication between commission members that is otherwise permitted by the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, or its successor statute, to occur outside of a public meeting.

(g) The records of the commission pertaining to the drawing of district boundary lines and all data considered by the commission are public records, open to public inspection upon request pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code), or its successor statute.

(h) The commission shall provide for access to United States census data and shall make software available to the public for drawing proposed district boundary lines.

(i) The commission shall issue, with its final redistricting plan, a report that explains the basis on which the commission made its decisions in achieving compliance with the standards listed in subdivision (a) of Section 1, particularly where compliance with one standard resulted in less than full compliance with another. The report shall define or describe, as applicable, the terms and standards used in drawing the district boundary lines.

SEC. 4.

 (a) In its final redistricting plan, the commission shall establish the boundaries of maps for Senate, Assembly, congressional, and State Board of Equalization districts. Upon approval of a final redistricting plan, the commission shall certify the districts in that plan to the Secretary of State.

(b) If the commission fails to adopt a final redistricting plan for the Assembly, Senate, Congress, and the State Board of Equalization within 180 days prior to the first primary election to be held using the adjusted district boundary lines, the Secretary of State shall file an action with the Supreme Court for an order directing the appointment of special masters to adjust the boundary lines of districts for those offices in accordance with the standards set forth in Section 1.

(c) The final redistricting plan adopted by the commission shall be subject to referendum in the same manner as a statute is subject to referendum under Section 9 of Article II. The date of certification to the Secretary of State shall be deemed the enactment date for purposes of Section 9 of Article II. If the final redistricting plan is rejected by the voters in a referendum, the Secretary of State shall immediately petition the Supreme Court for an order directing the appointment of special masters to adjust the boundary lines of Assembly, Senate, congressional, and State Board of Equalization districts in accordance with the standards set forth in Section 1. No action taken by special masters appointed by the Supreme Court shall be subject to referendum.

SEC. 5.

 (a) In 2010, and annually thereafter, the Governor shall include in the Governor’s Budget submitted to the Legislature pursuant to Section 12 of Article IV an amount of funding sufficient to meet the estimated expenses of the subsequent redistricting process occurring pursuant to this article, and shall make adequate office space available for the operation of the commission. The Legislature shall make the necessary appropriation in the annual budget bill.

(b) (1) The commission, in consultation with the Department of Finance or its successor, shall have procurement and contracting authority and may hire or contract with staff, legal counsel, and consultants, all of whom as appropriate. Any individual hired under this paragraph shall be exempt from the civil service requirements of Article VII, for the purposes of this article, including legal representation.

(2) Pursuant toFor purposes of paragraph (1), the commission shall establish standards for the hiring and removal of staff, legal counsel, and consultants. Any staff hired by the commission shall be subject to the eligibility criteria that apply to members of the commission pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 2, except where this requirement is waived by the commission by an affirmative vote of not less than eight members of the commission, as required for the approval of a preliminary or final redistricting plan pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 3. criteria for the terms and conditions of hiring and removal and contracting.

(c) The commission shall have standing in any legal action regarding a final redistricting plan. The commission has sole authority to determine whether the Attorney General or legal counsel hired or selected by the commission shall provide representation in the commission’s legal defense of a final redistricting plan.

(d) Members of the commission are eligible for $150 per diem for each day the commission or a subcommittee of the commission meets and for reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses incurred in connection with the duties performed pursuant to this article. After January 1, 2020, the Legislature may, by statute, increase the per diem amount. For purposes of the reimbursement of travel expenses, a member’s residence is deemed to be the member’s post of duty.

SEC. 6.

 (a) The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction in all proceedings in which the final redistricting plan adopted by the commission is challenged.

(b) Any affected elector may file a petition for a writ of mandate or writ of prohibition to challenge the final redistricting plan within 45 days after the commission has certified the plan to the Secretary of State pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 5, to bar the Secretary of State from implementing the plan on the grounds that the filed plan violates this Constitution, the United States Constitution, or any federal statute.

(c) The court shall act expeditiously on a petition filed under subdivision (b). If the court determines that the final redistricting plan adopted by the commission violates this Constitution, the United States Constitution, or any federal statute, the court shall fashion the relief that it deems appropriate to remedy that violation and otherwise accomplish the purposes of this article.

(d) This article is self-executing.